Slimthusiasts Unite! For those of you who are already familiar with Slim Chickens at Clift Farms, a second location has opened at Town Madison at 130 Outfield Drive.

For the uninitiated, gear your tastebuds up for a delicious meal made with all-natural chicken and the freshest ingredients available. Owners Alan Renfroe and Dana Price are excited to be bringing Slim’s to the Zierdt Road/Toyota Stadium corridor.

The story of Slim’s in North Alabama began when Renfroe and Price were looking for that “better chicken” concept. Renfroe and Price are the co-founders of Legends Development, LLC, a Guntersville-based restaurant development company. “We are multi-concept operators,” said Renfroe. “We were looking for a great ‘hot’ chicken concept for our portfolio.”

With a tasty and diversified portfolio, the pair sought after a fantastic chicken-based idea to add to their existing lineup of restaurants. They wanted to bring to North Alabama a chicken dining option that was fresh, new, and different.

By coincidence, one of Price’s friends happens to have a daughter that lives in Arkansas. “My friend’s daughter took a job after college in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where Slim’s is based,” said Price. “I was telling him that we were looking for a chicken concept. He said, ‘When we visit Amber out in Arkansas, there’s this restaurant out there called Slim Chickens, and you really ought to take a look at that. It’s the craziest thing, every day when they open, they have people lined up at the door.’”

Renfroe and Price had already been looking at another chicken concept, but when Covid hit, they realized that they wanted to get into the drive-thru restaurant business.

“The other concept didn’t have a drive-thru, it was in a strip mall,” said Renfroe. “60% of your revenue comes from the driv-thru. Without that, you’re obviously not hitting your potential.

They met with Slim’s leadership, as well as spending a few days in Arkansas, visiting some of store locations in Fayetteville. What impressed the pair was that not only are Slim’s ownership franchisors, but they also operate the restaurants.

“That was important to us because they understand the challenges that a franchisee could go up against,” said Renfroe. “It was remarkable that leadership managed several stores as well; they were franchise owners that also understood the challenges of being a franchisee.”

Slim Chickens at Town Madison owners Alan Renfroe and Dana Price

Slim Chickens’ “better chicken” concept got its start in 2003. It all began with a focus on fresh chicken tenders and wings cooked to order, served with 17 dipping sauces, most made in-house. Almost 20 years later, guests are still enjoying the fresh, southern-inspired menu items served in a crisp, clean fast-casual setting. With 120 restaurants, Slim Chickens has a slimthusiastic following in 23 states, as well as international locations in Kuwait and London.

Slim’s menu begins with chicken, such as the tenders, wings, and sandwiches. There’s even a monster-sized chicken and waffles entree that features a big fluffy Belgium waffle, topped with butter, syrup, and chicken tenders. But it doesn’t end there. Along with a wide variety of side items, there’s the decadent jar desserts that are served up in a Slim Chickens signature mason jar.

Renfroe and Price knew they were already in love with the food, becoming slimthusiasts with their first very first bite. “We knew we wanted to be part of the brand,” said Renfroe. “We really looked at their marketing initiatives and their technology pieces. They were doing some things similar to brands that have been around decades. Slim’s technology piece was far advanced to some of those.”

“We signed a 9-store deal with them, with enough territory to do two and a half times that many, if we want to,” said Renfroe. “Our territory is multiple counties, including Madison and Marshall, all the way down to Mobile County. We knew we wanted to be in Clift farm and town Madison, initially, because of the massive amount of development that the Breland companies were bringing to the table. We knew right out of the gate those were the two places where we wanted to launch.”

Plans are in the works for a third Slim Chickens; the newest store will be in South Huntsville. Located on the old Ruby Tuesday property on South Parkway, construction for location number 3 will begin in early March. It will be conveniently located near Redstone Arsenal Gate 3, and directly across from the new Starbucks and Whataburger.

For more information, go to: slimchickens.com.