No stranger to the restaurant industry, Max Sheets got his start as a teenager scraping cheese off pans in a Pizza Hut kitchen. In the early 2000s – after having already spent 23 years in real estate and development for such brands as Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Smashburger and Ted’s Montana Grill – he began mulling over the idea of a franchise concept that would accommodate the ever growing movement towards red meat alternatives.
He had worked with burgers, seafood, pizza, and steak, but to him, none had shown potential like the explosion of the chicken segment. So, it was time for him to create a legacy brand that would be here a long time; to create a niche that created a healthy platform that others didn’t offer.
He began experimenting with a big smoker in his backyard in Wichita, Kansas, using various BBQ flavors such as hickory and mesquite. It didn’t take long for him to realize that a franchise serving Almond Smoked Chicken as a heathy alternative would be a big part of the concept he was envisioning. With that knowledge, he conceptualized Chick N Max in 2017, assembled a team of culinary professionals to perfect the menu, and opened his first restaurant in January 2018.
Today, Chick N Max has three restaurants opening and operating in the Wichita area, with more than 50 others in various stages of development cross Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas
