Renowned chef Tiffany Derry has already made a name for herself with her duck-fat-fried chicken and other Southern-influenced dishes at Roots Southern Table, but now she’s making waves with a unique franchise model for her counter-service Roots Chicken Shak brand.
Derry — a member of Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2022 Power List — partnered with Tom Foley to develop a franchise model that teams with members of historically marginalized communities and provides them with training and resources to operate their own business.
“If we can bring this opportunity to that community, we think it will be embraced by that community from a revenue perspective,” Foley said. “We think the owner-operator, that franchisee, will embrace this like no other operator would embrace it. And when you bring the guidance from our brand to that, we think it could help it explode.”
Derry and Foley sat down with Nation’s Restaurant News editor-in-chief Sam Oches at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago to explain their unique franchise model and what they think might be possible for Roots Chicken Shak.
