The committed pipeline
Adding up publicly announced development commitments across the brands CSW tracks produces a striking figure: Dave's Hot Chicken has roughly 1,000 locations in development and plans 150+ openings in 2026; Slim Chickens has a pipeline of more than 1,200 restaurants after signing 110 agreements in 2025; Church's plans 600 units in China and 900 across Europe and other international markets; Krispy Krunchy targets roughly 500 foodservice retrofit sites by 2030. Chick-fil-A expects 100+ new U.S. restaurants in 2026 and Raising Cane's nearly 100.123456
Discount the agreements, respect the openings
Signed area development agreements convert to open restaurants at well below 100% across franchising. The useful distinction is between committed pipeline and demonstrated throughput. Dave's opened eight restaurants in a single day in April 2026. Wingstop opened 102 restaurants in one quarter. Golden Chick set a brand record with 23 openings in 2025 and Layne's opened 21 while doubling its system. Those are throughput numbers. A 1,200-unit pipeline is an aspiration until sites are controlled.1789
The geography is shifting north and east
Zaxby's opened in the Bronx and on the Upper East Side after debuting in New Jersey in December 2025 — its 24th state. Bojangles is being built out in Ohio by Eyas Capital and in San Antonio under a 21-unit agreement. Slim Chickens is targeting Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut. Southeast chicken brands are, for the first time at scale, underwriting Northeast and Midwest real estate.1011122
What it means
The binding constraint on chicken expansion in 2026–2027 is not capital or franchisee demand. It is site control and build cost. Huey Magoo's cut drive-thru build costs by roughly 40% and immediately became more franchisable. Slim Chickens hired a former Starbucks site-strategy executive as Chief Development Officer. Both moves are recognitions of the same reality: the brands with the pipeline are competing for the same pads, and whoever solves real estate throughput converts announcements into restaurants.1314