How chicken wings helped Charley’s escape the mall

How does a mall concept do well in stand-alone locations? With chicken wings. This week’s episode of A Deeper Dive features Charley’s Philly Steaks President Candra Alisiswanto, who talks about Charley’s growth strategy. Charley’s operates 670 locations. Most of those have traditionally been in mall settings. But more recently, the company began expanding outside of those shopping centers and into stand-alone locations, many of which have drive-thrus. It has done so in part with an expanded menu that features chicken wings in addition to its traditional menu of steak and chicken Philly sandwiches. We spoke with Alisiswanto about this strategy, and why chicken wings have helped the company intensify its growth. He talks about the difference between operating in malls and operating standalone locations and what it takes to make that transition. He also talks about technology and bringing kiosks and mobile apps to the malls. He talks about franchisee demand and how drive-thrus fit in Charley’s future.