Choppin’ It Up by Bloomberg Intelligence
Oct 19, 2026 · 31 min · 14 segments
Value has always been in the DNA of Church’s Texas Chicken, CEO Roland Gonzalez tells Bloomberg Intelligence. In this episode of the Choppin’ It Up podcast, Gonzalez sits down with BI senior…
Michael HalenHost
How are you and the team driving traffic in a tough environment for quick service restaurants?
So like we're going to be 75 years old next year or 75 years young, as I like to say.
And when we were started in 1952 in San Antonio, George Church, you know, was selling, was allowing people to get full with incredible chicken, freshly made chicken, you know, hand battered and breaded for 49 cents.
Obviously, you know, now it looks a little bit different, but it was now every brand, you know, is kind of having to position themselves as value, even though it's not in their DNA.
And before it became cool to be value, that was like what we started our turnaround four years ago was being who we are.
And we also serve the underserved communities, the folks that need that the most.
Over the years, the different leadership has been tempted to go more premium, right, into higher income neighborhoods or open larger restaurants because the chicken is so good, right? You're like, well, we can go compete with these other folks because we do have great chicken.
But... leaning into that value you know you can we have a promotion just for as an example where we have a two-piece feast what we call it uh you can get two pieces of chicken uh a biscuit uh which is an arconic biscuit and a jalapeno for three dollars and 79 cents people need to eat and you cannot find the quality of chicken anywhere that that we serve for that for that value and so that has been a huge unlock for us um and while others you know that is our core competency Others whose core competencies seem may have been quality or ambiance or service are trying to get in the value game.
So as long as we stay true to that in the U.S. Now, internationally, it's a completely different story.
As you mentioned at the beginning, like we are in now approaching 30 different countries.
On the individual side, people that are coming in, you know, as hardworking people themselves or as families.
How are you and the team driving traffic in a tough environment for quick service restaurants?
So like we're going to be 75 years old next year or 75 years young, as I like to say.
And when we were started in 1952 in San Antonio, George Church, you know, was selling, was allowing people to get full with incredible chicken, freshly made chicken, you know, hand battered and breaded for 49 cents.
Obviously, you know, now it looks a little bit different, but it was now every brand, you know, is kind of having to position themselves as value, even though it's not in their DNA.
And before it became cool to be value, that was like what we started our turnaround four years ago was being who we are.
And we also serve the underserved communities, the folks that need that the most.
Over the years, the different leadership has been tempted to go more premium, right, into higher income neighborhoods or open larger restaurants because the chicken is so good, right? You're like, well, we can go compete with these other folks because we do have great chicken.
But... leaning into that value you know you can we have a promotion just for as an example where we have a two-piece feast what we call it uh you can get two pieces of chicken uh a biscuit uh which is an arconic biscuit and a jalapeno for three dollars and 79 cents people need to eat and you cannot find the quality of chicken anywhere that that we serve for that for that value and so that has been a huge unlock for us um and while others you know that is our core competency Others whose core competencies seem may have been quality or ambiance or service are trying to get in the value game.
So as long as we stay true to that in the U.S. Now, internationally, it's a completely different story.
As you mentioned at the beginning, like we are in now approaching 30 different countries.
On the individual side, people that are coming in, you know, as hardworking people themselves or as families.
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