Who Owns Chicken Salad Chick?

Stacy Brown started selling chicken salad out of her home in Auburn, Alabama in 2008, after a divorce left her looking for income. When local health officials told her she could not sell food prepared in a home kitchen, she and her husband Kevin opened a small takeout restaurant. The first Chicken Salad Chick opened on January 7, 2008 in Auburn, near the Auburn University campus.

The concept centered on a dozen-plus scratch-made chicken salad flavors, each named after a woman in Stacy's life, served by the scoop, sandwich, or bowl alongside pimento cheese, egg salad, soups, and sides. Kevin Brown, a salesman, began pitching franchising after lines formed outside the original store.

The first franchised location opened in 2012. Growth was fast enough that outside investors took notice, and in 2015 Eagle Merchant Partners and Scott Deviney acquired the business. Under Deviney the brand built out a corporate infrastructure in Atlanta, created a training program, and signed multi-unit franchise deals across the Southeast.

Brentwood Associates bought its majority stake in November 2019. The chain passed 100 locations before the acquisition and roughly doubled its footprint over the following five years. In October 2023, the company acquired Piece of Cake, an Atlanta-area cake supplier whose desserts appear on the menu. During 2024 the system opened nearly 40 restaurants and signed 88 franchise agreements, both records. The brand passed 300 locations in 2025 and was on pace for roughly 330 units by year end, with expansion pushing north and west from its Southeastern core.