Daddy’s Chicken Shack is taking flight above its competitors with a newly signed regional developer deal that’s driving the emerging brand towards explosive growth in both Colorado and Texas.

Quickly making a name for itself in the competitive fast casual chicken category, Daddy’s Chicken Shack announced its third regional development deal signed this year, officially marking 60 units in development for the brand nationwide. With a heavy focus on its elevated, chef-driven menu and highly advanced, tech-enabled operations, Daddy’s Chicken Shack most recently garnered the attention of an entrepreneurial family—made up of Denver businessman Doug Dahlstrom, his two sons, Dale and Drew, and wife Carol. This deal includes an even split of 20 locations between the Denver and Fort Worth areas—doubling the brand’s expansion in Denver and igniting growth into Fort Worth.

As the newest franchisees of Daddy’s Chicken Shack, the Dahlstroms have extensive experience in a number of fields including restaurants, real estate, general contracting and commercial insurance. The family has existing ties to the Denver restaurant scene, with Doug co-owning two restaurants in the metro area. For the Dahlstroms first Daddy’s location, the team is eyeing to open in the Denver market by year end to coincide with RE/MAX founder Dave Liniger’s first Daddy’s Chicken Shack opening in Colorado as well.

“Having been through the process of building and opening two restaurants, I’m always looking for the next concept that I can envision being a nationwide success. When I met the Daddy’s team and saw the amazing product Pace and Chris created, I could visualize just that,” says Doug Dahlstrom. “I don’t take an investment like this lightly, and it’s because of both the product and the outstanding people involved that I knew my family wanted to fully commit to this brand. We are absolutely thrilled to be coming together for a new business venture, and to be joining such a well-rounded group at this early stage of growth.”

The Dahlstroms will play the largest role in developing these 20 locations, with Doug overseeing Denver and Dale focusing on the expansion into Fort Worth. In addition to restaurants, Doug has over 39 years of experience in the general contracting industry, bringing a unique and insightful perspective to the Daddy’s team. His company, Ponderosa Construction, has designed and built a handful of well-known restaurants in the area, priming him as the perfect candidate to be joining the brand at a time of fast-paced expansion. With Dale based in Fort Worth and having an extensive background with a nationwide food brand, as well as involvement in multiple technology and real estate businesses, he provides a well-rounded perspective on innovation within the industry. This experience, alongside the family’s ties to various industries, led them all to come together for this upcoming business opportunity, and are dedicated to bringing their valued insight to Daddy’s.

“I started working with Doug in a construction capacity for the Denver and Scottsdale locations. We really connected over the ability to bring a project to life for a franchisee with all the right systems and strategies and next thing I knew he wanted to become a Developer. I took that as a compliment to the systems we have built thus far,” says Pace Webb, who serves as CEO and leads the brand with Chris Georgalas, her husband and president of the brand. “Given Denver is a major growth market for us and our flagship location in Houston is opening just around the corner, this development deal is the perfect extension to our growing brand. We’re honored to welcome the Dahlstroms as our newest regional developers, and can’t wait to see our growth together.”

The Dahlstroms agreement comes just one month after Blair Salisbury and Robin Bieker signed another 20-unit development deal in California. This chain of development deals was ignited by RE/MAX co-founder Dave Liniger, an investor turned franchisee who is gearing up to open his primary location with the brand in the coming months. Each franchisee is inspired and motivated by the dynamic concept, and especially with the product created by Pace Webb herself. Webb, an accomplished entrepreneur and chef, handcrafted each menu item. She perfected a flavor profile unlike any other that blends her own Southern U.S. roots with tastes from Southeast Asia. The result is a menu filled with fried chicken sandwiches, bowls and sides capturing cult-like fanfare in its Southern California home market and soon well beyond.

Launching in 2018, Daddy’s business model is deeply entrenched in technology. A brand ahead of the curve with front-end technology, the restaurant was designed to facilitate online ordering, app engagement, in-store web-enabled tech, exclusive pick-up areas and third-party delivery partnerships. Plus, Georgalas’ vision included a dynamic backend technology suite that fosters real-time data to better serve customers, employees and vendors.

With a regional development deal in place for the Dahlstroms, their immediate focus lies solely on their first location in Denver. From there, they will begin actively marketing the franchise opportunity to qualified individuals who will carry on the Daddy’s Chicken Shack growth.

Ideal franchise candidates have a desire to provide quality, fresh ingredients to customers along with the idea of leveraging an unforgettable experience in bringing people together. The brand aims to attract individuals and groups with previous restaurant experience and who resonate with the brand’s values of bringing sunshine to communities by honoring inclusivity, good food and a memorable guest experience.