Can You Guess The Gas Station Fried Chicken Chain Serving 400+ Locations?

Many years ago, the thought of buying cooked food from a gas station might have made stomachs turn. These days, it's not uncommon to see quite a few gas station chains serving food. Not only that, but gas stations themselves — like Buc-ee's (a chain known for its fresh Texas barbecue) and Wawa — have turned into its own sort of food destinations.

Champs Chicken is one fast food chain that jumped on this trend early. The chain, known for its fried chicken, was founded by Shawn and Julie Burcham in Missouri in 1998 and uses, what it calls, the Business-within-a-Business (BWB) model, which explains why it's exclusively set up in gas stations. The chain has now expanded to more than 400 locations in over 40 states across the country. The most locations of any state reside where Champs was founded: Missouri, with 33 restaurants.

Champs Chicken, as the name indicates, is primarily a fast food chicken operation. They have a wide range of chicken options — from sandwiches to bone-in chicken pieces to tenders, as well as eight and 12-piece family boxes that come with two or three sides and four or six biscuits. If fried chicken isn't your thing, you're probably at the wrong place. That said, Champs offers fried fish and shrimp as well and some locations also serve pizza.

Chains like Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Wingstop, and — depending on who you ask — KFC have set the standard in the fast-food chicken industry. With a growth of hundreds of locations in just over 25 years, Champs is obviously doing something right. But is it just a matter of convenience — food that's quick and easy to get on the road while you're pumping gas — or does the fried chicken itself make Champs a destination spot?

Reviews for Champs Chicken hover around mediocre to decent. A Facebook user stated, "It's pretty good. Six out of 10 to my palate. It's going to matter how long it's been under the heat lamps, of course." That indicates this isn't fresh-to-order chicken. Other commenters claimed the chicken is even better than KFC or Popeyes. On Yelp, the chain has a 3.2 rating out of 5 across locations — indicating overall, it's good chicken but not top notch. To give you an idea of where Champs Chicken stands from an investing standpoint, in late 2024, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked the fried chicken chain No. 14 out of 15 fried chicken franchise opportunities.

Depending on who you ask, Champs might not be the best fried chicken around, but it's serviceable. While the reviews may vary, it seems Champs Chicken is definitely worth a try, especially if you're a hungry traveler who stumbles across one of its many locations in gas stations throughout the country.