Earlier this month, Fayetteville, Ark.-based fast-casual brand Slim Chickens announced the promotion of Christina Vaughan from senior vice president of operations to chief operating officer. As the chicken tenders-focused brand looks to expand beyond its nearly 300-unit count, Vaughan is focused on balancing brand growth with maintaining quality and consistency in her new role.
“We’re at this place where we have real opportunities for expansion, not just domestically but also internationally,” Vaughan told Nation’s Restaurant News. “For me, it’s about being able to have a real footprint [in these markets] and getting excited about where we’re going to be in five-10 years and seeing how I've impacted that growth.”
On Vaughan’s to-do list in her new role is improving operations, expanding franchisee support, and making sure that the quality of the food and customer service doesn’t suffer as the brand looks to expand and enter new regions.
“We want to figure out how to scale our operations while making sure that we have that quality and consistency at all locations and making sure we’re focusing on our core regions and ones in new markets,” she said. “For me, it's really about listening and learning and ensuring we have a nice balance of new ideas and new products without really sacrificing our guest service.”
Slim Chickens is hoping to expand in the Northeastern quadrant of the United States, Europe, and Asia. Stateside, Vaughan said she hopes can open and expand soon in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts.
The key element of expanding successfully in both new and tested markets, Vaughan said, is to lean on franchisee feedback and make sure to adjust operationally to avoid growing pains.
Currently, Slim Chickens has a mostly male leadership team, though this fact has not discouraged Vaughan as she approaches her new leadership role.
“For me, [being a female leader] has always been about transparent communication and not being afraid of authentic leadership,” she said. “Those are my biggest values. I spend a lot of time setting expectations and gaining alignment within our support center and franchisee community, and I've discovered that just by showcasing that, it allows you — male or female — to have a really good dialogue with your employees.”
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