Travis Brings Extensive Finance and Restaurant Industry Experience to the Fast-Casual Brand’s Leadership Team
Chicken Salad Chick, a fast-casual chicken salad restaurant franchise, has named Drew Travis chief financial officer. Travis’ background includes extensive experience in finance and the restaurant industry with brands including GoTo Foods (formerly Focus Brands), Bloomin’ Brands and GrubHub, as well as Discover Financial Services.
Travis said Chicken Salad Chick fulfilled all the criteria he was seeking in the next step in his career, including a strong culture and leadership team, as well as growth potential. “Chicken Salad Chick not only checked all of those boxes but far exceeded my hopes and expectations in each of those categories,” Travis said. “After meeting CEO and President Scott Deviney and the leadership team, I instantly realized how special this brand and company is. There are so many people in this organization that have been here for a very long time, and the lack of turnover showed me how much people love working here and how passionate they are about everything that we do.
“That passion carries from our office to our franchisees and store employees, all the way down to our customers. I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me where I could make an immediate impact. This is such an important time for the brand, and we continue to grow and expand, and generate awareness of who we are and what we do. I am excited to be a part of that journey.”
He said supporting franchisees and employees is key to Chicken Salad Chick’s growth. “At the end of the day, those are our customers, and the better we can take care of them and assist them in running their stores, the better care and service they can provide to the folks coming into their stores. It’s our responsibility to make sure we are delivering great economics to our franchisees — ensuring they can build and operate stores efficiently, that our marketing is effective, that our product is great and priced well, and that we continue to find ways to engage and grow our customer base. If we do that well, our franchisees will have every opportunity to be successful and grow with us.”
An Entrepreneurial Family
Travis gained an early appreciation for the joys and challenges of entrepreneurship from an uncle who owned and operated multiple restaurants in the Detroit metro area. “That’s also how I fell in love with the restaurant industry,” he said. “For my uncle and for many franchisees, the idea of being your own boss and controlling your own destiny is very exciting and rewarding. I love the idea that franchising gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to create an amazing life for themselves and their employees. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but successfully growing your own business can be incredibly rewarding in so many ways.”
Deviney said Travis has the financial and restaurant expertise and leadership skills to elevate Chicken Salad Chick to the next level. “His proven ability to guide high-growth restaurant brands will be instrumental as we continue expanding into new markets while remaining focused on what makes Chicken Salad Chick special. We look forward to the impact he will make in this role,” Deviney said.
About Chicken Salad Chick
Chicken Salad Chick serves more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors plus fresh sides, soups, sandwiches and desserts, and provides catering. The brand has grown to more than 340 restaurants across 25 states.
