Chicken Shack

What Chicken Shack does

Detroit's Original Chicken Shack (legal entity: 1956 Franchise, LLC) is a privately held, family-owned quick-service restaurant company founded in 1956 in Royal Oak, Michigan, and currently headquartered in Warren, Michigan. The company sells fried chicken, ribs, tenders, bites, wings, and signature sides (including Shack Potatoes introduced in 1981) primarily through a Michigan-based franchise network of independently operated locations offering carryout, delivery, and catering, with a menu positioned as 'fresher than fast food' and pricing spanning roughly $8.49 per sandwich to $49.99 family/party meals.

Chicken Shack's core technology is a custom consumer mobile application built on the TouchPoint ordering platform, paired with the Shack Rewards loyalty program, enabling pickup and delivery ordering, direct franchisee-to-consumer marketing, and higher average tickets. Gift cards are sold in-store, at Kroger/Meijer/ABC Warehouse retail partners, and as e-gift cards via Square, providing a distributed consumer acquisition layer. The company has no disclosed developer APIs or AI/ML capabilities.

The business model is a classic franchisor: Chicken Shack charges a $30,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% ongoing royalty, and a 2% marketing fund contribution, plus estimated buildout costs of $397,500-$770,000 per 1,750-2,500 sq ft location, against 2024 FDD average unit sales of $1,207,553. Customers are segmented into individual/family consumers (primary) and franchisees (secondary), with no enterprise or institutional accounts. Recent corporate moves (2021 rebrand, 2022 app launch, 2023 out-of-state trademark registration) indicate preparation for multi-state franchise expansion beyond the company's historical Michigan footprint.

Name

Chicken Shack

Legal name

1956 Franchise, LLC

Website

https://chickenshack.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Chicken Shack (Detroit's Original Chicken Shack) is a family-owned Michigan-based QSR franchisor founded in 1956, selling fried chicken, ribs, and sides through independently operated franchise locations supported by a TouchPoint-powered mobile app and Shack Rewards loyalty program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast Casual Fried Chicken Restaurant

akta.pro primary industry

Chicken Concepts (Fried/Grilled/Hot Chicken) (THAFABAI)

Keywords

• Fried chicken
• Fast casual restaurant
• Chicken restaurant franchise
• Catering services
• Comfort food dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Warren

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct Food Sales: Revenue from selling food directly to consumers through company-owned and franchise locations via pickup and delivery
2. Franchise Fees: One-time initial franchise fee of $30,000 for new franchisees
3. Royalty Fees: 5% royalty fee from franchisees based on sales, plus 2% marketing fund contribution

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chicken Shack sells signature fried chicken, ribs, chicken tenders, chicken bites, wings, and proprietary sides (Shack Potatoes, Cole Slaw) through company-owned and franchise locations in Michigan, complemented by catering services and physical/digital gift cards. Customers can order via in-store, online, or a custom mobile app, and the franchise program sells licenses to entrepreneurs for new restaurant locations.

Product overview

Detroit's Original Chicken Shack is a fast casual restaurant chain operating on a franchise model, founded in 1956 in Royal Oak, Michigan. The company's product portfolio centers on its signature fried chicken and BBQ offerings, including chicken (whole and pieces), ribs, chicken tenders, chicken bites, shack wings, along with proprietary sides like shack potatoes and cole slaw. The core technology offering is a custom mobile app that provides streamlined ordering for pickup and delivery, integrated with the Shack Rewards loyalty program to drive repeat business and enable direct marketing by franchisees. Additional products include catering services with party planning tools and gift cards processed through Square.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fried Chicken
• Ribs
• Chicken Tenders
• Chicken Bites
• Shack Wings
• Shack Potatoes
• Cole Slaw
• Catering Services
• Gift Cards
• Chicken Shack Franchise Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Average unit sales of $1,207,553 (per 2024 FDD)

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Little CaesarsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2001Chicken Shack opened first co-branded store with Little Caesars in 2001, combining both restaurant brands in a single location
• KrogerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKroger serves as a retail distribution channel for Chicken Shack gift cards, making them available for purchase at Kroger store locations alongside in-store merchandise
• MeijerminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMeijer serves as a retail distribution channel for Chicken Shack gift cards, available for purchase at Meijer store locations
• ABC WarehouseminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorABC Warehouse serves as a retail distribution channel for Chicken Shack gift cards, available for purchase at ABC Warehouse store locations
• TouchPointcoreTechnology or IntegrationTouchPoint platform powers online ordering and pickup functionality through Chicken Shack's mobile app and website ordering system

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Chick-fil-A: The largest and most successful U.S. chicken QSR chain. Directly comparable fast casual chicken concept with a much larger footprint and proprietary ordering technology.
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen: National chicken QSR chain with strong chicken sandwich and bone-in chicken offerings. Direct competitor in the fried chicken segment with similar carryout/delivery model.
• KFC: Global chicken QSR brand focused on fried chicken, with strong carryout/delivery presence. Competes head-to-head on bone-in chicken and family meal occasions.
• Church's Texas Chicken: Established fried chicken QSR chain with strong franchise system. Comparable menu and value-positioning, though a much larger incumbent player.

Direct peers

• Raising Cane's: Fast casual chicken-focused chain with strong unit economics, mobile ordering, and loyalty program. Closest comparable in operating model and growth trajectory to Chicken Shack.
• Zaxby's: Fast casual chicken tenders and wings chain operating primarily through franchise. Directly comparable menu focus, franchise model, and regional/expansion strategy.
• Wingstop: Chicken-wing-focused QSR/franchise with strong digital ordering, loyalty program, and rapid unit growth. Comparable in wing/sharing-product focus and digital-first GTM.
• Slim Chickens: Growing fast casual chicken tenders and wings franchise. Comparable franchise model, menu focus, and aggressive multi-state expansion playbook.
• PDQ: Fast casual chicken tenders and sandwiches chain with fresh-preparation positioning. Comparable fast casual chicken concept with strong digital ordering and loyalty features.

Peers

• Bojangles: Fast casual chicken-and-biscuits chain with strong regional roots, mobile ordering, and franchise expansion history. Closely matches Chicken Shack's regional legacy brand profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sobeckschickenshack
• Instagraminstagram.com/originalchickenshack
• TikToktiktok.com/@originalchickenshack
• Xx.com/chickenshack
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chickenshack

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chicken Shack