Article
'Failure is not an option' in CEO's cancer battle
Just as things started taking off for Chicken Salad Chick, President and CEO Kevin Brown was diagnosed with stage IV liver cancer. He's fighting back, and helping others.
September 11, 2014 by Brenda Rick Smith — Editor, Networld Media Group
In November 2013, President and CEO Kevin Brown gathered the Chicken Salad Chick team for an employee meeting.
Things were going well for the young chicken chain, Brown was happy to report: Chicken Salad Chick was in the midst of opening 85 units across six states. Inquiries from potential franchisees were pouring in at a rate of five to 10 per day.
But while Brown was briefing the team, his wife and co-founder Stacy was waiting for him in his office with his mom and dad. She had a very different kind of news to deliver.
Brown had just been diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, and his liver was covered with dozens of tumors.
"It was gut wrenching. That I had to be the one to tell him was hard," Stacy said. "I'm thankful that his parents were there. It just takes your breath away."
The news brought Brown to his knees. He collapsed at his desk.
"We all had our shocked period," Stacy said. "And then Kevin was the first one to get back up off his knees, so to speak, and lead. Failure is not an option. That's now he runs this business, and that's how he's handling this."
'I don't want to be the only one to beat this'
Brown started chemotherapy 10 days after his diagnosis, and has completed 13 treatments. While the tumors on his liver have decreased in number and size, his cancer is still inoperable and will most likely remain that way. Chemo may be part Brown's life for a long time, he said.
"If that's what it takes to continue, I'm ok with that," he said.
In the midst of battling cancer and growing Chicken Salad Chick, the Browns are also launching a foundation. They had long wished to establish a foundation, but had trouble choosing a beneficiary.
Brown's diagnosis settled that question.
"I knew the day we walked into the East Alabama Cancer Center. I heard a voice speak to me and say, 'This is your opportunity, Kevin, to do a lot of good and help a lot of people,'" he said.
The Chicken Salad Chick Foundation launched in September 2014 with family friend Barclay Smith at the helm. The foundation will raise money for the American Cancer Society and for programs aimed at fighting food insecurity.
"My mindset went from 'poor pitiful me' to 'let's fight this thing,' and 'I don't want to be the only one to beat this,'" Brown said.
Humble beginnings
Brown's cancer diagnosis is not the first challenge Chicken Salad Chick has faced. A health inspector nearly shut down the fledgling business before it had the chance to take off.
The concept was born in Stacy's kitchen. After her first marriage ended in divorce, she began making and selling chicken salad out of her home in Auburn, Alabama, as a way to provide for her three young children and remain a stay-at-home mom. Her chicken salad quickly became popular. So popular, in fact, that it caught the attention of the Lee County Health Department.
A county health inspector named "Stan" let Stacy know that she could not sell food prepared in her home kitchen, and shut her down.
Stacy might have given up and settled for a 9 to 5 office job had it not been for Brown, a computer software salesman and family friend. He determined it was possible for her to open a restaurant, and the first Chicken Salad Chick restaurant opened in Auburn in January 2008. The first franchise was sold four years later in Montgomery, Alabama.
Stacy and Kevin's relationship grew right alongside Chicken Salad Chick. The two married, and blended their families together, including four children: Carson, 14; Jack, 11; Lydia, 10 and Olivia, 7.
Balancing life and work
Commitment to family was central to Chicken Salad Chick's birth, and it remains at the core of the brand.
"It's a model that gives our owners a real balance of life and work," Brown said. Chicken Salad Chick focuses solely on the lunch daypart, which means no one has to start working at 4 a.m. to prep for breakfast, and no one has to stay until midnight to close down after the dinner shift.
Chicken Salad Chick restaurants close by 6 or 7 p.m., and are closed on Sundays.
"We said from the very beginning we're not going to let this restaurant run us, we're going to run it," Stacy said.
The commitment to work-life balance has been one of the reasons for the strong interest among potential franchisees, the Browns said in a phone interview.
"The craziest thing about it is we don't have a single previous restaurant owner" among Chicken Salad Chick's franchisees, said Stacy.
That work-life balance – coupled with strong revenue – has encouraged franchisees not only to jump in, but to expand. Of the 15 current franchisees, all but one now own multiple units.
Not one moment of doubt
For a time, so many new units were in the pipeline – a total of 85 – that the Browns put new franchising agreements on hold for nine months so they could focus on ramping up.
"We've gone a little slower than some concepts because we've wanted to make sure the tools worked," Brown said. The Browns said they have been thoughtful about making strategic hires and getting infrastructure in place to support franchisees at what they call a "world-class level."
The thoughtful approach paid off in more ways than one when Brown was diagnosed with cancer. The entire team – headquarters and franchisees – rallied to make sure Chicken Salad Chick didn't miss a beat.
"I've not had one moment of doubt about how we would execute because of the trust I have in the people in this company," he said.
By the time Chicken Salad Chick opened up additional markets in 19 cities across five Southeastern states for expansion in September, more than 300 inquiries from potential franchisees had poured in. Since releasing the additional markets, Chicken Salad Chick has gained 39 commitments in those states.
Chicken Salad Chick has not spent a penny on advertising franchising opportunities, according to Brown.
"Most of the parties who are interested have been guests," he said. "They get enamored with the culture and the feel of the restaurants."
About Brenda Rick Smith
