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Larry Lavigne has learned a few things about being successful in franchising during the past 25 years. He operates Tropical Smoothie Café and Jet's Pizza locations in his home state of Tennessee. Now his company is bringing Church's Chicken restaurants to the Volunteer state. He has a 10-unit deal with the brand and just opened his second location in Columbia, Tennessee.
As president of Volunteer Chicken, LLC, Lavigne has seen great response to the opening of the group's first Church's restaurant in Smyrna, Tennessee. The hands-on operator has a reputation for doing whatever it takes to get a location off the ground successfully, from hiring the best branch coordinators and management team members to greeting customers and preparing food.
"Columbia has been enjoying steady population growth in recent years, and is a great place to focus our additional expansion efforts," says Lavigne. "Adding a legacy brand like Church's here is a natural fit for us and for local residents, allowing us to further our diversification activities by bringing chicken lovers some of the country's best chicken."
The new restaurants feature Church's STAR Image Design, which includes contemporary dining rooms with enhanced architectural elements, including new interior seating, modern color palettes, and sconce lighting.