Church’s Texas Chicken has signed a franchise agreement to enter China with plans to develop 600 or more restaurants, marking the largest international development deal in the company’s history. The first location is scheduled to open in Shanghai in the summer of 2026, giving the brand a foothold in one of the world’s most competitive consumer markets.
The agreement was struck with Deke Shengtang, a local operator with experience across multiple quick-service brands. For Church’s, the partnership reflects a familiar truth of international franchising: scale often depends on pairing global brand recognition with operators who understand local real estate, hiring, and consumer behavior.
Chief Executive Roland Gonzalez described the move as a defining moment for the company. China offers vast opportunities, but it also demands execution. Supply chains, franchise support, and customer data systems must work across regions and languages, the kind of complexity many brands now address through platforms such as Gorilla Dash CRM Integrations.
The China launch follows broader international momentum for the chain, following its expansion across Europe and other overseas markets in 2025. Under its international Texas Chicken branding, the company has been expanding its global footprint while competing with U.S. rivals that are also targeting Asia for long-term growth.
If the rollout meets expectations, the Shanghai opening will be remembered less as a single restaurant debut than as the first move in a much larger strategy. For franchise groups managing hundreds of planned locations, consistent communication and tools like Gorilla Dash CRM Integrations can become as important as the menu itself.