Esperto to Relaunch Daddy’s Chicken Shack in 2026

Relaunch and category tailwinds

Esperto Hospitality Group has acquired Daddy’s Chicken Shack and plans to bring the fast-casual brand back in the third quarter of 2026.

The first step is a tight cluster of company-owned restaurants in New Jersey, then a push along the East Coast and into select national markets. The timing tracks with a hot category. U.S. quick-service restaurant sales reached $419 billion in 2025, up 4.8 percent year over year, and chicken accounted for $87 billion or 21 percent of QSR sales.

Founders, early growth, and plans

Daddy’s traces back to Pasadena in 2018, when chef Pace Webb and her husband, Chris Georgalas, turned a celebrity catering hit into a signature chicken slider and a storefront.

Early momentum drew the attention of Dave Liniger, co-founder of RE/Max. His Area 15 Ventures bought a 51 percent stake in 2022, created Area 15 Franchising, and set plans for 20 units between Denver and Scottsdale.

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Reset after stalled buildout

“We were skeptical about a QSR or even a fast-casual concept,” Liniger said in 2022. “We flew out and we sort of fell in love with them.”

The buildout never materialized. Area 15 closed all existing locations over the past two years, clearing the way for a reset on operations and unit economics.

Platform, model, and hub-first start

Esperto brings a broader platform to the table, with Covo Italian Steakhouse and Local House Kitchen + Bar already in its portfolio. The group will reopen Daddy’s with a leaner, flavor-first model and a hub-first development approach. The rollout starts with three to five company-owned restaurants in New Jersey, with the first slated for Tinton Falls, then expands through five regional developers, each tied to 10-unit pipelines.

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Target markets and staged scale

Markets on deck include:

- Atlanta
- Tampa
- Orlando
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- Austin

Esperto had rights to develop 13 locations under a 2024 agreement with the previous owner but held off on openings. This relaunch resets those plans with refined economics and a staged path to scale.

Insiders weigh in and demand signals

Insiders who lived the brand’s first chapter say the handoff fits. Ryan Murrin, a former Area 15 Ventures executive and now Esperto’s chief marketing officer, put it plainly: “Esperto was one of our original regional developers and one of our groups that has had a long history of hospitality. They have lots of culinary chops.”

Co-founder Anthony DiLeo, vice president at Esperto, is betting on discipline and repeatability. “I’ve spent 30 years in franchise operations. I know what a scalable concept looks like and Daddy’s has it.” The menu will lean spice-forward rather than heat-intense, a choice riding a wider shift. According to Technomic, the chicken category is forecast to account for over 12 percent of all U.S. chain restaurant sales in 2025, up from 7 percent a decade earlier.

Category leaders and growth mix

Chicken-focused players are carrying quick service right now. Popeyes, with over 3,400 units, and Wingstop, exceeding 2,200 locations, report sustained same-store sales momentum and strong digital adoption. Franchise expansion is outpacing corporate growth, too. Franchise units grew 3.1 percent in 2025 while company-operated locations declined 1.2 percent. Esperto’s plan starts with company stores, then taps committed regional developers, a blend that mirrors where much of the category is finding speed and capital.

Execution risks and the blueprint ahead

Plenty can still wobble. Consumer response to a less heat-intense, spice-forward menu will matter. Hub-first market development lives and dies on real estate, permitting, and consistent execution across regions. Franchisee activation may move at different speeds, depending on local competition and site pipelines. Esperto also plans to parallel-track franchising for Local House Kitchen + Bar, though timing and unit economics there are still being refined.

If the early New Jersey cluster hits targets, Daddy’s could give operators a fresh blueprint for scaling a chicken-centric fast casual: stack company-owned proof points, keep the footprint tight, and let experienced regional developers run. The rebuild starts with one store in Tinton Falls and a clear line of sight to the next five markets. Now the concept gets a second shot to prove it travels.