In the fast casual restaurant arena, offering the chance to discover regional American tastes is one way to appeal to customers seeking easy access to a flavor-packed experience—much like one can find at The Red Chickz, a hot new chicken franchise concept with its roots in Nashville. Thinking about traditional American food flavors in the U.S., a list of unique local classics might turn up items like Buffalo wings or Southern fried chicken. Luckily, the franchising industry makes it possible to enjoy some regional fare in new locales.

In fact, you’re likely to find many options related to chicken when looking into restaurant franchise opportunities—especially wings and fried chicken. Then, if you look a little deeper into the full flavor factor, you may find yourself drawn to a hot chicken franchise. This fast casual idea leverages the love for a special coating known as “Nashville hot,” and is proudly connected to authentic chicken recipes from Tennessee. As a menu item, Nashville hot chicken is music to the ears of spicy food lovers at The Red Chickz original California location. And now diners can sing its praises across other states, too, with its Nashville hot chicken franchise opportunity.

The Nashville hot chicken style began to break out as a national food trend a few years ago, as restaurants, food bloggers and more started catching on to that rising appeal. The Red Chickz, which opened its first restaurant in Los Angeles in 2018, has been serving delicious sandwiches and other menu options—and posting hot content on Instagram and Tik Tok—ever since. Their delectable images of mouth-watering food has helped them gain more than 840,000 followers on social media. As the saying goes, first we eat with our eyes, and this Nashville hot chicken franchise knows how to capture visual attention and pay it off with a treat for the taste buds.

Fortunately, food trend reports in the industry show that Nashville hot continues to heat up as an emerging craze. The Grub Hub annual State of the Plate reports a 327% rise in popularity in the first half of 2021 alone, a stat which presents plenty of potential spark for a hot new chicken franchise.

How Fried Chicken and Wings Ignite a Hot Chicken Franchise

Would you be surprised to find out that fried chicken in some form appears on 95% of all restaurant menus nationwide? Now, by taking the spicy fried chicken sandwich to a new level with its Nashville hot chicken franchise, The Red Chickz is able to cater to heat-seeking diner demands with its own twist on the traditionally Southern recipes.

Beyond the consumer market for flavorful chicken and wings, franchise owners and operators are deciding to bet on chicken’s popularity as they strive to create flavor concepts the market can sink its teeth into. The forecast for the fast casual chicken franchise in America shows an increase by more than 12% in 2021.

So, with the chicken trend on fire, get your cool drink of water ready to go with the heavenly heat of The Red Chickz Nashville hot chicken franchise. Perhaps you’re wondering how to get started, or how much investment in this Nashville hot chicken franchise costs? Owner and founder Shawn Lalehzarian states in this QSR Magazine article, “We are looking for passionate people who are interested in opening their own hot chicken franchise,” and shares that the initial investment necessary to open a single location ranges between $363,500 and $821,400.

A Fast Casual Inferno in a Hot Chicken Franchise

Aside from a positive industry outlook, entrepreneurs researching restaurant concepts might want to consider more than market potential, to also seek something fresh and differentiated. For instance, how does the brand promote its flavor profiles, present its ingredients, or prepare its products?

A focus on quick service and consistent quality is a great place to start when evaluating an opportunity in the food and beverage space. For fast, fresh chicken sandwiches and wings flavored the way customers want them, The Red Chickz makes their Nashville hot chicken to order. Customers are able to choose from six different heat levels ranging from Cool to Inferno on the menu’s clever scale in the form of a hot chili . That means that the saucy, spicy entrees can be enjoyed by customers with various heat tolerance levels.

And, with The Red Chickz, menu items go beyond the love of fried chicken and chicken wings, to also include chicken tenders and even shrimp, which can be tossed in the same Nashville hot spices.

A Nashville Hot Chicken Franchise Can Tempt the Tastes of Many

With a concept like The Red Chickz, it’s important to know that the signature flavors are transferred to hot chicken franchise owners from recipes that have already been tested and established by the original business. Before The Red Chickz first L.A. location was being developed, Lalehzarian travelled to Tennessee and discovered favorite recipes to serve as inspiration for The Red Chickz proprietary taste. He also realized the value of satisfying many diners’ tastes by simple variations in serving style of menu items, even beyond the heat level index.

An excellent example is The Red Chickz option to turn hot chicken or hot shrimp into a taco. Or, how about combining Southern food trends with the amazing Chickz N Waffles? That same approach to keeping it simple but making it special applies to menu items like potato wedges loaded with hot Chickz tenders. Or, if a diner isn’t into Nashville hot today, how about smoky hot with Chickz Chipotle sandwich? It’s made with the same quick and crispy cooking method, but offers another world of flavor to explore.

Specialty sides add another layer to diners’ selections, from the creamy slaw layered on the sandwiches, to the beloved “comeback sauce” for dipping wedges or tenders. Flavor is a highlight of this franchise brand—and an investment in flavor satisfaction is part of what can lead to ongoing customer loyalty to bolster the potential return from a Nashville hot chicken franchise cost and concept.

The Red Chickz was founded in California in 2018, gaining flocks of hungry diners at its L.A. location and opening a second in Culver City in 2021. With hundreds of thousands of fans on social media loving our mouth-watering menu and exclusive recipes, we’re set to join forces with the right franchise owners and share our passion for quality and fun. We’re growing The Red Chickz Nashville hot chicken franchise family to include locations in states like California, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas.