ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Southern fast-casual chain built around made-from-scratch chicken salad is set to open in Allentown in late July in what its owners say will be the brand’s first Pennsylvania restaurant.

Chicken Salad Chick will open at 942 Airport Center in Allentown, marking the brand’s debut in the Commonwealth, according to owner Amanda Greenford. She and her husband, Ernest Greenford, are the franchisees and plan to open three restaurants across the Lehigh Valley.

The Allentown store is the first of those three. Greenford said the couple is targeting additional locations near Krocks Road and in Bethlehem, though they have not yet secured properties in either location.

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The brand is expanding elsewhere in Pennsylvania as well. A separate franchise group has signed a deal for six locations in the Philadelphia suburbs, with its first site in Montgomery County expected to open before the 2026 holiday season, according to the company.

The Greenfords moved to Pennsylvania from the South about three years ago. Amanda Greenford is from Alabama, and Ernest Greenford is from New York.

a family of two adults and three children kneeling on grass beside a lake with a curly-haired tan dog, all dressed in cream and tan clothing
Amanda and Ernest Greenford, owners of the Chicken Salad Chick franchise coming to Allentown, Pa., with their three children. The couple plans to open three locations across the Lehigh Valley. (Courtesy of the Greenford family)

They relocated to be closer to Newark Liberty International Airport, where he is based as a United Airlines pilot, she said.

“In Alabama, there’s Chicken Salad Chicks everywhere,” Greenford said. “We moved up here, we were like, oh my God, there’s no Chicken Salad Chick up here.”

Chicken Salad Chick was founded in Auburn, Alabama, in 2008 by Stacy and Kevin Brown and has grown to more than 330 restaurants across 22 states, according to the company.

The chain describes itself as the nation’s only fast-casual concept dedicated to chicken salad, offering more than a dozen original flavors, as well as fresh sides, soups, and desserts.

The menu is built around a roster of named chicken salad recipes, each pitched at a different palate. The company’s signature original is Classic Carol, a basic blend of shredded chicken, celery, mayonnaise, and seasoning.

Other regular flavors include Fancy Nancy, made with apples, grapes, and pecans; Sassy Scotty, a ranch, bacon, and cheddar mix; the fruit-forward Fruity Fran and Cranberry Kelli; and spicier options such as Jalapeño Holly, Buffalo Barclay, and Kickin’ Kay Lynne, according to the company’s menu.

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Customers can order a flavor as a scoop, a sandwich, or a sampler trio of three scoops. The lineup is rounded out by sides such as broccoli salad, grape salad, and pasta salad, plus pimento cheese, soups, and cookies.

Pricing is set at the store level and was not yet available for the Allentown location at the time of publication. At existing restaurants, combo meals pairing a scoop or sandwich with a side generally run about $10 to $12, based on menus posted online. The chain is closed on Sundays at most locations.

Greenford said the restaurant prepares its food daily and offers what she characterized as healthier options, noting that nothing on the menu is fried and that the chicken is steamed in-house.

Greenford said she worked for years in restaurant and hotel management, while her husband served 22 years in the Army before becoming a commercial pilot.

The franchisees have spent the past 13 months bringing the first location to fruition, Greenford said, with much of that time spent finding a site. She said the brand is selective about real estate and that the Allentown market was competitive.

To build awareness of a new concept in the region, the Greenfords have run a series of pop-up events, including at a farmers market in Emmaus and at a local Orange Theory studio. Greenford said demand at the farmers’ market was strong enough that they sold out within about 2 hours.

a woman in a white chicken salad chick jacket serving food from metal bowls at an outdoor table as people gather around, in front of a stone building and a movie theater marquee
Amanda Greenford, co-owner of the incoming Allentown, Pa., Chicken Salad Chick, serves samples during a pop-up event ahead of the restaurant’s opening. The franchisees held a series of pop-ups around the Lehigh Valley to introduce the concept. (Courtesy of Amanda Greenford)

The owners said younger customers have repeatedly cited TikTok as where they first encountered the brand. The Greenfords have also joined the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, which is helping coordinate a ribbon-cutting, Greenford said.

The restaurant was originally scheduled to open on July 7 but was pushed back due to a construction issue, according to Greenford. She said an exact opening date should be confirmed within a week or two and will be posted to the store’s social media accounts.

Greenford said the grand opening will follow the chain’s standard promotion, in which the first 100 guests in line receive a year’s worth of free chicken salad.

“We are so excited to bring this to the community,” Greenford said.

More information about the brand is available on the Chicken Salad Chick website.