When you can’t beat each other, you might as well join forces. That’s the thinking behind a merger announced Wednesday in the world of fast-casual Thai-style chicken and rice, or khao mun gai.
Two competing Bay Area chains, Chick’n Rice and Rooster & Rice, have merged their companies and adopted the name, brand and simple menu of Rooster & Rice, which offers three types of poached organic chicken, served over fragrant rice and garnished with cucumbers and cilantro, plus a vegetarian version.
Rooster & Rice was co-founded by Bryan Lew and Tommy Charoen in 2015, and currently has three San Francisco locations. Chick’n Rice was founded in 2017 by the creators of delivery service Caviar, and opened the first of its three San Francisco locations in 2015. They have temporary closed their San Jose location to prepare for the re-brand as Rooster & Rice. The original Berkeley location is closed indefinitely as the teams consolidate their expansion plans.
In the meantime, three new Rooster & Rice locations are also in development in San Jose at Westfield Valley Fair, in Pleasanton at 3120 Santa Rita Road, and a third new San Francisco location at Stanyan Street.