Top Franchisee Opens Milestone Store in Missouri
Atlanta-based Church's Chicken(R) celebrated the opening of its 1600th restaurant worldwide on December 20, 2007 in Blue Springs, Mo. - a suburb of Kansas City - with top franchisee, Shan Ali of SNSA, Inc., who owns a total of 13 Church's restaurants.
'Church's has, for nearly 56 years, continued its tradition of serving flavorful chicken at a great value with little fanfare,' said Harsha V. Agadi, President and CEO of Church's Chicken(R). 'As we grow, we remain committed to putting care and intention in preparing our food - we love introducing our freshly prepared chicken and handmade-from-scratch biscuits to new communities across the country.'
The store is a 'snap-on' location, sharing space with the local Conoco gas station and is the result of a conversion, a development strategy offered to all Church's franchisees. The brand's architecture and design team has the ability to convert several types of pre-existing buildings into a Church's prototype, which allows franchisees to maintain their current location while saving time and money when developing a Church's restaurant.
Many of Church's target markets are under-penetrated, providing opportunities for significant growth. The company's goal for 2008 is to open 150 restaurants globally.
Shan Ali became a Church's franchisee in 2006 when he purchased seven restaurants in the Kansas City market. He also owns four restaurants in Oakland, California, and opened a new restaurant near the University of Kansas in Lawrence late last year.
Shan completely re-imaged and remodeled the initial seven restaurants, which increased his sales by 20 percent. His devotion to the Church's brand and his continued success represents a new generation of young, successful businessmen in the Church's franchise system.
'I'm an enthusiastic supporter of all things Church's,' Ali said. 'As a young Church's franchisee, I look forward to growing with the brand - it is an honor to open the 1600th store - sales have been very good.'
The store is located at 111 SE AA Highway, Blue Springs, Missouri 64014.
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