Pasadena-based Daddy’s Chicken Shack is making its way to the east coast.
The fried chicken chain recently signed a development deal with franchisee Reggie Lowe to bring 10 locations to the state of Georgia.
Speaking to What Now Atlanta, Lowe said he expects to open the first restaurant in Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood by the fall of 2023. He’s also targeting Peachtree City, Newnan and Hampton, and said he could roll out the ten locations within two to three years.
Lowe’s multi-unit agreement comes roughly one month after local Florida couple Ed and Gayla Zausch signed a 20-unit development deal targeting Orlando and Daytona Beach, a Daddy’s Chicken Shack statement said.
In February, Daddy’s Chicken Shack inked a 20-unit deal with Dave Liniger, the founder of RE/MAX, to open 10 locations in both Denver and Phoenix, the latter of which will focus on the eastern part of the region, including Scottsdale.
“The upside for Daddy’s Chicken Shack is limitless when you consider the level of differentiation it has achieved and that it will sustain in the years to come,” Liniger said. “This is a concept designed to thrive today where high-quality menu items must pair perfectly with convenience and value. I don’t take any investment lightly, and I’ve done endless due diligence on Daddy’s Chicken Shack. This is a rock-solid brand with a remarkable foundation for expansion.”
In July, esteemed local restaurant operators Blair Salisbury (think Pasadena’s El Cholo resyaurant) and Robin Bieker signed a 20-unit regional developer deal in California. Salisbury and Bieker were early fans and repeat customers of Daddy’s Pasadena location and “brings intense passion and commitment to spearheading the brand’s growth in California,” according to a Daddy’s Chicken Shack statement that month. They’re looking to open their first restaurant by year-end, and are currently eyeing real estate in Santa Clarita and elsewhere throughout Los Angeles County.
Daddy’s Chicken Shack, owned by Chef Pace Webb and husband Chris Georgalas, opened in Pasadena at 11 W. Dayton Street, in November 2018 – its first store after starting as a small stand at Smorgasburg, Downtown Los Angeles’ weekly food festival, that year.
“It was love at first sight,” Georgalas said. “The community has welcomed us with open arms since Day 1. Not having spent a lot of time there prior to moving and opening Daddy’s, we discovered that Pasadena is this little utopian bubble where everyone is super-friendly and the city and its people are so well taken care of.”
Pace Webb still runs her own catering company, Taste of Pace, where she’s Executive Chef, and is also a leading lifestyle expert. Taste of Pace is renowned for their monthly underground, invite-only Supper Club as well as being tapped to cater high-end celebrity and charity events for clients like the Breast Cancer Fund, Charlie Sheen, Shepard Fairey, and Acura.
Working on Taste of Pace has been an ongoing labor of love where Webb maintains massive spreads for large audiences. Operating Daddy’s Chicken Shack alongside her husband, by comparison, has been a country-style breath of fresh air.
Writing on her own blog, www.pacewebb.com, Webb said she remembers how her grandmother would tell stories about her own mother throwing lavish dinner parties in a hotel ballroom with jewel colored glassware dotting the table.
“That same grandmother showed me pictures from when she raised my mother and her brother (my uncle) on a farm in Loredo, Texas,” Webb said. “She would hand write every invitation and cooked everything from scratch. Birthday parties were imaginative scenes of circuses and theatrical performances. Not surprisingly my mother became an actress and our house was always the stage for opening night parties.”
She said it was at one of these opening night parties that she knew she wanted to be on the other side of the party.
“I wanted to be the one filling an empty glass so that a conversation could continue uninterrupted,” she wrote. “It was only natural that my passion for food combined my love of hospitality.”
Webb enjoys talking about how her family has been involved in the business, starting from her dad, a painter and graphic artist, who created the shop’s logo and whom they invited to be Creative Director to drive the brand image. Her mom is also helping design a franchise training office that they plan to open in their Houston location, she said.
To learn more about Daddy’s Chicken Shack, visit www.daddyschickenshack.com.
