Zaxbys has signed a five-unit agreement with travel-hospitality operator Areas USA to open restaurants inside Florida Turnpike service plazas, marking the Atlanta-based chicken chain's largest non-traditional development deal to date.

The first location already operates inside Orlando's Turkey Lake Service Plaza, one of the highest-traffic stops on the 134-mile corridor. Four additional units will follow under the agreement, which gives Areas USA development rights for Zaxbys inside turnpike real estate.

What does the deal cover?

Areas USA runs food, beverage and travel-retail programs across airports, motorways and other high-traffic venues. The operator has held a long-running partnership with Florida's Turnpike Enterprise to upgrade the state's service-plaza model and establish a scalable concession template. The Zaxbys agreement slots the chicken concept into that footprint, with Areas handling real estate and Zaxbys supplying the operating brand and menu.

Who is leading the expansion?

Russ Holland, named Zaxbys' chief development officer in June, framed the deal as a way to meet travelers at scale. "Working with Areas USA enables us to introduce the Zaxbys experience to millions of travelers each year while continuing to build on our non-traditional development strategy," Holland said. "We're excited to expand into one of Florida's most heavily traveled corridors alongside a partner that shares our commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences."

Areas chief development officer Richard Schneider said Zaxbys is a strong fit for the operator's goal of executing on those service-plaza objectives. The pairing matches one of the fastest-growing U.S. chicken concepts with a hospitality company that already controls prime concession locations along the turnpike.

How does this fit Zaxbys' broader growth plan?

• The chain passed 1,000 units after a 2025 that exceeded growth expectations.
• Zaxbys operates in 24 states and entered Las Vegas, Phoenix and New York City in 2025.
• The "Grow to Win" plan introduced a new Modern Farmhouse prototype.
• Building-type count expanded from one 3,000-square-foot box to six standard formats, with seven if conversions are counted.
• The portfolio now includes non-traditional and drive-thru-only prototypes.
• Zaxbys is actively exploring airports, colleges and universities, and military installations.

Why does real-estate flexibility matter?

Smaller building footprints and conversion options let franchisees place restaurants in venues that previously could not accommodate a traditional Zaxbys box. Service plazas, with their constrained floor plates and captive travel audiences, fit that profile cleanly. Each concession unit runs under a fixed-volume lease structure rather than a freestanding real-estate model, a meaningful shift for franchisee cost-of-goods and labor economics where prime cost and labor percentage differ sharply from a typical drive-thru operator's math.

What comes next?

The four remaining Florida Turnpike units are scheduled to open in phases under the Areas USA concession agreement. With travel traffic on Florida's toll-road system running at elevated levels and the company now offering seven building formats to franchisees, Zaxbys is positioning non-traditional development as a structural piece of its unit-growth plan rather than a side bet, with airports, university campuses and military installations next on the development pipeline.