Daddy's Loaded Fries
Fries, bacon, sambal, cheese, and scallions. I mean, it’s hard to go wrong…
Dave Liniger’s investment portfolio is as varied as they come. “I’ve owned NASCAR race tracks, NASCAR race teams, we’ve bred over 3,000 Arabian horses … we’ve been in dozens of ventures,” said Liniger, the co-founder of global real estate franchise Re/Max who also counts Harley-Davidson dealerships and a golf course among his businesses.
Until last year, however, Liniger stayed out of the restaurant business, but a visit to Daddy’s Chicken Shack in Pasadena, California, changed that. “We were skeptical about a QSR or even a fast-casual concept,” said Liniger. “But we flew out and we sort of fell in love with them.”
“Them” were chef Pace Webb and her husband, Chris Georgalas, who opened Daddy’s in 2018 and attracted Liniger first as an investor and now as a regional developer. Liniger’s Area 15 Ventures purchased a 51 percent interest in the business and he established Area 15 Franchising to develop 20 Daddy’s Chicken Shack restaurants, split between Denver’s southern metro and Scottsdale, Arizona.
With Area 15 Ventures, which Liniger described as a private equity group “basically funded by me and my wife,” Re/Max co-founder Gail Liniger, he considered roughly 200 emerging franchisors for investment and “90 percent right off the bat we looked at and said no.” Webb, however, had already built a successful catering company, Taste of Pace, and by 2020 Daddy’s was doing $1 million-plus in sales out of a 700-square-foot restaurant with no indoor dining.
“It was basically delivery and pickup only,” said Liniger. “It was a smashing hit.”
The menu features fried chicken sandwiches, tenders and fries, plus vegan options and breakfast items such as chicken and waffles and rosemary biscuit sliders with maple butter. The products are “fabulous,” said Liniger, and the concept has “unique advantages” with its small footprint and low staffing needs, along with a technology infrastructure built from the beginning to maximize off-premises sales.
“And she’s figured out how to cut waste to the bare minimum,” he continued of Webb’s focus on keeping costs down. The crowded nature of the chicken category, meanwhile, didn’t faze him.
“I don’t care how many competitors are out there,” said Liniger, who recalled the early days of Re/Max in 1973 and said by 1978 there were close to 200 real estate franchisors. “And all said they were disrupters, but really there wasn’t much differentiation.”
“The truth is, there’s not enough room for all the brands,” he continued, which is why he’s also bringing his franchise expertise to Daddy’s Chicken Shack to help the brand succeed on what he called “the four battle fronts” for an emerging franchisor: developing a unique product or service; growing market share; taking advantage of group purchasing; and executing on training, operations and technology.
A flagship restaurant under construction in Houston will also serve as a training location for franchisees. It and future franchise units will have dine-in seating, kiosk ordering, a walk-up pickup window and a drive-thru lane for digital order pickup.
The cost to open a Daddy’s Chicken Shack restaurant ranges from $664,500 to $893,500; the royalty fee is 6 percent.
Fries, bacon, sambal, cheese, and scallions. I mean, it’s hard to go wrong…
Miso in a cookie?! You bet! The miso acts like caramel in this All-American classic. Our cookies are crispy on the edges and soft in the middle just like a cookie should be.
3 chick-sized versions of the classic Big Daddy, Spicy Daddy or Buffalo Daddy sandwiches in slider form (or you can mix and match all 3). Buttermilk fried chicken, Napa slaw, sriracha mayo, served on pillowy soft brioche buns. The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk and herbs and double dredged so that it is perfectly crispy. The sliders are a great way to try all 3 of our sandwich flavors.
Spicy buttermilk fried chicken, sambal, Napa slaw, ginger mayo, cilantro, served on a pillowy soft brioche bun. The Spicy Daddy gets coated with our secret spice blend right after it comes out of the fryer. The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk and herbs and double dredged so that it is perfectly crispy.
Red cargo rice, spicy coconut cream, oyster mushrooms, carrots, Napa cabbage, bell pepper, cilantro, peanuts, buttermilk fried chicken. Trying to eat lean, but also need some fried chicken? We got you! The rice is nutritious and filling, the veggies are a plenty, but you also get the crispy fried chicken! (If you substitute Vegan Nuggets this dish is fully vegan).
Little gem lettuces, kale, slaw, sriracha, mint, creamy cilantro lime dressing, buttermilk fried chicken. Want some fried chicken, but also want to eat kinda clean? We got you! There is little better than crunchy fried chicken on a crispy creamy tangy salad. (If you substitute Vegan Nuggets, this dish is vegetarian).
Regular cut skin-on seasoned fries. Crunchy on the outside and soft and starchy on the inside these fries are a must have with any Daddy (Recommended with house-made chive sour cream).
Sweet and salty is the name of the game with these sweet potato fries tossed in paprika salt! (Recommended with house-made spicy mayonnaise).
Buttermilk fried chicken nuggets! The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk and herbs and double dredged so that it is perfectly crispy. Don’t forget to load up on sauces! (Recommended with house-made spice mayonnaise or house-made ranch).
Cage-free eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, umami mushrooms, scallions, buttermilk fried chicken, spicy sour cream, flour tortilla. This is the ULTIMATE breakfast burrito. Perfect to fuel you for the day or cure last night’s party fun. We slow cook cage-free eggs in bacon fat (homage to chef’s favorite “dirty eggs” from Texas), melt cheddar cheese over the top, add crispy applewood smoked bacon, umami mushrooms, and french fries (think hashbrowns) and of course, fried chicken and a dab of spicy sour cream for good measure. Comes with a side of sriracha. All flavors meld together for a cohesive burrito experience!
Buttermilk fried chicken tenders, classic Nashville spices, served with 2 house-made remoulade sauces.
Cage-free organic eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, chive sour cream, sriracha, brioche. Tried and true is the name of the game with this breakfast sandwich. Cage-free eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese and crispy applewood smoked bacon nestled perfectly on a layer of chive sour cream on a brioche bun and a hint of Sriracha.
Cage-free hard cooked egg, bacon, fried Belgian style waffles with maple syrup.
Buttermilk fried chicken, classic Nashville spices, sweet creamy slaw, house-made pickles, with house-made remoulade sauce served on a pillowy soft brioche bun. The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk and herbs and double dredged so that it is perfectly crispy.
Daddy’s buttermilk fried chicken with house-made buffalo sauce, house-made blue cheese on a pillowy soft brioche bun. The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk and herbs and double dredged so that it is perfectly crispy.
Coconut curry milk brined organic cauliflower, spicy vegan mayo, Napa slaw, cilantro, and mint. The cauliflower steak is brined for 24 hours in curried coconut milk and then dredged in rice flour and fried to crunchy perfection. There is so much flavor in the Vegan Daddy, you will not miss the chicken!
Fresh baked rosemary biscuits, maple butter, with Daddy’s buttermilk fried chicken.
Daddy’s buttermilk fried chicken and a funnel-cake style waffle sandwich with maple syrup. The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk and herbs and double dredged so that it is perfectly crispy.
Gluten free with coconut curry milk brined organic cauliflower nuggets, cilantro, mint, salted lime peanuts. The cauliflower nuggets are brined for 24 hours in curried coconut milk and then dredged in rice flour and fried to crunchy perfection and topped with herbs and crunchy lime salted peanuts. There is so much flavor in the Vegan Daddy Nuggets, you will not miss the chicken! (Recommended with house-made vegan spicy mayo).
Buttermilk fried chicken, Napa slaw, sriracha mayo, served on a pillowy soft brioche bun. The chicken is brined overnight in buttermilk and herbs and double dredged so that it is perfectly crispy.