Gerdes Will Work to Improve the Franchise’s Operations and Cultivate a Supportive Corporate Culture
Tom Gerdes has been promoted to vice president of operations for Southern Classic Chicken, a fried chicken franchise based in Louisiana. Gerdes will be responsible for improving the franchise’s operations and cultivating a supportive corporate culture that drives growth.
Gerdes brings nearly 20 years of restaurant experience to his new position. His areas of operational experience include casual dining, production, and quick service. For the past year, he served as Southern Classic Chicken’s director of training and helped build out the franchise’s training and operational tools for its legacy business groups.
“I’m so honored that my Southern Classic Chicken family has given me the opportunity to bring this brand to the next level. I want us to have multiple, best-in-class training environments here in Shreveport to support our future business partners’ development and to set us up for scalable growth,” Gerdes said in a statement.
Regarding Gerdes’ new position, Nick Binnings, Southern Classic Chicken’s director of brand development, said, “As we continue to grow, it made perfect sense for us to promote Tom and give him a bigger role to ensure that we are consistent in all aspects of our brand. We are confident that he is the best person to bring our basic operations processes and incredibly craveable product into harmony.”
More Behind Southern Classic Chicken
The fried chicken franchise was founded in 1989 and only began franchising in 2020. The brand is a family-founded business that prides itself on serving quality fried chicken at affordable prices, which range from $5-7. While Southern Classic Chicken is well-known in Northern Louisiana, the franchise has expanded to over a dozen locations across the South. It is targeting cities across Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas for further growth opportunities.
Southern Classic Chicken serves its chicken with a proprietary marinade and batter. The chicken can be enjoyed with the brand’s side offerings, which are inspired by its southern roots. One of the franchise’s top priorities is providing its customers with quality food by sourcing the freshest products and ingredients possible.