THE CHICKEN SPOT KYLIE KELCE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT

Nobody set this up.

Comedian Caleb Hearon was mid-conversation with Kylie Kelce on her podcast, Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce, talking about an upcoming trip to Philadelphia when he stopped and asked: "What is that chicken spot I love in Philadelphia? The honey."

Kylie didn't hesitate. "Love and Honey. I love that place. Watch your mouth."

Caleb agreed. Then Kylie mentioned that a new location had just opened close to her home in the suburbs and said, matter-of-factly: "I shit you not, we order it once a week."

Caleb's response? "Let's go while I'm in town. Let's go get some chicken."

No talking points. No brand deal. No PR push behind it. Just two people in the middle of a completely unrelated conversation who both stopped to talk about the same restaurant like they couldn't help themselves.

That is what brand love looks like. And for anyone watching the Love & Honey Fried Chicken story unfold, it wasn't a surprise. It was just the latest proof.

THE FOOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE STORY

Love & Honey Fried Chicken was founded in Philadelphia in 2017 by classically trained chefs Laura and Todd Lyons. They weren't restaurateurs who decided to get into fried chicken because the category was hot. They were chefs first, who spent time perfecting a product before they ever thought about scaling it.

The chicken is brined for 24 hours and fried in small batches. Every piece comes out juicy, seasoned all the way through, and worth every minute of the wait. The menu is tight on purpose. House-made sauces. Thoughtful sides. A banana pudding that has its own following. Nothing on the menu is an afterthought.

What that discipline creates is a guest experience that's hard to replicate and nearly impossible to forget. Customers don't just like Love & Honey. They drive across town for it. They post about it without being asked. They tell their friends.

They order it once a week and mention it on podcasts with millions of listeners.

That kind of loyalty isn't manufactured. It's earned, one order at a time, over eight years of refusing to cut corners.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

For a prospective franchisee, brand love matters. But so do the numbers. Love & Honey has both.

The corporate store in Philadelphia has grown revenue from $946K in 2020 to $1.8M in 2024. The average check sits at $28, which reflects a guest base that isn't just walking in for a quick bite. They're buying into an experience and spending accordingly. Most Loved status on DoorDash confirms that off-premise demand is just as strong as in-store. The brand has been featured on the Food Network and the TODAY Show, earned Best of Philly recognition, and built an Instagram following of over 60,000 without relying on paid growth tactics.

The model is designed for volume without sacrificing quality. A focused dine-in footprint paired with strong carryout, catering, and delivery revenue streams means franchisees aren't dependent on a single channel. The kitchen is built for throughput. The supply chain runs through a national distribution partner. The systems were developed and stress-tested at the corporate level before any franchise was ever awarded.

For investors who have seen concepts that look great on paper fall apart in execution, that matters. Love & Honey spent years getting this right before inviting anyone else in.

WHY OPERATORS ARE CRAVING A LOCATION IN THEIR MARKET

Here's what experienced restaurant operators and multi-unit franchisees understand when they look at this brand. The fried chicken category is crowded, but most of it sits at the same level. Quick, cheap, familiar. Love & Honey occupies a different position entirely. It lives where the quality-driven consumer already spends. Near Sweetgreen. Near Whole Foods. Near Shake Shack and craft coffee shops. In neighborhoods where people are already choosing where to eat based on what they value, not just what's convenient.

That positioning, at a $28 check average in markets that reward quality, is exactly what savvy operators want to own. It's not a concept you have to convince a market to try. It's one you introduce and then watch the community make its own.

The franchisees who have already joined the system understand this. They looked at the product, the economics, the support infrastructure, and the trajectory of the brand, and they made what is, honestly, a delicious decision.

A BRAND BUILT TO GROW WITH YOU

Love & Honey isn't scaling for the sake of scaling. Every new market is chosen deliberately. Every franchisee goes through a process designed to confirm alignment before a single location is awarded. The brand is looking for operators who understand what it takes to build something with staying power, not just something that opens with a splash and fades.

That selectiveness is part of what makes the opportunity worth paying attention to. When a brand grows this carefully, the franchisees who get in during the early stages of national expansion are the ones who benefit most from the rising tide.

Right now, Love & Honey has locations open in Philadelphia, Newtown, Bryn Mawr, and Cranston. Coming soon: Brooklyn, Alexandria, Washington D.C., Princeton, King of Prussia, University City, South Philadelphia, and more. Forty-six locations have been awarded across approved territories. The brand is actively recruiting franchisees in Florida, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington D.C.

The map is filling in fast. The markets that move first will be the ones that win.

WHAT FRANCHISEES ACTUALLY GET

The support structure at Love & Honey was built by people who have run the concept themselves. That's not a small thing. Todd and Laura Lyons didn't hand off operations the moment the franchise program launched. They built the playbook from inside the kitchen, which means every system, every training module, every supply chain relationship comes from real operational experience, not theory.

Franchisees get hands-on site selection and construction support designed to get locations open on time, on scope, and on budget. Pre-opening training that covers every part of the operation. A marketing program with a step-by-step calendar, digital tools, and expert support to help build local buzz and keep the brand in front of customers. And ongoing consultative support that doesn't disappear after opening day.

This is not a franchise mill. It's a team that is genuinely invested in the success of every location because each one reflects directly on what Laura and Todd built from scratch.

READY TO BRING LOVE & HONEY TO YOUR CITY?

If you've been watching this brand grow and you're ready to have a real conversation about what a franchise opportunity looks like in your market, now is the time to reach out.

The chicken is worth it. The numbers back it up. And Kylie Kelce orders it every week, completely unprompted.

Start here: loveandhoneyfranchise.com