Episode 93: Tom O’Keefe with Southern Classic Chicken

Tom O’Keefe is managing director of the 17-unit Louisiana and Texas family-style concept Southern Classic Chicken. O’Keefe says that he was initially drawn to the company by its 35-year customer following that he describes as "cult-like."

Says O’Keefe, "Brothers Howard and Leon Fanning had just taken over operations and were placing emphasis on growth when I decided to join. The combination of qualified people, a popular product line, established operating procedures, and great unit-level economics made this scalable."

In this episode, O’Keefe explains how his legal background and previous experience with Al Copeland’s restaurant enterprises helped him successfully build the Southern Classic Chicken franchise program. "Growth through franchising requires proper selection and consistent field support," says O’Keefe. "We pride ourselves on working hard at both."

Among the concept’s menu offerings are bone-in chicken by-the-piece and a chicken tender sandwich — the D.I.Y. Chicken Sandwich. Most of the company’s locations require half- to one-acre sites to accommodate free-standing units offering seated dine-in service, a walk-up order pass thru, and a drive-thru order window. In 2025, the company plans to launch a smaller unit design with less on-premises seating and more space dedicated to walk-up and drive-thru service.

Southern Classic Chicken’s adherence to hospitality business fundamentals has helped it maintain high customer loyalty and better than industry average unit sales volume. Says O’Keefe, "In the short term, we plan to keep our emphasis on customer service and consistent operations while we continue to grow throughout the Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas markets."