Fried chicken has become a massive battleground. That’s because in addition to chicken being a growth area, nobody agrees on the best fried chicken.
That makes anyone with a half-decent fried chicken recipe to think they should enter the fray.
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The problem is that the competition when it comes to chicken wings, chicken fingers, and other fried chicken is that they’re ubiquitous. The fried chicken market may be more crowded than the hamburger space and it has attracted huge names.
Both Guy Fierii and Shaquille O’Neal (both celebrity chefs and basketball players of somewhat varying skills) have chains based around fried chicken. McDonald’s has spent the past few years building its McCrispy into a d billion-dollar brand and recently brought back its Chicken Selects chicken finger product.
Entering the fried chicken space where you also have fast-food market leaders KFC and Popeye’s, almost seems foolish, or at the very least arrogant, but that has not stopped a seemingly endless number of companies from trying.
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Trying, however, and succeeding, at least building a long-term success are very different things. Another popular fried chicken chain, which has tried to carve out a space in a very crowded market is struggling for survival.
The chain has closed some locations and its overall survival has very much been in doubt. A new court ruling as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy does, however, give fans of the brand some clarity as to what happens next.
A big-name chef has advantages even when he does not have the best product.
Image source: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment
Fried chicken chain filed bankruptcy, closed stores
While fried chicken chains come and go, Sticky’s has managed to grab a foothold in a very crowded market.
“Sticky’s was created out of a love for chicken fingers and the desire to think outside of the box. Our founders realized that there were a lot of New Yorkers who really loved chicken fingers but didn’t have a great place to get them; and thus, Sticky’s was born! Our mission is to create the best damn experience through the comfort of chicken fingers in a fun, inclusive space,” the chain shared on its website.
It’s hard to imagine exactly where in New York you would have to be to not be at least near some pretty decent chicken fingers, but Sticky’s did find an audience.
The chain did try to make an effort to standout.
Bankruptcies:
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“At Sticky’s we use the finest ingredients, including fresh never frozen antibiotic-free chicken. We take great pride in what we do and what we serve. With a selection of over 18 sauces made in house, it is a labor of love. We believe this process is necessary to serve our customers ‘The Best Damn Chicken,’ it added.
Covid, however, was a blow Sticky’s never recovered from and which pushed the chain into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the brink of closing all its stores.
Sticky’s makes key Chapter 11 bankruptcy move
Sticky’s has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for almost a year. During its period of court protection, the company closed three locations and a ghost kitchen.
At the time of its filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the company reported $500,000-$1 million in assets and $1 to $10 million in liabilities, with the largest creditor being distributor U.S. Foods.
U.S. Foods is also the key creditor to the struggling Boston Market rotisserie chicken chain. Sticky’s also faced a lawsuit over its name being too close to a South Carolina rival and alegal judgment against it for vacating its New York City headquarters early in violation of its lease.
The company, however, has remained open and now it has received new court approvals that will set its next steps forward. “Sticky’s won a Delaware bankruptcy judge’s tentative permission Tuesday to sign a contract to sell its assets to an investment fund for $2 million after surging poultry prices and New York City’s congestion pricing program imperiled the company’s Chapter 11 turnaround plan,” Law360 reported.
Related: Another fast-food burger chain closes all US, UK locations
Under the terms of the deal Harker Palmer will acquire the brand and keep it from an “imminent” Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
The deal will allow Sticky’s to stay open, but it still needs to have the judge approve a revised Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.
