“Is it just me or has the quality of Church’s chicken gone down drastically?”
That question, posted to Reddit in February 2025, drew an overwhelming response — and the vast majority of commenters agreed that yes, something had changed, and not for the better. The timing was pointed: Church’s Texas Chicken had just announced, with considerable fanfare, that it was returning to its original 1952 fried chicken recipe. The rollout did not go the way the chain had hoped.
Church’s has been a Southern fast food institution since its founding in San Antonio in 1952. Its honey butter biscuits became a fan favorite in their own right, and for decades the chain built genuine loyalty on affordable, well-seasoned fried chicken in communities across the South and Southwest.
When private equity firm High Bluff Capital Partners acquired the chain in 2021, some customers began noticing a decline in quality. Church’s response – announcing in October 2024 a return to the original recipe, complete with press release photography of beautifully fried chicken – was meant to be good news. On Reddit, it landed differently, and the bad reviews just keep piling up.
What customers found
“Nothing like it used to be,” declared one post in r/mildlyinfuriating shortly after the recipe change rolled out. “It tastes NOTHING like it used to,” the same user continued, flagging both the chicken’s batter and breading and what they described as inferior biscuits. Other commenters piled on. One described their post-change eight-piece order as “horrible.” Others said it “completely sucks now.”
A separate Reddit thread captured the quieter version of the same complaint: “Sitting here with my large box of fries and so disappointed. They just don’t hit the same.” Portion sizes drew criticism alongside quality – the chain’s fried chicken was described in one thread as looking “sad,” and customers noted the crinkle-cut fries that were a menu staple at many locations had begun disappearing, replaced by straight fries that drew less enthusiasm.
The recipe question
What makes the Church’s situation particularly unusual is that the backlash came after the chain specifically tried to fix the problem. The head chef’s press release promised “deep marination and crispy, flaky breading – it’s all about flavor.” Customers trying the updated product largely didn’t taste what was advertised. Whether the execution at the franchise level failed to match the corporate vision, or whether the recipe itself simply didn’t land, is hard to determine from the outside. What’s clear is that the gap between the announcement and the experience was wide enough to generate its own Reddit thread.
The bigger picture
Church’s Texas Chicken still has thousands of locations and retains genuine loyalty in many markets. At least one commenter in the r/mildlyinfuriating thread defended the tenders, saying they liked them more than before – a reminder that these reactions are never unanimous. But for a chain that positioned the recipe change as a return to its roots, the Reddit response was a blunt signal that customers weren’t feeling the comeback. When you promise people the original and they say it tastes nothing like it used to, the brand has a credibility problem that a press release can’t solve.
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