Founderology Forum

Chick N Max: From Perfect Pitch winners to up-and-coming franchisor

Coming out of COVID-19 in 2021, Chick N Max sales grew 30% over 2020, generating two-year sales comps over 40%. In 2022, sales and transaction growth continue to outpace the fast casual segment with transactions up 6.45% and sales up 11.5%.

Chick N Max CEO Maxwell Sheets (left) and COO Bob Peterson answer questions during about the concept during the 2021 Perfect Pitch.

November 17, 2022

When Chick N Max founder Maxwell Sheets took the stage at Fast Casual's 2021 Perfect Pitch contest, his Wichita-based brand had been open for only three years and had three corporate-owned stores. He was confident, however, that his concept specializing in "flashy chicken and humble folks" would win over the audience members, who would hear from five brands and vote for the one with the highest growth potential.

And he was right.

Since winning the contest last year, he and his team have signed deals to open 25 locations in Texas, three in South Dakota and will soon have agreements signed for California and Oklahoma. Plans for adding locations in the Central and Southeastern U.S., including Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, are also in the works.

"We have carved out a unique niche in a saturated segment," Sheets said last week during a franchisee Discovery Day in one of his Wichita-based restaurants. "We've done this with focused intentionality. We have created the 'Home of the Better Chicken Sandwich' by creating a lineup of unique sandwiches with a global array of flavors plus homemade sauces and sides."

Some of those unique sandwiches include the Chicken and Waffles, the Loaded Bama with white Bama BBQ sauce, coleslaw, dill pickles; the Smoked Chicken BLT with pepper jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, Max's signature sauce and pickles and the Sriracha Hot Honey, featuring hand-breaded tenders, buttermilk garlic sauce, sriracha hot honey, bread and butter pickles on a brioche bun.

"Everybody has that one chicken sandwich and they just ask you, 'spicy or regular?' Not here. We have global flavor profiles," Sheets said. "Where else are you going to find that?"

The brand's almond-wood smoked chicken, however, can also meet the needs of a more health-conscious diner when served as smoked leg quarters, breast quarters, half-birds or smoked wings.

"This is unique to the entire industry. No one uses almond wood, which we view as an ingredient adding a unique flavor profile," said Sheets, who began his restaurant career as a teenager washing dishes for Pizza Hut and eventually served as an executive in development for Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Smashburger, Ted's Montana Grill, Fox & Hound and Lone Star Steakhouse.

Brenda Elpers, vice president of franchise development, agrees.

"The chicken segment of the restaurant space is no doubt an increasingly crowded one, but we've perfected a niche that truly differentiates us from the competition," she said. "Our signature smoked chicken, which is smoked over almond wood from California, takes center stage at Chick N Max and provides a healthier take on chicken. It's unlike anything else in the segment."

COO Bob Peterson said the brand's use of the entire chicken also gives it a leg up.

Sheets hands an order to a frontline worker during COVID-19. (Photo credit: Facebook)

"That puts us above the brands that only have tenders and wings and mitigates our dependency on chicken tender pricing," said Peterson, who joined Chick N Max after working for Sonic, Panera Bread and Steak 'n' Shake.

The numbers don't lie

Sheets and his team must be onto something, considering sales grew 9.5% during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown when many brands struggled or closed.

"Coming out of Covid in 2021 our sales grew 30% over 2020 thereby generating two-year sales comps over 40%," Sheets said. "In 2022 our sales and transaction growth continues to outpace our industry segment with transactions up 6.45% and sales up 11.5% through the end of Q3."

Franchisees protect the brand

Another unique thing about Chick N Max is how passionate its leaders are about taking care of their workers, who Sheets describes as "family."

"People always say that they care about their franchisees and employees, but we actually do," said Sheets, who said his low turnover rate speaks for itself.

"I get so sick of people saying 'younger workers don't want to work hard.' Do they want more (and) faster? Sure, but that's the society we live in now, so that's normal. And if you show them that you really care about them — that you know their family comes first — and give them a chance, they are going to stick around.

"I created this business because I wanted a legacy brand, and to do that I gotta take care of my franchisees and my GMs and workers, not just take a franchise fee. These are the people who protect the brand. I want to see us all grow."

It's a lesson Sheets learned directly from his mentor, Ted's Montana Grill co-founder George W. McKerrow, who has supported Sheets since he launched Chick N Max as a trailer at farmer's markets before opening his first location in 2018.

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast," McKerrow said over a plate of chicken wings at Discovery Day.

"See, he's totally right. I wish I had said that," Sheets said laughing. "But it's true."

A new way to build restaurants

When Sheets signed his first franchise deal earlier this year with father-and-son Brad and Max (Bubba) Reinke, of BubbaMax LLC, he promised affordable build-out costs for the duo's three restaurants opening over the next five years.

"But then construction prices went through the roof," said Sheets, who halted the project in July to find a more affordable way to build his 2,400-square-foot restaurants. That search led him to Fullerton Building Systems, which is building all of the brand's free-standing units opening in 2023.

"Construction is done in the controlled environment of a manufacturing facility," Sheet said." Then, the shell is trucked to the site and assembled. This gains efficiency on many levels, which translates into cost savings."

Build-out costs should be 10 to 15% lower, but Sheets said the bigger advantage is being able to open the doors sooner.

"This is a huge piece of the equation; picking up restaurant operating days," he said.

Catering and Radio Max

Catering director Cathy Carrier (left) and Max Sheets (right) gave customers free sandwiches when they donated to the Kansas Humane Society. (Photo credit: Chick N Max Facebook)

Catering is 10 % of the chain's business, thanks to former radio DJ Cathy Carrier ensuring that each order is personal.

"You have to build a relationship with every single client," Carrier said at Discovery Day while she was preparing to send out a huge order to a local hospital. "My customers have my number, and they know they can call or text day or night. And they do."

Being on guests' speed dial isn't the only way Carrier connects with her customers. She and Sheets also co-host "Radio Max," a pseudo-radio program that plays at each restaurant and features a selection of feel-good, classic rock and blues songs selected by Sheets.

"We use it to talk to our customers — to talk about new menu items and specials and highlight how we help the community," said Carrier, who pointed out the chain has fed thousands of people in need by partnering with Kansas Children's Service League, Kansas Humane Society, local hospitals and the Wichita Children's Home to name a few.

"And it's even more than that. If I see a need in the community, I come to Max, and we figure out how to help."

"It's just another way we pull our culture together," Sheets said. "We talk to the community. They know we care. Remember what George said, 'Culture eats strategy for breakfast.'"

All photos provided by Chick N Max.

More From Founderology ForumMore

---