Chicken Salad Chick to open on Fruitville Road

A fast-casual eatery that makes Southern-style chicken salad from scratch is coming to Sarasota County. Chicken Salad Chick is opening in the Fruitville Farms shopping center just east of Interstate 75 on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Located at 6650 Fruitville Road, the eatery is 2,600 square feet and seats 52 people. It will offer in-restaurant, outdoor patio and takeout dining as well as third-party delivery and catering services.

On the menu are more than a dozen varieties of made-from-scratch chicken salad flavors, side salads, soups, sandwiches and desserts. 

This marks the third Chicken Salad Chick in the area for franchise owner Karen Jordan. She also owns two Chicken Salad Chick restaurants in Manatee County, at 5434 Lockwood Ridge Road, east of Bradenton, and 8730 US 301 in Parrish, the latter of which opened in December.

“Opening my third Chicken Salad Chick restaurant is a really exciting milestone for me,” Jordan says. She plans to offer free chicken salad for a year to the first 100 people in line at the grand opening to celebrate. Guests will have to download the Chicken Salad Chick app to participate in the promotion, which will provide one large chicken salad package monthly for 12 months.

Chicken Salad Chick has more than 345 restaurants across 27 states. It was founded in 2008 in Alabama and began franchising in 2012. Its restaurants have done more than $400 million in systemwide sales, with the average unit volume around $1.5 million, according to franchise disclosure documents.

“Karen is an amazing franchise owner and her passion for serving others has been vital for our growth in Southwest Florida,” Chicken Salad Chick CEO and President Scott Deviney says in a statement. “We’re thrilled to open our first restaurant in Sarasota County.”

Hours at the Fruitville Road location will be from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday once the restaurant opens Sept. 29.