Urban Bird Hot Chicken wants to bring its dry-rubbed tenders to El Paso, but right now the chain's closest restaurant sits in Killeen, Texas, a roughly nine-hour drive away. The Katy-based company, which has never had a location in West Texas, is now looking for an experienced local restaurateur to change that.
Founder Brandon Gawthorp told the El Paso Times that Urban Bird sees significant opportunity in El Paso, and the company is hoping to sell a franchise there to a business owner who already has restaurant experience. The chain currently operates 29 locations across Texas, all launched from its home base in the Houston area, with five more locations under construction, according to the same report. Urban Bird's national franchising push has already sent it looking at Phoenix, Georgia, Florida, and Arizona, and Hoodline previously reported on the brand's similar hunt for franchise operators in the Phoenix metro area.
From a Failed Pizza Shop to a Hot Chicken Empire
Urban Bird's origin story starts with a business failure. Gawthorp and co-founder Chantel Fiaschetti had opened a pizza restaurant in Katy that shut down in 2018, leaving them stuck paying $15,000 a month in rent on a space, according to Room 1903. Gawthorp spent nine months developing a hot chicken recipe inspired by a trip to Las Vegas, and the brand officially launched in September 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, per the same account.
Before any of that, Gawthorp and Fiaschetti had already spent two decades building a portfolio of more than 30 Wingstop franchises, according to Restaurant Business. Gawthorp, a U.S. Marine veteran, entered the restaurant industry in the early 2000s. That background in fast-casual chicken operations shaped how Urban Bird approached its own menu, which was inspired by Nashville hot chicken and initially served with a dry rub, dipping sauce, kale slaw and French fries, per the El Paso Times.
A Low-Sodium Recipe With Six Heat Levels
Gawthorp developed a light, low-sodium breading recipe that now underpins Urban Bird's entire menu, which spans six heat levels from Country, with no spice, up to Fire in the Hole, according to CultureMap San Antonio. The chicken itself is all-natural, hormone-free, antibiotic-free and halal-certified, and the broader menu has since grown to include chicken and waffles, smash burgers, vegetarian tenders, street corn and milkshakes. The chain has also rolled out lemon pepper and barbecue flavors and now counts loaded fries among its most popular items, per the El Paso Times.
That loaded fry item, known as Urban Fries and topped with mac and cheese, hot chicken tenders and signature sauce, proved popular enough to spin off its own delivery-only concept called Chronic Fries, which Restaurant Business reports generated roughly $1 million in annual sales across 12 locations operating out of Urban Bird's existing kitchens. In December 2024, the company's leadership acquired Bun Slut, a seven-unit gourmet smashburger chain with an average ticket of $19 and a late-night focus running until 4 a.m., which Urban Bird now operates as a virtual restaurant brand.
What It Costs to Buy In
For a business owner in El Paso considering the jump, Urban Bird's franchise terms are laid out publicly. Opening a location requires a $35,000 initial franchise fee, a minimum of $250,000 in liquid capital, and total initial investment ranging from $236,300 for converting an existing space up to $837,800 for a ground-up build, according to BizBuySell. Franchisees also pay an ongoing 6% royalty fee plus a 1% brand development fee.
The numbers behind those fees suggest real earning potential. Corporate-owned Urban Bird locations generated an average annual unit volume of $1,673,504 in the company's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, per Room 1903, with an average footprint of 2,081 square feet, food costs around 35% and managed labor costs near 25%. Average rent for corporate stores accounted for just 6.47% of net sales, a figure that reflects the disciplined site-selection approach the founders built through their Wingstop years.
Competing With an Established Rival in Eastlake
Any Urban Bird franchisee who lands in El Paso won't have the hot chicken market to themselves. National chain Dave's Hot Chicken already opened its first El Paso restaurant at Eastlake Commons in 2023 and added a second location on Paseo del Norte, according to 93.1 KISS FM El Paso. That chain also serves halal-certified Nashville-style tenders, meaning any new arrival would be competing directly on similar ground.
The broader restaurant landscape favors chicken concepts right now. Limited-service chicken chains were the fastest-growing segment among America's top 500 restaurant brands in 2025, expanding unit counts by 4.4% and generating $55.24 billion in sales, according to a Datassential report. Fast-casual chicken has outpaced traditional burger and pizza segments in new store openings, a trend that helps explain why Urban Bird is pushing into new territory beyond Texas.
Gawthorp encouraged interested business people to visit Urban Bird's website and review the franchising tab for more details. The company built its 29-store corporate footprint in Texas before opening up franchise territories, a strategy it has also applied in its recent push into San Antonio, where Hoodline previously covered Urban Bird's La Cantera store construction. Whether El Paso lands its own location will depend on whether Gawthorp and his partners find a restaurateur who fits the bill.
