Church's Texas Chicken's China debut drew 2-hour lines — and $22 offers to wait in them

Church's Texas Chicken plans to develop at least 600 restaurants across China.

Ying Tang/NurPhoto/Getty Images Church's Texas Chicken's first mainland China store drew two-hour lines despite the rain.

Queue-sitters asked up to $22 — more than the price of a six-piece bucket — on resale platforms.

Church's is betting big on China, with plans to develop at least 600 restaurants across the country.

China's consumer spending remains sluggish, but the arrival of a new American fried-chicken chain shows there's still an appetite for an affordable indulgence.

Church's Texas Chicken opened its first mainland China location in Shanghai on Friday, drawing customers who waited in the rain for more than two hours, local media reported.

Staff told Chinese news outlet Lanjing News that the restaurant was handling about 800 to 900 orders a day.

The lines have spawned a small side hustle.

People on Chinese resale platforms were advertising queueing services for 100 to 150 yuan, or up to about $22, the outlet reported.

That's more than the 89.90 yuan price of a six-piece bucket.

The opening also drew attention on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, where the hashtag "American fried-chicken giant opens first China store" became a hot topic.

"I can't believe that in 2026, people are still lining up for hours for a fried-chicken restaurant opening.

I thought it was 1996," one user wrote.

Another joked: "When you eat it, you have to say: 'This is exactly the same taste I had when I was studying in Texas.' That's what makes it classy enough." Others questioned whether the initial enthusiasm would last.