BirdShack not giving up on Kingston
Seeking new locations to set up stores in capital city and elsewhere
Published:Sunday | August 31, 2025 | 12:10 AMLuke Douglas - Senior Business Reporter
BirdShack Fried Chicken is actively looking for a new location in Kingston to re-establish a store in the city, possibly before the end of the year, and is looking forward to adding more restaurants in 2026.
Wayne Cummings, CEO of Arya QSR Limited, the local franchise operator for BirdShack, says he is assessing various locations and is in discussions with realtors to identify sites for new restaurants to expand the chain.
“We are actively looking for locations, not only in Kingston but across the island, to continue our expansion drive. I’ve seen two locations in Kingston. Both are intriguing, but they are not ticking on my boxes,” Cummings told the Financial Gleaner.
The chain now has four stores in operation.
In July, BirdShack shuttered its only store in Kingston, at Red Hills Road. It sat between stores operated by two big rivals, KFC and Popeyes. Cummings said challenges with parking made the location financially unviable.
“That was our newest store and I was passionate about it, having grown up in the area. But it had zero parking,” he said. “Parking proved to be too important an issue not to have at the location. The data was clear; it was not going to rebound from the original novelty on its opening. So we took the decision to close it.”
Having learnt the lessons from the Red Hills Road experience, Cummings says he is looking for locations preferably with a combination of high vehicular or pedestrian traffic and good parking facilities. Areas such as Half-Way Tree, Hagley Park Road, Liguanea, Constant Spring Road, Manor Park, Cross Roads and downtown Kingston are on his radar.
Otherwise, he said the other locations – three in Montego Bay and one in Ocho Rios – continue to do well.
“Here in Montego Bay, we have one store that is right in the heart of downtown, immediately across from a bus park, and that one is going gangbusters. We have another located within a call centre, a free zone area, but it also allows for public access with a drive-through,” said Cummings. “That’s a great model. And we have another in the middle of a shopping mall at Whitter Village which has a perfect flow of cars, parking, and walk-in customers,” he said.
As for the plans to expand, Cummings wants to enter Portmore, other locations along the north coast, and elsewhere.
“We are looking at towns across Jamaica, with no particular priority one over the other. We are keen on finding the ideal location in Portmore and [seeing] if the right locations come up on the north coast. I must say that I’m intrigued by Lucea and Negril. It’s up to the good realtors who we are in touch with to reach out, and there are landlords who are calling as well,” he said.
Fast-food chicken is highly popular in Jamaica, with KFC as the undisputed market leader amid various foreign franchises and locally owned chains. Although Island Grill does jerked chicken, not fried, its fare is also highly popular.
Cummings says he is not concerned about locating his restaurants close to his competitors, citing different types of quick-service restaurants.
“In fact, the more competition, the better for all. We operate with them in locations right here in Montego Bay and at Whitter Village; Wendy’s is here, KFC is here, and downtown (Montego Bay) KFC, Popeyes and Burger King are all within walking distance of each other,” he said.