The founders of Camille’s Sidewalk Café and FreshBerry have opened a new restaurant in Bixby, Okla., a quick-service chicken chain first introduced to American diners in 1951.
People might remember the iconic restaurant Rex’s Chicken, with its crispy, bite-sized chicken and fry bread that first opened in an Oklahoma gas station. Rex’s remained a staple in the central part of the United States until the chain went bankrupt in 1999.
Now, 11 years later, Rex’s Chicken is back in Oklahoma.
After being a Rex's customer himself in the 1970s and 1980s, David Rutkauskas, Beautiful Brands International founder, president and CEO, re-established the brand in 2007 when he purchased the recipes and the rights for $1,500.
The new Rex’s Chicken sits on the former site of Coney Beach, hot dog restaurant that BBI opened in 2007. When Rutkauskas previously introduced the famous chicken at Coney Beach restaurants sales went up 35 percent, and eventually, outsold hot dogs. That’s when Rutkauskas decided to open up an actual Rex's Chicken establishment.
"I knew if it was repackaged in the right way, like what BBI specializes in, that we could potentially create something that could be very, very special,” Rutkauskas said.
And indeed, Rutkauskas and BBI did create something special. During the grand opening week of June 21, the new Rex’s Chicken brought in $50,000, averaging about $10,000 a day.
“Something’s very, very, very right,” Rutkauskas said. “We absolutely nailed it.”
Besides making phenomenal profits in the first week, Rex's has brought in a majority of its business during the evening hours with 60 percent of its sales coming in from the dinner daypart and 40 percent at lunch.
"That is really reinventing the whole fast casual experience," Rutkauskas said.
He believes there are two factors contributing to Rex's success: the food and the customer service.
Rutkauskas said Rex's Chicken serves a "high- quality product" that can't be purchased anywhere else. Rex's also offers fry bread, a sweet complement to the salty chicken.
Additionally, Rex's has food runners take the customers' food to their table, without having to call numbers. Rex's also has employees in the dining room making sure customers are happy and getting whatever they need.
With only one store up and running, Rutkauskas plans to open more stores next year. His goal is to open between 1,200 and 1,500 total starting as early as December. He also plans to add a drive-thru component to each.
His main objectives, however, are to just keep delivering a hot, fresh product, to keep the customers happy and to be consistent with the products and service.
"The sky's the limit," Rutkauskas said. "(We have) very big plans for the brand."
**Beautiful Brands International also owns Camille's Sidewalk Café, Freshberry Frozen Yogurt Café, Greenz Salads, Café Ole and more
