The humble chicken sandwich has traditionally played second fiddle on the fast-food menu.
It’s better than a fish sandwich but not quite the Whopper or a Big Mac. But while the chicken sandwich may not yet be in the same class as a beef burger, poultry need not be humble anymore.
Different versions of the sandwich — whether breaded, saucy or spicy — have proliferated across the vast restaurant landscape in North America. Even seafood chain Red Lobster now sells a Nashville hot chicken sandwich.
The sandwiches have even proven to be pandemic resistant. While overall restaurant visits were down significantly over the last year and a half, chicken sandwich purchases were up 14 per cent, according to NPD Group.
“Chicken sandwiches are just booming,” said Vince Sgabellone, food service industry analyst for NPD Group, which tracks industry data and trends.
“They’re back to where they were two years ago, despite the lack of traffic of people going into restaurants.”
A fowl war, indeed
It’s no wonder, then, that at least 20 restaurant chains across North America have added some kind of new chicken sandwich to their menu over a two-year period.
It’s been dubbed the chicken sandwich wars by some, with the first salvos launched in the United States in 2019, when Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen began offering its fried chicken sandwich.
A customer in Texas holds up a Popeyes chicken sandwich at the height of their hype, in August 2019. (Eric Gay/The Associated Press)
That move was considered a direct challenge to competitor Chick-fil-A, which began selling its chicken sandwich in 1967.
Observers had predicted that the market had already reached peak chicken in 2016, but its popularity has since skyrocketed.
While those observers may be surprised by where things have gone since then, two sisters with a chicken restaurant in Calgary saw potential back in 2017.
Francine and Nicole Gomes, who own the Cluck N Cleaver restaurant, went on a chicken-eating tour of the U.S. South in 2017 for a kind of tasty fact-finding mission.
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“We ate so much fried chicken on that trip,” Francine said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The Cost of Living, as she described multiple stops at famous chicken joints, as well as roadside chicken shacks.
One thing the restaurateurs concluded is they wanted to add a chicken sandwich to their menu, which they did just a few weeks after their return. They now offer two chicken sandwiches.
The Gomes sisters told The Cost of Living that their chicken sandwich sales have increased year over year by 40 per cent, even as other competing restaurants opened.
“It’s going bonkers,” said Nicole Gomes, also well-known as a champion from the Top Chef Canada Allstars television show.
Francine Gomes, left, and her sister, Nicole, own the Cluck N Cleaver restaurant in Calgary. They say there’s room for everyone in the growing chicken sandwich craze. (Julie Van Rosendaal)
“There’s room for everybody,” she said, adding that she welcomes the growth.
Her comments underscore that the chicken sandwich phenomenon isn’t driven exclusively by fast-food chains, with many independent restaurants joining the trend.
“Even before the pandemic, there was an increase in restaurants opening that focused on one single item, like ramen or pizza or burgers or fried chicken sandwiches,” said Calgary-based food journalist Julie Van Rosendaal, who appears on CBC Radio.
“And so even beyond fast food, there have been a lot of small restaurants opening up that focus just on fried chicken or even just fried chicken sandwiches. And that has helped drive the trend as well.”
A hot plate of punishment pays off
The chicken sandwich isn’t a new item, with newspaper ads for the meal found as far back as the 1930s. But the spicy chicken sandwich gaining popularity has a more contemporary origin.
Lately, variations of “Nashville hot chicken” have drawn attention, with one of the dish’s birthplaces, Prince’s Hot Chicken, serving as a mecca for chicken fans such as Calgary’s Gomes sisters. They included the restaurant on their trip four years ago.
The story behind its signature dish is the stuff of legend — and is actually rooted in revenge.
According to family lore, James Thornton Prince III was a handsome man who never struggled to find a date on a Saturday night, but he wasn’t too popular with one particular woman left behind while he enjoyed an evening out on the town.
After returning home, Prince was ready for a meal. His girlfriend provided one in the form of an extra-spicy serving of chicken, which she thought would teach him a lesson.
“She had to get some attention,” said André Prince Jeffries, Thornton’s grand-niece and now the matriarch of Prince’s Hot Chicken. “She had to let him know … she was hurt.”
André Prince Jeffries, centre, the owner of Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville, is flanked by Calgary’s Gomes sisters, who included the restaurant on a trip four years ago. (Submitted by Francine Gomes)
The meal did not have the desired effect and ultimately led to his famous hot chicken.
“After he devoured it … I’m sure he asked for more,” Jeffries said in an interview with The Cost of Living. He apparently enjoyed the chicken so much, he eventually tried to recreate it and then sell it.
“I think he would be rather surprised if he knew his punishment is still being recognized [today].”
More money in the chicken coop
Few other chicken sandwiches on the market these days can promise the same benefits as Prince’s legendary offerings, but regardless of why people flock to the bird, they are doing so more often than before.
Spending by Americans on chicken sandwiches has quadrupled in just a two-year span, and a growing appetite for the sandwiches in Canada is something chicken farmers are trying to better understand as well.
The former location of Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville, serving as a mecca for chicken fans. The popular restaurant has since moved to a new spot, but the chicken is just as spicy. (Submitted by Francine Gomes)
“Every week it seems like you have a bit more of an update on what the next sandwich is going to be,” said Jason Born, chair of the Alberta Chicken Producers.
“It’s something that we’re very happy to see, of course.”
Born said it’s difficult to specifically quantify the value of the chicken sandwich boom to the Canadian sector, but it is an expanding slice of the restaurant business.
“If a significant portion of your business — in our case 40 per cent — is through these restaurant channels, it’ll have an impact on volume and production,” he said.
Consumers have seen grocery store prices for chicken jump in recent months, in part due to increased demand. However, the rising cost of chicken feed and supply-chain issues are also causing prices to go up. (Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images)
Chicken processors now worth billions of dollars
Industry officials say demand for chicken and chicken production are both rebounding from the impact of the pandemic, which saw many restaurants close under public health restrictions.
Consumers have seen grocery store prices for chicken jump in recent months, in part due to increased demand. However, the rising cost of chicken feed and supply-chain issues are also causing prices to go up.
The average retail price for a kilo of chicken was more than $8 in Canada in July, up 15 per cent in only six months, according to Statistics Canada.
It’s not just chicken that’s selling for a premium these days — it’s also chicken processing companies.
The price represented a whopping 30 per cent premium on Sanderson’s stock price in mid-June, a clear indication both companies see a big future in chicken.
Social media, takeout popularity behind chicken’s flight
But sales figures and stock markets aside, why are chicken sandwiches climbing up the pecking order of foodies’ favourites?
Food columnist Van Rosendaal said she believes a few key things have helped chicken sandwiches take flight even after others thought they’d hit their peak years ago.
We decided it was the peak in 2016, and we were wrong.– Julie Van Rosendaal, food columnist for CBC Radio
For one, she said takeout food has performed relatively well during the pandemic, and chicken sandwiches travel well while also being “indulgent.”
While marketing is a big part of the chicken sandwich wars, Van Rosendaal pointed out that the food’s popularity on Instagram has also helped raise the sandwich’s profile.
“When it’s really visually appealing, it does very well on social media,” she said. “So chicken sandwiches have been driven by social media.”
As for how long the trend can last, Van Rosendaal said she finds it “fascinating” that not only does the chicken sandwich trend have staying power, but it doesn’t even seem to be slowing down.
“We decided it was the peak in 2016, and we were wrong.”
Written and produced by Tony Seskus. Click the play icon above this story to hear this segment, or download the Cost of Livingpodcast.
The Cost of Living airs every week on CBC Radio One, Sundays at 12:00 p.m. ET (12:30 NT).
Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.
I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.
Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.
Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.
NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.
Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.
The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.
It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.
Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.
Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.
“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.
The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.
“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.
Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.
Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.
In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.
It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.
The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs
It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.
The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.
Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.
Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
