Rooster & Rice

What Rooster & Rice does

Rooster & Rice is a private fast-casual restaurant chain founded in 2019 in the San Francisco Bay Area by Bryan Lew and Thomas Charoen, specializing exclusively in Khao Mun Gai (Thai-style chicken and rice). The menu is anchored on a signature rice-bowl concept centered on the founders' proprietary Mother Sauce recipe, with dietary extensions for gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, and low-carb (Riceless) diners, plus rotating sides and appetizers such as Hat Yai Fried Chicken, Thai Wings, Khao Soi, and Larb Sandwiches. As of the source data, the company operates 11 physical restaurant locations across California (Marina, SOMA, FiDi, Stanyan, Stonestown Galleria, Santa Clara, Pleasanton, Irvine, Costa Mesa), Oregon (Beaverton), Washington (Bellevue), and Texas, with dine-in, takeout, and delivery service.

The operating technology layer is conventional restaurant-industry tooling rather than proprietary platform infrastructure: a BentoBox-hosted marketing website with email capture, an order.online direct ordering portal, native iOS and Android ordering apps (powered by Flipdish, Apple ID 1520700143), Square for gift card and payment processing, and an ezCater partnership handling catering distribution for the Pleasanton location. There is no disclosed API, SDK, or AI/ML capability. The company partners with Aroi Hospitality Group (AHG), which includes two former co-founders of the Caviar food delivery app and provides strategic and operational support for scaling; AHG is described as a strategic operating partner rather than a financial investor.

Rooster & Rice generates revenue from four primary streams: in-store and digital restaurant food sales across the 11 corporate locations, corporate catering services, gift card sales via Square, and franchise royalties and fees from its multi-unit franchise program (ownaroosterandrice.com). Pricing is per-unit, ranging from approximately $5 for side items to $17-$18 for premium signature bowls, with no subscription or membership tier. The customer base is overwhelmingly individual consumers seeking quick, health-forward Thai-style meals, with a smaller but growing corporate catering segment; the headcount range is 51-100 employees and no revenue, funding round, or valuation disclosures are present in the source data.

Name

Rooster & Rice

Legal name

Rooster & Rice

Website

https://roosterandrice.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Rooster & Rice is a private fast-casual Thai restaurant chain operating 11 locations across California, Oregon, Washington, and Texas, specializing in Khao Mun Gai (Thai-style chicken and rice) with dine-in, takeout, delivery, mobile ordering, corporate catering, and a multi-unit franchise program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast-casual restaurant

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Chicken & Wings QSR (THAFAAAC), Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls) (THAFABAF)

Keywords

• Fast-casual dining
• Thai restaurant chain
• Khao Mun Gai
• Chicken rice bowls
• Restaurant catering

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food Sales: Direct food sales from 11 restaurant locations across CA, OR, WA, and TX. Customers dine-in, takeout, or order delivery through the company's own platforms.
2. Catering Services: Corporate event catering for office parties, celebrations, and events. Catering inquiries handled through online forms and ezCater partnership for Pleasanton location.
3. Gift Cards: Gift card sales through Square platform
4. Franchising: Franchising program available through ownaroosterandrice.com for nationwide expansion

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rooster & Rice operates a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Khao Mun Gai (Thai-style chicken rice). The company sells signature rice bowls and related menu items across 11 company-owned locations in California, Oregon, Washington, and Texas, supplemented by catering, mobile ordering, gift cards, and a franchise program.

Product overview

Rooster & Rice is a fast-casual Thai restaurant chain specializing in Khao Mun Gai (Thai-style chicken rice). The core product portfolio centers on signature rice bowl dishes including The Original (classic breast and thigh with fragrant rice), The Marina (health-focused skinless option with brown rice), The Vegetarian (tofu and veggie option), The Riceless (low-carb bowl), and The Cutlet (panko-crusted variant). The menu extends to appetizers like Hat Yai Fried Chicken, Larb Popcorn Chicken, Thai Wings, and Khao Soi curry noodle soup, complemented by sides including Fried Chicken Skins, broth, rice, and seasonal vegetables. The company operates a mobile ordering app, offers catering services for events, sells gift cards, and provides franchise opportunities for expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Original Signature Khao Mun Gai featuring breast and thigh with skin, fragrant chicken rice, cucumber, cilantro, and choice of KMG (Mother) sauce or Ginger Scallion Sauce, served with hot sauce. Targeted at health-conscious diners seeking the classic Thai-style chicken rice experience.
• The Vegetarian Plant-based option with poached tofu, brown rice, cucumber, cilantro, veggies, vegetarian broth, and choice of KMG sauce. Targeted at vegetarian and flexitarian diners.
• The Riceless Low-carb bowl with breast or thigh, veggies, cucumber, cilantro, chicken broth, and choice of sauce, served without rice. Targeted at low-carb and keto diners.
• The Macro Skinless breast with brown rice, cucumber, cilantro, veggies, side of broth, and choice of KMG or Ginger Scallion sauce. Targeted at health-conscious and fitness-focused consumers.
• The Cutlet Panko-crusted chicken thigh served with fragrant chicken rice, Thai sriracha, pickled veggies, and side of chicken broth. Targeted at diners preferring a breaded preparation.
• Larb Chicken Sandwich Breaded thigh on King's Hawaiian Bun with lettuce, lime aioli, and pickle. Targeted at customers seeking a handheld format.
• Hat Yai Fried Chicken
• Khao Soi
• Thai Wings
• Fried Chicken Skins
• Catering Service Corporate event and celebration catering with customizable menus and event coordination, with online inquiry forms and an ezCater partnership for the Pleasanton location. Targeted at businesses hosting office parties, meetings, and events.
• Mobile Ordering App Proprietary mobile application available on iOS and Android (Rooster App) enabling customers to order online for pickup. Targeted at dine-in and takeout customers seeking a digital ordering channel.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift cards available for purchase through Square. Targeted at consumers and corporate gifting use cases.
• Franchise Program

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Aroi Hospitality Group (AHG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019In 2019, Rooster & Rice partnered with Aroi Hospitality Group (AHG) which includes two former founders of the food delivery app, Caviar. AHG has helped expand the brand nationwide, contributing strategic expertise in scaling restaurant operations and delivery services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tender Greens: California-headquartered fast-casual chain serving chef-driven, healthy protein-and-grain plates. Comparable to Rooster & Rice in single-cuisine focus, California origin, and health-conscious positioning targeting urban professionals.
• Sweetgreen: Public fast-casual chain specializing in healthy bowls and salads with omnichannel digital ordering. Most directly comparable as a category-defining single-format (bowl/salad) fast-casual concept with health positioning and mobile-first ordering.
• Bolay: Fast-casual bowl concept with Asian-inspired bases and proteins, founded by a former P.F. Chang's executive. Similar to Rooster & Rice in build-your-own-bowl model, dietary-inclusivity messaging, and growth-phase multi-unit expansion.
• Mendocino Farms: Premium fast-casual sandwich and salad chain with a Southern California origin. Comparable as a chef-driven, California-born fast-casual with strong catering and digital ordering and a multi-state expansion trajectory.
• CAVA Group: Public fast-casual Mediterranean bowl concept with strong digital ordering and franchising growth. Closely mirrors Rooster & Rice's single-cuisine bowl model, unit economics profile, and digital-first growth playbook.

Emerging players

• Honeygrow: East Coast-based fast-casual chain focused on stir-fry, salads, and bowls with proprietary tech stack. Similar to Rooster & Rice in build-your-own bowl model, dietary customization, and digital ordering emphasis.
• Wow Bao: Asian fast-casual chain specializing in steamed buns, dumplings, and rice bowls. Comparable to Rooster & Rice in single-cuisine Asian positioning, bowl-format menu, and digital/delivery-led growth strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Chick-fil-A: Largest US chicken-focused QSR chain, dominating the chicken-only single-format category. Represents the scale ceiling and competitive benchmark for any single-product chicken concept, and the dominant share-of-mouth competitor for chicken-centric fast-casual occasions.
• Raising Cane's: National chicken-focused QSR chain built around a single signature chicken finger menu. Compares to Rooster & Rice as a single-product chicken concept that scaled nationally, illustrating both the format's expansion potential and the head-to-head competitive threat.

Regional players

• Lemonade (Lemonade Restaurant Group): Los Angeles-based fast-casual concept offering a seasonal, healthy menu of bowls, sandwiches, and salads. Comparable to Rooster & Rice in healthy fast-casual positioning and West Coast urban demographic, though Lemonade has not expanded into Rooster & Rice's Pacific Northwest or Texas markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookm.facebook.com/roosterandrice
• Instagraminstagram.com/roosterandrice
• Xx.com/roosterandrice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rooster-rice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Rooster & Rice