Red Rooster is an Australian
fast food restaurant
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typicall ...
chain founded in 1972 that specialises in
roast chicken
Roast chicken is chicken prepared as food by roasting whether in a home kitchen, over a fire, or with a rotisserie (rotary spit). Generally, the chicken is roasted with its own fat and juices by circulating the meat during roasting, and theref ...
,
chicken burgers and
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 o ...
. Their product range includes whole roasts, half roasts, wraps, burgers, salads, beverages and desserts. It is owned and operated by parent company
Craveable Brands, which also own
Oporto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
and
Chicken Treat
Chicken Treat is an Australian barbecue chicken fast food restaurant chain that was founded and primarily operates in Western Australia. As of December 2022, Chicken Treat has over 60 outlets within Western Australia, one in Central Queensland, ...
.
, there are over 360 Red Rooster stores in all
Australian states and territories
The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing po ...
except
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. In 2019, seven Red Rooster stores, all located on the Sunshine Coast, suddenly closed.
Concerns about Red Rooster's franchise model have been raised, in that the focus on poultry makes it difficult for them to respond quickly to new consumer trends.
[
]
History
The original Red Rooster store was a small take-away shop located at 98 Wanneroo Road
Wanneroo Road is a arterial highway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia linking Joondanna and Yokine in the south with Wanneroo and Yanchep in the north. As part of State Route 60, it begins from Charles Street in the inne ...
, Tuart Hill, specialising in take-away chicken dinners etc. This opened about 1970/71 and after only about 12 months trading it closed and disappeared. Presumably this was when the Kailis family bought the concept and name etc. before opening a Red Rooster store in the Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
suburb of Kelmscott
Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. Since 2001 it has absorbed Little Faringdon, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census rec ...
in 1972. Myer
Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products ...
(later part of Coles Myer
Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of li ...
) purchased the business in July 1981. In 1986 Coles Myer bought the Big Rooster chain to expand into the eastern states (except non- Steggles' Queensland stores, formerly known as "Big Rooster", which were purchased in 1992), and renamed the stores "Red Rooster". Big Rooster remains operational in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. In May 2002, Red Rooster was purchased by Western Australian company Australian Fast Foods, which owned the competing Chicken Treat fast food chain.
In April 2007, Red Rooster and Chicken Treat were sold for $180 million to a consortium formed by the management and Quadrant Private Equity.
In April 2009, the Red Rooster chain in New Zealand closed its stores. The first New Zealand outlet, in Takanini
Takanini is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, 28 kilometres southeast of the Auckland CBD.
The suburb is home to a Fonterra Brands milk plant (part of the dairy compan ...
had opened in December 2004.
In 2010, Red Rooster changed company-owned stores to franchises. In June 2011, Quadrant Private Equity sold Quick Service Restaurants, which owns the Red Rooster chain to Archer Capital
Archer Capital is an Australian private equity investment firm based in Sydney. It was founded as GS Private Equity in 1996. Archer Capital hosts multiple investment funds which invest in businesses across a wide array of industries and sectors, ...
.
Marketing and promotions
In 2009, Red Rooster ran an ad campaign called "They don't get it in America" featuring comedian Tom Gleeson in the United States asking people about Red Rooster.
Since 2009, Red Rooster has been a signatory of AQSRII (Australian QSR Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children). It has also taken up a self-regulatory standpoint regarding advertising aimed specifically at children and is a long-standing signatory of the Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children.
In 2010, Red Rooster was a sponsor of Supercars Championship
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
team Holden Racing Team
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche ...
. In 2016, the team returned as the title sponsor of the Sydney SuperNight 300
The Sydney SuperNight (formally known as the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Sydney Motorsport Park in Eastern Creek, New South Wales. The event has been a semi-regular part of the Supercar ...
.
In 2011, Red Rooster changed to promoting its restaurants as healthy, fresh and quick.
Online ordering
In September 2014, Red Rooster launched its trial delivery service in New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, e ...
, in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
from the Baulkham Hills restaurant, in partnership with Menulog
Menulog Pty. Ltd. (branded as simply Menulog) is an Australian and New Zealand online food and beverage ordering app and delivery service platform, headquartered and founded in Sydney in 2006. It was bought in 2015 by UK-based Just Eat, which ...
. Delivery service also covers nearby suburbs Castle Hill and Bella Vista in Sydney's North West. As well as delivery to homes, it was announced delivery options to businesses, sporting clubs and local organisations would be available.
See also
* List of fast-food chicken restaurants
This is a list of notable chicken restaurants. This list includes casual dining, fast casual and fast food restaurants which typically specialize in chicken dishes such as fried chicken, chicken and waffles, Chicken sandwiches or chicken a ...
* List of restaurant chains in Australia
References
External links
*
{{Food chains in Australia
1972 establishments in Australia
Culture in Perth, Western Australia
Fast-food chains of Australia
Fast-food franchises
Fast-food poultry restaurants
Restaurants established in 1972
Restaurants in Sydney