Krispy Krunchy Chicken Vowed to Open Over 700 New Locations: Here's Where They Stand

Consumers are facing rising costs at every turn, causing many to look for new ways to stretch their restaurant budget, and Krispy Krunchy Chicken wants to become one of their top go-tos.

The fast food retailer vowed to open a whopping 700 new locations by the end of 2024, and their aggressive expansion plans could extend into 2025.

While Krispy Crunchy Chicken hasn’t verified if they reached their lofty goal, what we do know is the growth doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Here’s everything we know about the rising fried chicken star of fast food and their plans to open dozens more locations across the US.

FinanceBuzz reached out to Krispy Crunchy Chicken for comment but did not receive a response by publication.

Rather than focusing on freestanding fast food stores, Krispy Krunchy Chicken implemented a strategy of licensing to existing non-traditional locations where hungry folks are likely to gather.

You can find Krispy Krunchy Chicken within convenience stores, gas stations, grocery markets, college campuses, casinos, truck stops, and other similar places.

The quick-service chicken restaurant is known for infusing their chicken with a proprietary Cajun marinade that burst onto the scene with flavor in 1989. They originated in Louisiana, but grew from 200 locations to 2,200 under leadership of CEO Dan Shapiro by 2006.

This number had grown to nearly 3,000 stores-within-stores by the end of 2023, and the chain restaurant promised an additional 700 new outlets by the end of 2024.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken has locations available in 47 different states, and has grown so large they opened a new corporate office in Atlanta, Georgia at the beginning of this year.

Their signature style of being a store within a store leaves individual openings difficult to track, however, their heavy partnerships with third-party delivery apps such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, and DoorDash make it accessible for everybody to search within their city to find the lightly spicy fried chicken.

The Signature Chicken Krunch Box includes two pieces of hand-breaded, mildly Cajun-spiced fried chicken, a small side, and a honey biscuit for $8.99. Comparatively, a nearby Popeye’s offers a similar combo meal with two pieces of chicken, a regular side, a biscuit, and a small drink for $10.99.

Comparing the two menus further reveals both chains price an individual chicken sandwich at $4.99, so customers will likely face a similar bill regardless of their choice in chicken preference.

The current Krispy Krunchy Chicken CEO, Jim Norberg, refers to the company strategy as the “Core Four”. It outlines a strategy that focuses on four aspects: adding new stores, increasing same-store growth, system optimization, and operator profitability.

His goal is to pivot the company from a recognizable convenience store name to being known as the brand “setting the standard for serving your favorite fried chicken.”

Expanding into new markets for the quick-service chicken chain is less focused on the geographic location and, instead, looks to expand by utilizing the existing infrastructure of already popular places such as truck stops, travel centers, casinos, and department stores like Walmart.

Residents of Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii are not yet able to enjoy the lightly Cajun crunch of Krispy Krunchy Chicken, as those are the only three states the chain has not conquered.

Could 2025 see an expansion that finally covers all 50 states?

It’s not just store expansion Krispy Krunchy Chicken is including in their plans, but also their operations. They’ve grown their support team over the past year and increased training, along with the frequency of in-store visits to ensure service and efficiency.

They intend to continue growth with corporate hiring, presumably for their new corporate office in Atlanta.

Social media users rank Krispy Krunchy Chicken right along with Popeye’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken but often stress that location can provide a vastly different experience for customers.

Employees meant to be gas station attendants may not have the same commitment to food excellence that employees hired specifically for food preparation demonstrate. Including additional training as part of their corporate strategy bodes well for their future.

We’ll likely have to wait until the first quarter of 2025 to receive an update on the plans for the year and learn if the goal of 700 new locations was reached for 2024, but it’s clear big expansion plans are underway.

Having more tasty and affordable quick food options offer consumers another great way to save money while prices for just about everything seem to keep increasing. Check out the Krispy Krunchy Chicken website to see if you have a location close to your home.