T2D Concepts, the hospitality group founded by celebrity chef Tiffany Derry and Tom Foley, is offering the opportunity to franchise her Roots Chicken Shak concept.

With an efficient footprint, streamlined menu centered around Tiffany’s duck fat-fried chicken, and elimination of food waste, Roots presents a scalable restaurant concept that creates a great dining experience, and also works to catalyze social justice.

“Our mission at T2D Concepts is to practice hospitality with purpose: deliver great experiences for our guests and great opportunities for our people and partners,” says co-founder Tom Foley in a statement. “We designed this model with the intention to shift the franchise system and provide pathways for marginalized community members to operate their own business. We invite those interested in starting a franchise and making a difference to join our mission.”

T2D Concepts T2D Concepts is the hospitality group behind Roots Chicken Shak, Roots Southern Table, Radici and ‘Shef Tiffany (spice and apparel line) founded on passion, principle, and purpose.

What differentiates T2D’s franchise model from others is the criteria of their potential franchise owner-operators. Rather than looking at net worth, bank account balance or credit score first, T2D looks for individuals who embrace their core values: the passion to deliver legendary unparalleled hospitality and a commitment to excellence. The secondary factor is that the potential operator possesses a baseline level of restaurant operations experience.

This allows qualified individuals who may be undercapitalized, both currently and historically, to join T2D as owner-operators or multi-unit developers.

While recognizing the reality of restaurant development and the need for capital, T2D’s solution is crafted to clear financial hurdles by leveraging strategic relationships with funding partners, municipalities, and companies aligned with the group’s mission.

"As a black female, I understand and empathize with the challenges of breaking into and becoming successful in the hospitality industry," Derry says in a statement. "That’s why this endeavor is so important—to be able to provide under-resourced individuals the opportunity and resources to build a better life for not only themselves, but also the communities they live in.”

T2D Concepts currently operates two Roots Chicken Shak locations in Plano and Austin, with a third slated to open in DeSoto.