Veteran research & development chef J. Sullivan recently became the corporate executive chef of Golden Tree Restaurants, the Dallas-based parent of restaurant concepts including Texadelphia, Fireside Pies, Heff’s Burgers, JC’s Burger House, Jalapeño Tree and its flagship, Golden Chick, a rapidly growing chain of nearly 200 restaurants that in 2019 joined Nation’s Restaurant News’ list of the Top 200 chains in the country based on annual domestic sales.
Of course Sullivan, along with everyone else at Golden Tree, has had to adapt to new realities during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Golden Chick has been well-positioned, not only as a quick-service chain with drive-thrus, but also as a concept that has always had a focus on home-meal replacement. As a result, Sullivan says customers are coming to the restaurant even more frequently, and their orders are larger.
Sullivan has spent much of his time over the past eight months developing the Big & Golden Chicken Sandwich — a 5-ounce affair of marinated, breaded and fried chicken over five pickle slices and a spicy, sweet and savory condiment called Lotta Zing Sauce launched on Memorial Day.
In this video he discusses the new sandwich and his adjustments during the pandemic.
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