Imagine how it would feel to sell two franchises within the first month of launching your franchise program, and another shortly after that. Well, you’d definitely know you were onto something.
That is exactly what happened to Chef Stephane Lemagnen, the professional chef and founder of 375 Chicken ‘N Fries, the hippest, tastiest, fried chicken joint in town. And not just any town, New York City, where there are over 23,000 dining establishments. It takes a lot to stand out there, but the Chef and his team have done it.
Creating a franchise system doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a lot to it.
“Thankfully, we had a very supportive franchise legal team at Spadea Lignana to walk us through it. We’ve been working with the team there for a year and a half, making sure we were ready to go,” Lemagnen said. “Christine, Andrew, and Victoria really guided us through a very complex process.”
The brand was definitely ready to go. The first two franchisees for 375 Chicken ‘N Fries couldn’t be better suited, according to the Chef.
“They’re both customers who love the food,” he said. “One of them has a son who saw us on TikTok, so they came to try it out. The line was out the door, and they liked it enough to inquire more about it. Now they’re opening their own restaurant.”
375 Chicken ‘N Fries is a vibe. The chicken is chef-inspired, made from halal, high-quality chicken that comes on a sandwich or popcorn style with a gazillion different sauces – all made in-house, from scratch. In their words, it’s “the juiciest, crunchiest chicken sandwiches around – with bangin’ fries and explosively delicious dips playing wingman.” But the place is so much more than chicken.
It has a hyper-local, hip vibe that goes beyond trend, that plays hip-hop tracks from local artists, and welcomes the street into its doors. It’s Chicken ‘N Fries for the masses. And it’s goooooooood.
Lemagnen says it didn’t happen overnight, that even though the line moves fast, the recipes themselves took years to develop. The Chef is a bit of a celebrity himself. He is a private chef to the rich and famous, who has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens around the world. For this project, however, he is thrilled to let the brand speak for itself, while he works in the background with new franchise owners.
“I will be working directly with the franchisees,” he said. “There will be a lot of handholding, with them through every step.” The Chef wants to get them up and running, confident in what they’re doing, from operations to marketing, to cooking the food. “The first locations are also here in New York, so it will be easy to work together.”
Lemagnen wants to double the size of the chain this year, so they are opening a corporate location in New York to handle the training and onboarding of franchisees. New franchise locations are coming in Brooklyn, Harlem, and Queens, while the original 375 Chicken ‘N Fries, as well as corporate headquarters, will remain in Manhattan. Franchisees aren’t required to have food service experience but will definitely need to have business management skills.
Just hearing about the brand makes us all hungry, here at Spadea Lignana. We are so excited for Chef Stephane and his team. We can’t wait to visit a nearby Chicken ‘N Fries location.
For more information about 375 Chicken ‘N Fries franchise opportunities, visit their website.
