To me, it's perfect tailgating food. For others, it's the quintessential Sunday morning hangover cure. For others still, it is a taste of home.
Believe it or not, Bojangles has become a "destination" restaurant. Heck, I know of friends who have moved away who upon coming back to the Carolinas have hit "the Bo" two or three times in a weekend.
"It started with a simple Cajun-style fried-chicken recipe. Now, 30 years later, Bojangles’ has new owners, a new chief executive and ambitious plans to face growing competition from other restaurants and chicken vendors," writes the Associated Press.
" 'To be a part of Bojangles’ now is exciting,' new chief executive Randy Kibler said. 'Bojangles’ is an incredibly strong brand and has a really good future.' ...
"Bojangles’ was founded by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas in July 1977. The two men opened their first restaurant at the corner of West Boulevard and South Tryon Street in Charlotte. They saw an opportunity to develop a quick-service restaurant chain, offering made-from-scratch fare with Cajun spices.
"Now the private, Charlotte-based chain has 386 locations in 11 states, Honduras and Mexico, including 27 restaurants in Charlotte.
"It is unclear if the new leadership will maintain such elaborate plans. Executives say that expansion is still on, but they are more concerned about doing it right rather than fast. ...
"Smaller than competitors such as KFC, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes and Boston Market, Bojangles’ found its own niche serving familiar food - scratch-made biscuits, sweet tea and dirty rice - in the growing Southeast.
" 'People know us,' said Tom Lewison, Bojangles’ president and chief operating officer. 'They have come to trust the quality of our food and service.' ...
" 'We’ve become a destination restaurant,' said Chris Bailey, Bojangles’ director of franchise development. 'We need to stay attractive to our customers.' ..."
Cajun-fried chicken. Dirty rice. Boberry Biscuits. And that oh-so-sweet tea. Sounds pretty attractive to me.
Is it lunch time yet?
2 comments:
I get leery when I hear about successful fast food chains bringing in "executive chefs." Because inevitably what that means is that they plan on shaking up the menu a bit, adding some more "cosmopolitan" dishes or trying to inject a dose of health-conscious attitude to fend of would-be critics of places that thrive on grease, fat and gravy.
Bottom line: Bo's ain't broke, so don't try and fix it.
Their plan of attack for expansion should be to plop one within 1/4 mile of your market's largest university, then open more stores as demand grows. Once alumni start moving away from campus housing, follow them and their money into the 'burbs. There you go...instant success.
And to the new Exec. Chef: don't screw with the Bo's menu, new guy! Quarter, mashed potatoes, sweet iced tea.
James,
I don't know if I would worry too much about the direction that "the Bo" is going in. They've hardly changed things in some 30 years; I don't see why they would start now.
Your "plan of attack" is right on. I've heard a number of times (not sure how true it is) that the WEstern Blvd. Bo is the most successful one in the chain. I can believe it. (On a related-if-somewhat-ill-timed note, shouldn't someone put a Smithfield's BBQ on Western?) I would also think one around C-F stadium/The RBC Center would do well.
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