Super Chix will strut over to Fort Worth’s Southside next fall when it takes up shop in the Near Southside Mercantile, the new 28,000-square-foot mixed-use development along Eighth Avenue and Oleander Street. Another fast-casual mainstay, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, will be its neighbor.
Originally this chicken sandwich concept, which also features hand-cut fries and frozen custard, was an experiment by fast-food giant Yum! Brands Inc., which has a few household names such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell under its vast umbrella.
Nick Ouimet, Super Chix CEO, helped in the creation and development Super Chix while he was at Yum! Brands, and when Yum! decided to focus on its established brands, Ouimet purchased the Super Chix concept and its original Arlington outpost in the summer of 2014.
He quickly closed that Arlington location and headed east to introduce Super Chix to a different market. There are currently two locations, one in Richardson and another in Plano.
A Frisco location will open in the next month and half, followed by the first Fort Worth Super Chix, opening in early fall, possibly even September, depending on construction. “We are looking to return to Arlington as well in the near future. Real estate site selection is important,” Ouimet said.
Super Chix describes itself as a classed-up chicken joint. “Along with the simple chicken sandwich, we sell as many chicken tenders as anything else,” Ouimet said. “We marinate our chicken in store and cook it to order along with our hand-cut french fries. Our fresh frozen custard is a big seller and I can’t wait to introduce that to the Fort Worth market.” Super Chix also serves seven draft beers and a few draft wines.
“We are connecting with customers and upgrading our menu as we enter different markets,” he said. Super Chix will introduce a new breakfast menu soon, with items such as a chorizo, egg and Gouda sandwich. Other planned sandwich upgrades include a cordon bleu, a barbeque and even a bacon jam chicken version.
At Super Chix, kids’ meals come with a fruit cup and milk and a token to redeem for frozen custard dessert.
Ouimet has big aspirations for his little chicken sandwich shops. “Do I think Super Chix has great potential? Yes. Our goal is to open five new locations in North Texas this year, and hopefully 10 the following year, in 2018. Our focus is on quality,” he said. That is why the plan is for the stores to remain company-owned rather than franchised. They do not include drive-thru in their model “because then speed becomes the focus above quality. We want to keep things close until we can consistently replicate our concept,” Ouimet said.
When complete, the 2,281-square-foot Fort Worth location at 1217 Eighth Ave. will have a huge covered patio and will be close to Medical District employees as well as Southside’s young families and millennials who are rapidly moving to the expanding residential area.