Bojangles signals a move away from traditional bone-in chicken at some locations
A major North Carolina fast food chain could pluck an iconic item from its menu.
The CEO of North Carolina-based Bojangles, Jose Armario, signaled in an interview this month with QSR Magazine that the brand is moving away from bone-in chicken.
“This is going to sound weird or controversial,” he says. “But I’d like to get out of the chicken business.”
In the QSR Magazine interview, Armario said that Bojangles had experimented with a stream-lined menu at a handful of new locations in Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana. The altered menu focused on chicken tenders, sandwiches, BoBerry biscuits and milkshakes and didn’t offer bone-in chicken — a model expected to be the norm as the brand expands nationally.
Bojangles was purchased for nearly $600 million in 2018 by private equity firms Durational Capital Management LP and The Jordan Company LP, with plans to expand the largely Southern chain into a more national market.
Will North Carolina Bojangles serve bone-in chicken?
But as Bojangles goes national, the company said the menu changes are planned for new locations, not existing restaurants. Which means bone-in chicken is safe for now at Carolina Bojangles.
“Bojangles will always be in the business of serving delicious Southern chicken, biscuits and tea, and that will never change,” said Stacey McCray, vice president of communications at Bojangles.
“As we expand into new markets, an enhanced guest experience will be a key differentiator, along with a streamlined menu featuring hand-breaded boneless chicken. There are no plans to change the menu in our existing restaurants.”
Bojangles opened in 1977 and is famous for buttery all-day biscuits and a peppery style of fried chicken.
The brand has 28 locations in the Triangle and is among the most popular fast food restaurants in the area. Bojangles has won two recent reader polls in The News & Observer, where readers declared it the makers of the best biscuits and the best fried chicken.
NC franchise owner: ‘Bone-in chicken will always have a place’
While future Bojangles may shift beyond traditional bone-in chicken, Kenny Avery, the chief operating officer of the Triangle Bojangles franchise, expects the item is safe.
“As Bojangles expands outside its core Southern states, North and South Carolina and Georgia, the question is how do you get new customers who may not be as familiar with the brand,” Avery said. “That menu has evolved as Bojangles and expanded west. But bone-in chicken will always have a place inside its core.”
Despite the popularity of bone-in chicken, Avery said that Supremes, the Bojangles version of chicken tenders, is the top selling item. Still, he believes traditional chicken is practically chiseled onto local menus.
“I don’t really ever see Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill Bojangles locations walking away from bone-in chicken,” Avery said.
This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Bojangles signals a move away from traditional bone-in chicken at some locations."
