Edwardsville native flexes entrepreneurial skills with opening of Chicken Salad Chick

Jonathan and Hannah Lukowski, who own Firehouse Subs in Alton, are the owners of the new Chicken Salad Chick in Edwardsville scheduled to open June 26. Jonathan and Hannah Lukowski, who own Firehouse Subs in Alton, are the owners of the new Chicken Salad Chick in Edwardsville scheduled to open June 26. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Edwardsville native flexes entrepreneurial skills with opening of Chicken Salad Chick 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

EDWARDSVILLE — The owners of an Alton sandwich shop are preparing to open a new restaurant — Chicken Salad Chick .

With a grand opening planned June 26, the restaurant will be the fourth owned by savvy Southern Illinois University Edwardsville graduate Hannah Lukowski of Edwardsville.

“I got a degree in public relations, and I went to work in aviation,” she said. “I sold communication systems for private corporate jets, and I traveled around non-stop for close to eight years.”

When she and her husband, Jonathan, who also travels a great deal with the federal government, decided to have children, they restaurant franchises. Lukoswki said she immediately thought about Chicken Salad Chick because her best friend and former college roommate, Ali Rauch, was the firm’s director of marketing.

“That was six years ago, but they were very small,” she said. “They had like six locations and were not ready to expand to the St. Louis market.”

Lukowski researched other franchises and soon became involved with Firehouse Subs. She now operates Firehouse Subs at 317 Homer Adams Parkway in Alton, as well as Collinsville and St. Louis.

“Basically, I’ve opened up one business a year for the last four years,” said Lukowski, who also has the rights to Firehouse Subs in Edwardsville but has not been able to find the right location for it.

After gaining a few years of experience with Firehouse Subs, she circled back around to Chicken Salad Chick which recently opened its 120th location in Texas.

“I had been watching Chicken Salad Chick’s growth for several years. It just wasn’t ready for the Midwest yet,” she said. “They are definitely on a path for growth (now).”

The Edwardsville Chicken Salad Chick, located at 2323 Plum, next to the new Sugarfire Smokehouse, will open June 26. Lukowski also has a lease signed for a store in O’Fallon, Illinois, she plans to open next spring.

“I have the rights for Chicken Salad Chick on the Illinois side and corporate is developing the Missouri side,” she said.

Chicken Salad Chick offers 12 varieties of made-from-scratch chicken salad daily. The company was started by Stacy Brown, a woman from the South who had been on a quest to find the perfect chicken salad. But, as most dishes go, everyone had their idea of what should be in chicken salad.

Recruiting friends, neighbors and her family as taste-testers, she developed 12 varieties of chicken salad based on individuals — “chicks” — in her life.

There’s Classic Carol named after Brown’s mother. “It’s our classic chicken salad that’s all white meat chicken, mayonnaise, finely minced celery and then we have secret seasoning that goes into it,” Lukowski said.

Others include Fruity Fran, based on Brown’s Aunt Fran, with a blend of Fuji apples, seedless grapes and pineapple, as well as Cranberry Kelli, based on Brown’s sister-in-law, with a blend of dried, sweetened cranberries and slivered almonds.

“There’s everything from the spicy Jalapeno Holly to more of a savory one like Lauren’s Lemon Basil, ”Lukowski said. Chicken Salad Chick also offers made-from-scratch sides.

A mother of a 2 1/2-year-old with another child on the way, Lukowski has mastered balancing business and family.

“I love the flexibility of it, but I think the part I love the most is employing the employees,” she said. “It’s really cool to make a difference in somebody’s life.

“Because I’ve been able to build several locations, all of my management has come up from within,” she said. “My director of operations was my first employee I ever hired at my Alton location four years ago. My new general manager for Edwardsville has worked for me for a year and a half at Collinsville.

”It’s just cool to see employees grow with me,” she said. “That’s definitely been the highlight.”

Chicken Salad Chick Edwardsville’s grand opening is planned for 10 a.m. June 26. The first 100 people get a large Quick Chick, one per month for the entire year. The first guest in line gets a large Quick Chick, one per week, for the first year.

The first 100 guests in line on June 28 will receive a 32-ounce Chicken Salad Chick customized arctic mug. And the first 50 guests who buy two large Quick Chicks on June 29 will receive a free Chicken Salad Chick cooler.

Chicken Salad Chick will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, but closed Sundays. For more details, visit the Chicken Salad Chick Edwardsville Facebook page.