PizzaExpress is one of the most recognized brands in the category across the British Isles, and now its leaders want to achieve the same scale with a chicken franchise.

PizzaExpress is the first master franchisee for Houston TX Hot Chicken, with a deal to open 50 locations over the next three years across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

An emerging brand, HHC was founded in 2021 by entrepreneur and race car driver Edmond Barseghian. During the pandemic in 2020, while living with family, Barseghian's sister developed a hot chicken recipe, and it inspired the founder to start a restaurant brand, with the first opening in Las Vegas.

Since then, the brand has expanded to 30 locations across eight states, with financial support from Utah-based private equity firm Savory Fund. While it's a young brand, Ben Lawrence, international director for PizzaExpress, said it stood out to him when he came across it at the 2025 Restaurant Finance & Development Conference.

PizzaExpress' history dates back to 1965, when Peter Poizot introduced the concept to the London market. In the years since, the brand has expanded to more than 470 locations in the U.K. and Ireland. As it's grown, Lawrence said brand leaders were interested in expanding the ownership portfolio and breaking into another segment.

"Our management team was looking for something to complement our brand in the U.K.," Lawrence said. "We had identified a gap in the market for a high-energy chicken brand. It's a category constantly growing, but hot chicken isn't a massive thing here in the U.K. So, we saw a gap in the market we could explore."

Dave's Hot Chicken is another franchise accelerating expansion in the U.K. after signing an agreement in 2024 with Azzurri Group. Twelve locations are open, with another 48 planned as part of the development commitment.

Lawrence said the PizzaExpress team was impressed by the background the leadership at HHC brings to the table, and the social marketing effort they've conducted to build brand awareness.

"Looking at their model, they're very much focused on flavor, taste and quality, but have also proven themselves in operations," Lawrence said. "It's a strong, growing brand and people in the U.S. are buying into it as well."

Brian Simowitz, HHC president, said the company wasn't looking into the international market, but moved forward when contacted by the PizzaExpress team. Simowitz, who previously helmed international operations for Applebee's, noted PizzaExpress is the type of operator they're looking to team up with.

"I knew PizzaExpress was a fantastic brand in the U.K.," Simowitz said. "We were looking for a company that understands how to build and protect an iconic brand. They spent decades earning the trust of British consumers, and it's one of the U.K.'s most recognized and respected brands. A partner able to do that is the type we want to represent HHC."

That's the case for domestic franchise growth, too, which was restarted in 2025 after a hiatus. Simowitz said franchising had always been part of the strategy for the company, but when he was hired in 2024, a decision was made to make some improvements before increasing the development pipeline.

Over an eight-month period, Simowitz said recipes were evaluated and updates were made to lower costs and improve efficiency while maintaining the quality. Additionally, the brand made shifts in its supply chain, such as ending the production of its sauces through a co-packer and bringing it in house.

Following its franchise hiatus, Simowitz said the deal signings ramped back up, and by the end of 2025, agreements were signed for 206 locations. Those deals, he said, are all multi-unit, as the brand has set a minimum of three per agreement, with an average between five and seven locations.

"We're looking for those who either want to add on to their existing portfolio, or they've recently exited another brand and want to get into a new concept," Simowitz said. "They're operators that are well capitalized, experienced restaurant operators."

The brand today has 120 restaurants in its development pipeline, and to ensure those units get open, Simowitz said HHC has made it a point to back those franchisees through the process, and continue to lend support once a location is launched.

"We work closely with them, not only setting them up with different brokers if they don't have one, but also going out to markets, traveling with them in site selection and providing them with a site package that they can use for the approval process," Simowitz said. "We've also built out a 700-item checklist where they can plug in the data for a location and it helps them backfill everything that has to be done. There are franchisors that sign the deal and they just leave the franchisees to get them open. We're not that franchisor."

In the next six months, the brand and the PizzaExpress team are looking to open three locations as part of its new agreement. In addition to its flavor profile, Simowitz said the concept will attract customers as it grows thanks to its racing theme. Along with car racing artwork, each location opens with a car show, and from there, they host at least two car shows a year.

The initial investment to open a HHC location, ranging from 2,200 to 4,000 square feet, is between $770,950 and $1.91 million.ย