Howdy folks, welcome back to HHR, and Happy New Year! Today, we’re looking at the best-preserved example of a chicken chain that flew the coop in Houston just about four years ago. PDQ landed in Houston in 2015 as part of an aggressive expansion campaign for the still-new chicken restaurant. This location at 9440 Katy Fwy, Houston, TX 77055, was the first to open in the area of many planned. The concept was born in 2011 in Tampa, FL, and was dreamt up by an Outback Steakhouse co-founder. The concept was pretty simple: a Chick-fil-A style menu serving up strips, nuggets, and sandwiches in a more relaxed feeling environment adjacent to a Raising Cane’s. Houston would end up with about 4 locations spread throughout the burbs, looking to fill a crowded niche but with a pretty dedicated fan base.
While PDQ expanded here, they also focused on growing in DFW and Austin, where branch locations were also built. While the concept was new to Houstonians, it was a hit, and PDQ was being talked about everywhere until it wasn’t. The problem was not that PDQ had strayed from its path, but rather competition in the chicken realm was particularly heated in the late 2010s, and PDQ’s limited presence was making them a tertiary player at best. Expansion efforts had been focused along the Eastern seaboard instead, with Texas taking the backseat. Throughout 2018 and 2019, PDQ locations across Texas closed as the company tried to shift money back to its home base. As quietly as these stores closed, many didn’t notice for months and simply chalked it up to the pandemic, when the reality is that PDQ left Houston because they were doing poorly as a whole. As of 2024, the chain had about 60 locations and has been steadily shrinking over the past few years. While, it doesn’t seem like PDQ is about to go extinct, they’ll probably not be heading back to Houston anytime soon.
