Hartz Chicken (also known as Hartz Chicken Buffet and Hartz Krispy Chicken 'N' Rolls) is an American

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restaurant chain specializing in

fried chicken Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...

. The company supplies more than 60 locations in Texas, mostly around the Houston metropolitan area, and Malaysia, as well as one restaurant in

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History

W. Lawrence Hartzog Sr. (February 1, 1930 – August 29, 2004), who was a personal friend of Colonel Sanders of

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

, started Hartz Chicken under Hartzog Inc. in 1972. He opened a total of 45 units, 13 of which were company owned and 32 of which were franchised, in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. He sold the lot in 1986 to a newly formed AJP Enterprises subsidiary, Hartz Chicken Inc. The chain began international expansion with a store in Malaysia under the name Hartz Chicken Buffet. In the late 1990s the brand opened locations in

Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

and Shanghai, China, both of which later closed. Between 1986 and July 1994, the chain was managed by George N. Samaras (CEO/Director) under Hartz Chicken International Co. which voluntarily dissolved on July 13, 1994. After transferring the chain to Hartz Restaurant International Inc., Hartz Restaurants International Inc. and Gemini Investors Inc. formed Wingstop Holdings, Inc. in 2003 and acquired Wingstop from its founder, Antonio Swad. Wingstop was sold to

Roark Capital Group Roark Capital Group is an American private equity firm with over $33 billion in assets under management. The firm is focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies, primarily in the franchise/multi-location, restaurant and fo ...

in 2010. The chain once opened as far as Indonesia in early 2000s but it was folded sometime before 2009. In 2018 Hartz Franchise Restaurants, Ltd named

AVVA Agency Avva (russian: А́вва) is an old and uncommon Russian male first name. Included into various, often handwritten, church calendars throughout the 17th–19th centuries, it was omitted from the official Synodal Menologium at the end of the 19 ...

its creative agency of record. The agency begun working immediately to catalog existing assets, develop online presence and creative campaigns for the brand. AVVA Agency's first assignment involved the creation and execution of new in-store, online and print advertising to promote a slate of new menu and products. Agency known as an author of the rebranding refreshment also. At some locations buffets were suspended in March 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. But pick-up and take-away services remained available.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.hartz-chicken.com/
Official Instagram page
Restaurants established in 1972 1972 establishments in Texas American companies established in 1972 Restaurants in Texas Fast-food poultry restaurants Chicken chains of the United States Companies based in Harris County, Texas Fast-food chains of the United States