QSR May 2023

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Max Sheets Founder and CEO CHICK N MAX

What was your first job? My first job was scraping cheese off of pizza pans and washing dishes in a three-compartment sink in the back of a Pizza Hut. This is when the dough was made in house, sheeted, and cooked in a deck oven. The restaurant had a juke box, so we would turn the music up after closing. I was 12 years old and my family knew the local franchisee. What’s your favorite menu item at Chick N Max? Oh, that’s a tough one. I still stand in front of our menu board and struggle with my decision. Our Sweet and Spicy sandwich is unique because of the raw cucumber which gives the heat an offset with its cool crunch. What’s your favorite cuisine aside from chicken and wings? I love home cooked Mexican food! My favorite place to get it has been open since 1953 and is still owned and run by the same family. Who inspires you as a leader? People. Often times, people within the industry get labeled as mere burger flippers. That couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re restaurant professionals who are serving and creating hos pitality. But if I had to choose one person, it would be George McKerrow, founder of LongHorn and CEO of Ted’s Montana Grill. What’s the best piece of advice that other restau rant executives should hear? We achieve results by and through our people. Select, hire, and train people, and develop a culture peo ple take home with them.

I n the early 2000s—after having already spent 23 years in real estate and development for such brands as Lone Star Steakhouse and Salon, Freddy’s, Smashburger, and Ted’s Mon tana Grill—I began mulling over the idea of a franchise concept that would accommodate the ever-growing movement toward red meat alter natives. I had worked with burgers, seafood, pizza, and steak, but to me, none had shown potential like the explosion of the chicken seg ment. So, it was time to create a legacy brand that would be here a long time; to create a niche that created a healthy platform that others didn’t offer. I began experimenting with a big smoker in my backyard in Wichita, Kansas, using various barbecue flavors such as hickory and mesquite. It didn’t take long for me to realize that a franchise serving almond smoked chicken as a heathy alter native would be a big part of the concept I was envisioning. With that knowledge, I conceptual ized Chick N Max in 2017 and assembled a team of culinary professionals to perfect the menu. The

first store opened in 2018, and the brand has since grown to three units across Wichita. Today, Chick N Max offers a unique culinary experience with 10 flavors of chef-crafted sand wiches, made with almond wood smoked pulled chicken or crispy golden fried tenders. Examples include the Maple Bacon Sandwich, featuring pulled smoked chicken, chopped bacon, a drizzle of maple syrup, cheddar cheese, and mayon naise on a potato bun. In addition, we serve our signature almond wood smoked chicken in the form of wings, leg quarters, breast quarters, and half chicken. Most recently, we announced a momentous 2022, our first full year of franchising, high lighted by three new franchise development deals that will expand our next generation fast casual chicken franchise concept in Kansas, South Dakota, and Texas. The deals will introduce 53 new restaurants to these markets, including 25 across the state of Kansas, three in Sioux Falls, and 25 throughout the Houston metro area.

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MAY 2023 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com