Denton is getting its first taste of Chicken Salad Chick, with the Southern fast-casual chain planning to open a new location inside the Rayzor Ranch shopping center along North I-35. The build-out calls for $275,000 in interior renovations to a 2,686-square-foot space, with no exterior changes planned.
The project surfaced in a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing, according to Community Impact, which first reported the plans. Texas law requires commercial renovation projects estimated at $50,000 or more to register for an accessibility review, a threshold explained by Accessible Texas, which is how the Denton project became public before any formal restaurant announcement. The new store will sit at 3420 N. I-35, inside the sprawling Rayzor Ranch development.
Construction on the interior work is slated to begin September 15 and wrap up by November 1, per the same filing. Notably, the space was previously permitted for a Salata location back in June 2024, though that build-out apparently never materialized into a Chicken Salad Chick competitor at that address — Salata still operates its own Denton restaurant on South Loop 288, well south of the new site.
A Growing Presence in North Texas
Chicken Salad Chick already runs a dozen locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Denton will mark its first foothold in the city itself. The Atlanta-based chain has been expanding aggressively of late: 2025 was its strongest franchise growth year to date, with nearly 100 new restaurant deals awarded and 42 locations opened across 13 states, according to PR Newswire. The brand now counts more than 340 total locations across 25 states.
Texas was one of the chain's top two growth markets last year alongside Florida, with seven new Texas locations pushing the statewide count past 40 restaurants, the same release notes. Hoodline previously reported, and the chain first entered the broader Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex back in 2019 with a location in Irving. Private equity firm Brentwood Associates has backed the company since 2019, a stake tracked by Wikipedia that has helped fund the chain's expansion well beyond its original Southeast footprint.
From a Home Kitchen to a Nationwide Menu
Chicken Salad Chick traces back to 2008 in Auburn, Alabama, where founders Stacy and Kevin Brown started the business as a home-based, door-to-door operation before it grew into today's nationwide chain, according to background from Auburn University. The menu includes more than a dozen distinct chicken salad flavors, from Classic Carol to Dixie Chick, each named after real women who supported Stacy Brown early on. Every batch is made fresh each morning using chicken tenderloin and fresh ingredients, the company says, and the Denton menu is expected to also include sandwiches, soups, pimento cheese, and salads alongside the signature chicken salad options.
Denton's Booming North I-35 Dining Corridor
The new location will land inside Rayzor Ranch, an $850 million, 400-plus-acre master-planned development anchored by retailers like Target, Walmart, WinCo Foods, and Kohl's, according to project details from Dunaway. The corridor has become a magnet for national fast-casual brands looking to tap Denton's growth. Hoodline previously reported on a conveyor sushi spot headed to Rayzor Ranch, and a Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is also planned for a spring 2026 buildout nearby at 3400 N. I-35.
Denton's population topped 165,000 in 2024, and the city is home to both the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University, giving fast-casual chains a built-in customer base of students alongside steady suburban growth, per Census Reporter data. That mix of college demand and expanding rooftops along the I-35 corridor has made Rayzor Ranch one of Denton's busiest new dining destinations. Community Impact said it will update its report as more information becomes available on the Chicken Salad Chick opening.
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