• by Barbie Romero , Yesterday

Pat Noone discusses Slim Chickens' collaboration with The All-American Rejects, the brand's music-first identity, and how the team adapts menus globally while preserving their brand's core flavors and personality.

1. Earlier this year, Slim Chickens partnered with The All-American Rejects to give out free meals. What consumer insights or brand goals led to that collaboration?

What really caught our attention was how AAR has been turning the music industry on its head by stepping away from traditional touring and hosting their own house-party concerts. That level of innovation instantly felt like Slim Chickens.

It also didn’t hurt that Tyson is a genuine fan of the brand. There’s a Slim Chickens right across from his high school in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and he grew up eating with us. That authenticity made the partnership feel natural from the start.

When we hosted the house party in Fayetteville, it was incredible to see how many fans in their 40s showed up with their kids in their 20s. AAR was something they had shared together over the years, and you could feel a generational connection in the room. Also, on July 15, from 4–8 PM, we gave away free All-American Rejects Meals at every Slim Chickens in the U.S. to capitalize on the partnership. We’ve developed a connection with the band and have been discussing how we keep the relationship evolving.

2. Music seems to be woven into Slim Chickens’ DNA, even down to building your own recording studio. What advice would you give other marketers on building authentic partnerships with bands or artists?

Fans can tell immediately if an artist collaboration is transactional. At Slim Chickens, music is part of the brand’s DNA. It’s in the restaurants, in our creative process, and even in the recording studio we are building.  We gravitate toward artists who already feel like they live in our world. Choose partners who naturally fit your culture, not just your campaign. Let them experience your brand, give them creative input, and build something real together. When the partnership feels authentic, the audience feels it too. And don’t feel constrained by a single genre.  Any restaurant brand is going to have a broad and varied customer base so don’t be afraid to experiment with a different groove.

3. Your original Fayetteville, Arkansas restaurant was recently torn down and rebuilt into a drive-thru–only concept. How did that shift influence your media strategy and the way you communicate with guests in that market?

Rebuilding our original Fayetteville restaurant into a 1,200-square-foot Fly-Thru was a huge moment for the brand. It symbolized how we’re honoring our roots while adapting to where guests are headed.

The Fly-Thru format gives guests the speed they want without compromising the cooked-to-order quality we’re known for. Because the location sits right by the University of Arkansas, a large portion of our communication focuses on students, campus life, and guests who come in for athletics or major campus events. It’s one of our most dynamic trade areas, so messaging is tailored to convenience, speed, and making Slim Chickens an easy stop before or after big university moments.

From a media standpoint, the Fly-Thru helped us tell a broader story about flexible growth formats—drive-thru-only, endcaps, inline conversions, airports, and universities. These formats are helping accelerate our global expansion, especially in markets where real estate is tight, but demand is strong.

4. With Slim Chickens expanding internationally, how do you balance maintaining a consistent global brand experience and adapting to local cultural nuances?

For us, consistency comes from protecting the core, and relevance comes from adapting the details. The core, hand-breaded chicken, our 14 signature sauces, and our warm Southern hospitality, stays the same everywhere. But we work closely with local operators to adapt thoughtfully. In Malaysia, we introduced rice-based bowls instead of mac-and-cheese bowls. In the UK and Malaysia, we serve halal-certified chicken. In Germany, we’re introducing a hot cheese sauce to align with local taste profiles.

This balance of integrity and flexibility is key to why we now have 325+ restaurants globally, more than 80 in the UK, and a growing footprint across Europe, Turkey, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

5. For someone visiting Slim Chickens for the very first time, what menu item do you recommend they start with? Can you share the story behind the mascot’s signature fedora?

You’ve got to start with the Tenders. My go-to is a Classic Meal with Slim Sauce, plus a Mango Habanero on the side, sub mac and cheese for fries, and a raspberry tea. That’s my 9-times-out-of-10 order. 

As for the fedora, Slim was originally imagined as a Delta Bluesman, and the fedora is classic blues-musician gear. Over time, the brand evolved well beyond Delta Blues, but the fedora stuck. It’s become a symbol of the cool, laid-back personality at the heart of Slim Chickens.

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