Our Story
The C.R. Chicks story began with the opening of our first location in Palm Beach Gardens on November 4th, 1992. Since that historic day, we have grown to seven total stores, with more to come!
Our success can be attributed to fresh, house-made meals and our talented and friendly crew members who deliver the C.R. Chicks experience to you every day.
Why does C.R. Chicks Chicken taste so good?
We start with fresh, non-chemically treated chicken raised at one farm in southern Alabama. The chickens are fed a healthy and nutritious diet of 100% cornmeal and/or soymeal. During production, the chickens are cleaned with very hot water and once processed, chilled with ice water. Nothing is done to alter the natural taste of our chicken. Once we receive it, we clean and rinse each chicken in-house, season it with lemon pepper and truss the bird on a skewer.
Prior to cooking on the rotisserie, we baste each bird with our house made marinade and sea salt. Then, after spinning slowly over flaming Brazilian Oak logs, we expertly prepare your chicken to order, allowing you to enjoy the juiciest, freshest, most delicious chicken in the world.
All our sides, salad dressings and sauces are made from scratch, and we even make and bake our own bread, pies and cookies.
We do not own a fryer or a freezer, and we do not use any MSG or any such preservatives.
In a hurry? We get it!
None of our meals take longer than 5 minutes to prepare, resulting in a fast, stress- free dining experience. You can also order online, and it will be hot and ready when you arrive to pick it up.
We also cater over 5,000 parties annually ranging from 10-person office parties to 2,000-person church events. Catered meals offer the same fresh great taste as our a la carte meals. Just call us or visit our website to get the ball rolling.
We hope you enjoy our labor of love.
Our Founders
Rick Davis, Founder
Rick grew up in Massapequa, New York. He went to High School at Massapequa High School, where he played Football and Lacrosse and sang in the Choir. A gifted player, Rick earned a Lacrosse scholarship to attend Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, where Rick met his wife to be, Nancy.
After Graduating in 1976, Rick followed Nancy to the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia. Nancy worked in the pro shop and Rick was accepted into the culinary school where he worked under Chef Hermann Rusch. After graduating from Culinary School, Rick and Nancy, now married, moved to Colorado, where Rick worked as a chef at several country clubs in the Denver area.
In 1986 Rick took a regional chef position with the C.A. Muer Corporation (Owner/Operator of Charlie’s Crab) in Palm Beach, FL. Rick and Chris met at Charley’s Crab in Palm Beach where Chris was General Manager. They quickly hit it off and worked together for 5 years developing menus, staff training and doing numerous promotions while the C.A. Muer Corporation opened 5 new locations in South Florida.
Rick and Nancy often ventured back to Colorado for vacations to enjoy their lifelong love of skiing, golfing and hiking in the Rocky Mountains. In 1992, Rick decided to buy and open a Restaurant in Breckinridge, Colorado. After the real estate deal fell through, Rick decided to stay in South Florida. His idea was to have an affordable Restaurant where families would come in and eat “Family Style.”
Rick and Chris collaborated on developing a menu where Rotisserie Chicken was the main highlight. He asked Chris to join him, and C.R. Chicks was formed with the first location opening on Northlake Blvd on November 4, 1992. Their goal was to bring the food quality and service standards of fine dining to the quick service industry. Rick and Chris remained business partners for 31 years until sadly, Rick passed away on December 29, 2023. They were perfect partners.
Chris Sallen, Founder and CEO
Chris grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, where he played football, basketball and baseball at Brother Rice High School. In 1973 he began Caddying at Birmingham Country Club, earning “Caddy of the Year” in 1976.
After graduating from Brother Rice in 1977, Chris attended the University of Michigan where he earned a degree in economics in 1981. During his college years, He worked at several restaurants as a busboy and waiter as well as several summers at the Chrysler Warren truck assembly plant.
After College, Chris got a job at the Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit as a manager in training for the C.A. Muer Corporation starting at $5 an hour. In 1983, Chuck Muer, Corporate President, asked Chris to transfer to Palm Beach to help them expand in South Florida.
In September of 1983 Chris moved to West Palm Beach and began as an Assistant Manager at Chuck & Harold’s in Palm Beach. There, Chris worked closely with Chefs Larry Pagliara and Rocky Rachowitz, Chuck Muer and John Spoto, learning how to operate a fine dining restaurant. These experiences eventually lead to Chris becoming the General Manager of the Charley’s Crab in Palm Beach in 1988, where Chris met his lifelong business partner, Rick Davis.
Chris was transferred to Charley’s Crab Jupiter in 1990 with the hopes of eventually become an owner of that location. Things did not work out as planned, and Chris decided to risk everything and join Rick Davis forming C.R. Chicks in July of 1992. Today, Chris lives with his beautiful wife, Stephanie, in Tequesta. Fla. He is a member at Turtle Creek Golf Club where he plays golf on rare days off.
What We Stand For
Hard
Work
We got to where we are by grinding in out the trenches and we will get to where we are going by continuing to embrace a healthy and positive work ethic every day.
Culinary Excellence
Fresh, delicious food is the lifeblood of our organization.
Respect for Guests and Each Other
Without respect, we have nothing. We treat all who flow through our doors fairly and with deep respect. We want the time they spend with us to be the best part of their day.
Have
Fun
Life is too short. Let’s strive to enjoy the time we spend together.
Provide Uncommon Service
We will go out of our way to ensure that our guests are curiously satisfied at our performance.
