Fast-food chicken chain Church’s Texas Chicken is sharpening its focus on US growth following the appointment of Bobby Morena as chief development officer. Morena, who joined the company Nov. 3, 2025, is responsible for leading domestic franchise development, real estate strategy, and store design and construction, with an emphasis on accelerating expansion while maintaining operational discipline.

The National Provisioner sat down with Morena to discuss his appointment, top priorities as chief development officer and opportunities for Church’s Texas Chicken in the current fast-casual and QSR landscape.

What drew you to Church’s Texas Chicken, and how does your experience align with the chain’s growth strategy?

Bobby Morena: I’ve had the opportunity to help grow household-named brands from their early stages to national scale, but what stood out to me about Church’s is the unique combination of an iconic brand, an extensive franchisee network, and an impressive leadership team that’s focused on preserving the brand’s legacy while elevating the guest experience.

What are your top priorities as chief development officer, particularly regarding market expansion and franchise development?

Bobby Morena: In this role, I am leading Church’s Texas Chicken’s domestic development efforts, from franchise sales and real estate to design and construction, with an emphasis on accelerating growth across the US. I’m looking forward to supporting our current franchisees while also bringing in new, high-caliber operators. There’s a tremendous opportunity ahead, and there is so much potential to expand into new markets and introduce even more guests to the Church’s experience. My top priority is really getting the message out there about Church’s performance and resurgence over the past 4 years. The brand has become an extremely attractive franchise opportunity for proven operators and new franchisees alike

How do you plan to support Church’s Texas Chicken’s efforts around innovation, operational excellence or customer experience

Bobby Morena: From a design perspective, my focus will be to work with our Design & Construction team to continue modernizing our current fleet of stores in the US, working closely with our Operations team to confirm our new 1000 sq ft compact design, our 1400 sq ft design, and our new Church’s Express prototype have the right functionality and flow.  From an Operations perspective, I will work closely to understand who our growth-approved franchise owners are, and that they are well aware of the growth plans in and around their current footprint. We want to expand as much as possible with current operators who run quality operations, while also sending a message to prospective franchisees about the opportunity today with this legendary brand.  

What opportunities do you see for Church’s Texas Chicken in the current fast-casual and QSR landscape, and how will you help the company capture them?

Bobby Morena: While the majority of our domestic footprint is free-standing drive-through locations, we see opportunities to significantly expand in the non-traditional space with c-store and travel center partners, as well as in-line and end cap locations with newer, smaller square footage prototypes. We also see a huge opportunity in conversions of second-gen sites. We will be on the hunt coast to coast for them and getting those that fit our market plan in front of current and new franchisees. Time is of the essence.

Looking ahead, how do you plan to balance growth with maintaining Church’s Texas Chicken’s core identity and values?

Bobby Morena: While the opportunity for Church’s is better now than it’s been in decades, we have no intention of growth just for growth’s sake. We will be diligent in franchisee selection, bringing on only new franchisees who respect the challenges of operating a QSR and are prepared to put in the time and attention necessary to follow our brand standards and build great cultures within their stores.  Likewise, we will be equally selective with both the trade areas and new sites we and our franchisees move forward with. Our short-term focus will be to expand in and around the core Church’s territory, which will include contiguous states and DMAs. We couldn’t be more excited as an organization right now to bring more Church’s Texas Chicken to more customers across the country.