Five Church?s Chickens Planned

Jorge Castaneda and Arturo Reyna, both of Rogers, plan to open five Church’s Chicken restaurants in Northwest Arkansas during the next five years.

The first Church’s is slated for Rogers and should be open by March, Castaneda said. That restaurant will probably be on Walnut Street, but since a lease hasn’t been signed, Castaneda didn’t want to reveal the street address. The second location will likely be in Lowell or Springdale, he said. One of the five restaurants will be in Fort Smith.

The two men signed a franchise agreement Aug. 2 at Church’s Atlanta headquarters. They will operate the restaurants through their limited liability company, Southern Chicken LLC.

“We’re excited about our new partners in Arkansas,” Church’s CEO Harsha V. Agadi said via a press release. “They have extensive business and foodservice experience and both will work hard to expand our brand and grow our reputation.”

Each Church’s Chicken restaurant is about 1,800 SF in size.

Founded in San Antonio in 1952, Church’s Chicken is one of the largest quick-service chicken concepts in the world. As of Dec. 26, the Church’s system had 1,556 locations worldwide. The company had sales of about $950 million last year.

Church’s Chicken serves traditional Southern fried chicken with a focus on offering complete meals with large portions at low prices.