Following the success of a viral Instagram reel advertising his new Perfect Tender concept, San Antonio restaurateur Ricky Ortiz told the Current he’s ready to franchise the Nashville-style hot chicken eatery.
Perfect Tender shared the video clip Friday, Feb. 21, and as of Sunday, March 9, it’s been shared some 15 million times. The reel features chickens scrambling for food, then an explosion transitions to footage of a bowl of Perfect Tender wings being tossed in spices — all set to Daddy Yankee’s reggaeton mega-hit “Gasolina.”
“At the moment, it’s one of the top-performing Instagram reels for restaurants in the world,” Ortiz said, crediting his marketing manager Andrew Oeffinger for the post.
Building on that attention, Ortiz said he’s looking to take the one-unit Perfect Tender beyond San Antonio. He’s also aiming to do the same with El Camino, the colorful food truck park he opened in 2021 along Museum Reach.
“The plan is to franchise Perfect Tender and add more El Camino locations outside of San Antonio,” he said.
Located at 6565 Babcock Road, Perfect Tender keeps it simple, menu-wise. Guests can customize their fried chicken tenders on a spice level ranging from a mild “Golden” to the searing “Hot and Bothered” and the utterly insane “F.A.F.O.”
The sports bar-style joint also offers hyperbolically large mozzarella sticks, chicken-and-waffles combos, loaded fries, chicken wings and chicken tender sandwiches.
Situated at 1009 Ave. B, El Camino’s food offerings feature a rotating array of food trucks onsite, in addition to a full bar and drink specials.
Having sold his other two concepts, Bésame Bar and Food Truck Park — currently closed due to extensive fire damage suffered last week — and Aye Que Chula, Ortiz says he’s done with opening up new bar concepts. He said he’d rather focus on expanding his existing holdings and helping local food trucks and businesses with their branding and social media presence.
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Related Stories
San Antonio’s El Camino food truck park welcomes two new mobile kitchens
San Antonio food truck park El Camino draws criticism for anti-‘Edgar’ post
San Antonio’s Revolutionary Wings will permanently close around the end of March
This article appears in Mar 5-18, 2025.