What the cluck is going on with all the American fast food chains landing in Ireland? The Gastro Gays investigate.
While Ireland’s burger boom peaked several years ago, the next fast-casual food battleground appears to be chicken after a flock of Stateside giants, like Popeyes, Wingstop, Chick-Fil-A and Slim Chickens, have now entered the Irish market, with more still to come.
American fried chicken giants may be discovering Ireland and expecting virgin territory, but Irish operators have been putting in the hard work and building the audience for buttermilk tenders, sticky glazed wings, and hot sauce-drenched drumettes for years, served with a distinct Irish accent.
Can Ireland sustain both sides of the coop? Or will the sprint towards Stateside imports be at the expense of our homegrown fast-casual chicken shops?
Let’s first take an overview of the American arrivals and differentiate between their signature serves:
Popeyes
A New Orleans-born fried chicken chain dating back to 1972, known for its ‘shatter crunch’ crisp coating, Cajun seasoning and the viral Chicken Sandwich that sparked America’s ‘chicken sandwich wars’ in 2019 and saw many competitors up their chicken sandwich game.
Where? Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, soon to open in Liffey Valley Shopping Centre.
Wingstop
No prizes for guessing, this Texan-born brand, begun in the mid-90s, is all about revolutionising chicken wings, both bone-in and boneless, all hand-tossed and dry-rubbed, alongside a wide array of sauces running from sweet Hawaiian to Atomic. The menu has expanded to also include chicken tenders, burgers, sides and desserts.
Where? Liffey Valley Shopping Centre & Boucher Crescent, Belfast.
Slim Chickens
An Arkansas-born chicken chain founded in 2003, known for buttermilk-marinated chicken tenders, Southern hospitality and an extensive line-up of house-made dipping sauces.
Where? Dundrum Town Centre.
Chick-Fil-A
This Georgia-born chicken chain was founded in 1967 by Southern Baptist S. Truett Cathy, and is credited with popularising the boneless chicken sandwich, which anchors their small menu.
Where? Applegreen services in both Lisburn and Templepatrick, Northern Ireland.
Dave’s Hot Chicken
Founded in Los Angeles in 2017, Dave’s specialises in Nashville-style hot chicken with spice levels ranging from mild to furiously fiery. Its success has been largely fuelled by social media hype and celebrity investment, from the likes of Drake and Samuel L. Jackson.
Where? Opening late June at Central Plaza, Dublin 2
Of course, not every US import is chicken-focused. Ohio-born chain Wendy’s has arrived at Mahon Point in Cork, and is opening a second site in Tullamore in Offaly this month, with its square burgers and milkshakes.
California-born Taco Bell, known for its fast food take on Tex-Mex, has opened its first handful of locations, mostly within Applegreen service stations in Dublin, Meath and Cork. There have been rumblings, too, about Raising Cane’s, In-and-Out Burger, and Shake Shack making a mark on Ireland.
However, it’s chicken that dominates the latest wave of arrivals. So where, then, do the homegrown Irish fried chicken brands stand? Three founders give their take…
Photo: Mad Egg
“It’s comical — we’ve convinced ourselves that a product must be better simply because it was conceived on the other side of the Atlantic”
“I find a lot of the hype that surrounds them comical, grown adults queueing for hours and overnight in some cases,” Stephen O’Reilly, Co-founder and Managing Director of Mad Egg Group, says.
“Somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that a product must be better simply because it was conceived on the other side of the Atlantic; the reality is that Ireland already has exceptional, homegrown fast-casual and quick-serve restaurant operators, we don’t need to settle for mediocre offerings.”
Photo: Mad Egg
O’Reilly co-founded Mad Egg with Conor Sheridan in 2018 with a mission to “create the best fried chicken sandos Ireland has ever seen”.
They tea-brine their birds, double dredge, and serve in locally-baked Amish dinner rolls. They operate in locations across Dublin: Millennium Walkway in Dublin 1, Charlotte Way in Dublin 2, as well as Dundrum and Liffey Valley shopping centres.
What the US imports don’t tend to achieve is provenance.
“Provenance has been our number one focus since day one at Mad Egg,” O’Reilly explains, “our chicken comes from John and Charles Smith, a family-run farm in Virginia, Co. Cavan.
Photo: Mad Egg
Our buns are baked by David Coughlan and his father, Peter, third-generation bakers. We brew our beer in collaboration with husband and wife team Wim and Jean, at Hope, an award-winning microbrewery in Sutton Cross.”
Provenance and trust in quality is more than just a marketing slogan, O’Reilly adds, “these aren’t simply supplier relationships, they’re partnerships we champion, and they matter because they become part of the product itself, making our food better while we’re supporting local, family-run, Irish businesses”.
Though O’Reilly is quick to point out that opportunity exists with these arrivals, “ironically, it gives us an opportunity to showcase that difference because the increased attention on the category creates a rising tide effect.
“Every time a major American brand arrives, local operators have an opportunity to shine, and if customers want to benchmark us against the biggest names in the world, we’re more than happy for them to do so; we back our product every day of the week.”
“We can’t control anyone else’s expansion plans, but what we can control is staying true to our principles”.
“The fact that so many international chicken brands now see Ireland as an attractive market is probably a sign that consumers have developed a real appetite for great fried chicken,” says Sofie Rooney, co-founder of Chimac.
“We just hope people recognise the difference between a chef-led, independently owned restaurant making food from scratch and a large global chain operating at enormous scale”.
Chimac, which Rooney opened in 2019 with her husband, chef Garret FitzGerald, takes a Seoul food approach to the soul food, inspired by the South Korean trend of chimaek (치맥), fried chicken paired with beer.
Photo: Chimac
They bring a distinct Korean-Irish fusion to the fried chicken market with their restaurant on Aungier Street and an expanding range of retail sauces.
“We have never viewed Chimac as ‘fast food’,” Rooney says, “we see ourselves, and the likes of Mad Egg, Fyrebird, Cluck, in a different category altogether, but we understand that when consumers are watching every euro, categories become blurred.
“They’re not asking themselves whether something is fast food, fast casual or independent hospitality, they’re asking, ;What am I having for dinner tonight and what can I afford?’ That’s where the real competition exists”.
Social media has contributed to much of Chimac’s success, with a 40,000-strong and growing audience. However, Rooney argues that multinational chains arrive with the kind of marketing budgets and PR resources most local Irish hospitality operators could only dream of.
Photo: Chimac
Pricing and provenance emerge as the most prickly subject, “in a cost-of-living crisis, many of these businesses can operate at price points that are difficult for independents to compete with because of their scale, supply chains and operating models — we make everything from scratch in our kitchens, use Irish free-range chicken and place a huge emphasis on quality”.
Indeed, recent arrivals like Popeyes are not using Irish chicken in their product. Instead, a spokesperson for the brand says it will “utilise its existing supplier network while it continues to assess long-term growth plans and opportunities to partner with local Irish suppliers” though they are quick to point out some of their sauces and their lettuce are sourced locally.
“We can’t control anyone else’s expansion plans, marketing budgets or pricing strategies,” Rooney says, “but what we can control is staying true to our principles, looking after our team, and continuing to make delicious food that gives people a reason to choose an independent Irish business — that’s what’s got our doors still open after 7 years of trading in a very turbulent hospitality environment”.
“We know customers by name. When challenges arise for us, there isn’t a corporate office somewhere else in the world to absorb the losses”
“As someone who genuinely loves fried chicken, I can understand the excitement around the arrival of so many American brands,” says chef Ian Ussher, co-owner of Cluck Chicken.
“I’ve actually tried most of them; my wife Elaine and I travel to the US a couple of times a year to see what’s happening in the industry and to learn from the best. Dave’s Hot Chicken is probably the GOAT in my eyes, but the arrival of large American chains is a mixed one for us.”
Ussher, whose background is in fine dining, opened Cluck as a food truck in 2020 and now has two bricks-and-mortar locations, Tallaght and Walkinstown, with an eye towards a third. He and his wife, Elaine, also operate Elle’s cafe in Kimmage.
“None of that happened because of investors or large financial backing,” they say, “it happened because local people supported a local business”.
The pair understand the hype and queues around US arrivals like Wingstop, but are quick to credit businesses like Mad Egg for being ahead of the game and helping engage the market and elevate what people expect from fried chicken in Ireland.
“Look, anything that creates excitement around fried chicken is positive for the category,” Ian says, “but these are brands with enormous resources, marketing budgets and financial backing.
“My wife and I are hands-on in the businesses, engage daily with our 22 staff, know many of our customers by name, and when challenges arise for us, there isn’t a corporate office somewhere else in the world to absorb the losses — the reality for independent Irish hospitality businesses is that a bad month can genuinely put pressure on the future of the business”.
All three Irish operators agree that competition is healthy.
Stephen O’Reilly of Mad Egg says he remains “incredibly optimistic” about the sector, but adds, “let’s not mistake familiarity for superiority, Ireland doesn’t need American brands to teach us how to make fried chicken, we’ve already got plenty of people doing that and Irish consumers have become more discerning about quality and supporting local, that gives independent Irish operators a significant advantage”.
Popeye’s Chicken.
Sofie Rooney of Chimac feels similarly, “sometimes optimism is all you have!”, and adds, “in hospitality you’ve got to stay positive, we’ve got to see these new entrants less as a threat and more as a reminder to keep innovating and raising the bar”.
Ian Ussher of Cluck says “nobody is entitled to success” and reckons it all comes down to choice, “it’s worth remembering that when you support an Irish-owned business, you’re supporting local jobs, local families and people who are reinvesting back into their communities, communities which supported the likes of us from day one”.
Ireland’s own chicken scene didn’t need American giants to validate or invalidate it. While their collective arrival might feel like a threat and increased competition, the quality, care and provenance of Irish operators isn’t easily replicated at corporate scale.
If healthy competition pushes Irish operators to improve and innovate, and curiosity sends a few more customers through their doors, that’s a rising tide worth riding.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ