Albert Rempel is opening Southwest Florida’s first Chick’nCone, a chicken joint that specializes in a portable version of chicken and waffles. The new fast casual restaurant is set to have a soft opening toward the end of October at 19521 Highland Oaks Drive, Unit 303, in Estero.
“Chicken is very universal,” Rempel said. “Everyone loves fried chicken. It’s good. It’s tasty. I was looking for something fresh and something that doesn’t exist in the same form in other restaurants.”
Serving premium chicken sandwiches, tenders, the signature Chick’nCone and sides, the 1,530-square-foot restaurant will seat 30 to 35 people. All entrees and meals typically range between $8 to $13.
The Chick’nCone is crispy chicken tossed with a choice of sauce and served in a hand rolled, made-in-house waffle cone. Keeping up with its branding, the Chick’nSandwich is a toasted brioche roll filled with Chick’nTenders coated with a choice of sauce.
The franchise recently launched a new item called the Chick’nBowl, which is a bed of fries topped with Mac’nCheese, chopped tenders and sauce, described as the ultimate comfort food.
Sides include Caj’nFries, Caj’nCorn and Mac’nCheese. Chick’nCone also offers six different sauces ranging from sweet and savory to spicy. For the most authentic hand-held chicken and waffle experience, the cinna-maple sauce is the way to go. Other sauces include the Kick’nRanch, barbecue, yell barbecue, buffalo blue and peri peri, which is a spicy south African chili sauce.
To wash everything down, Chick’nCone serves soft drinks, as well as vanilla, caramel and chocolate waffle crunch milkshakes.
“The mission of Chick’nCone is to provide food with a hashtag-worthy experience,” Rempel said. Those who visit the Estero location can pose with their meals in front of the restaurant’s social media wall and post their photo with the franchise’s most popular hashtag, #SoCluckinGood.
There also will be a kids meal offered. Depending on the success of the Estero location, Rempel already has his eyes set on a couple other locations between Lee and Collier counties.
Chick’nCone will begin its hiring process in about two weeks ahead of its soft opening. There will be options for dine-in, take-out and delivery, with Rempel planning to add a catering food truck eventually, which is how Chick’nCone got its start before opening its first brick-and-mortar location in the Turnstyle Underground Market in New York City.
Rempel’s original plan was to open Chick’nCone in July 2022, but delays in contracting coupled with the effects of Hurricane Ian put the opening on hold.
Originally from Germany with a background in information technology sales, Rempel began the process of obtaining his investor visa to open his own business in the U.S. nearly two years ago.
“That was quite challenging, but very interesting,” Rempel said of his many years in IT sales and computer science. “I really enjoyed it, to be honest, but I also felt like it was time to try something new or different. I always wanted to be a businessperson. I always wanted to be my own boss.”
Seeing more of a benefit in producing products, specifically food, Rempel eventually connected with a franchise consultant, which led him to Chick’nCone.
The portable chicken and waffle are what attracted Rempel to the franchise. “I soon realized that if it caught my attention, I thought, well, if I want to try it, I bet there are more people that would love to try it too,” he said.
Moving his wife and children with him in March to the area, the Rempels leased their first home in the U.S. in Estero. “One of our mindsets is about give and take,” Rempel said. “Our intent is to be part of the community, integrate ourselves into the community and give back to the community.”
Chick’nCone will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily but will open at noon on Sundays.
