Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits

Bojangles' Inc. is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants, specializing in cajun-seasoned fried chicken, and buttermilk biscuits that primarily serves the Southeastern United States. The company was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1977 by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas.[3]

Bojangles' Inc.
Private
ISINUS0974881007 
IndustryFood
Founded1977 (1977)
FoundersJack Fulk
Richard Thomas
HeadquartersCharlotte, North Carolina
Number of locations
750+[1]
440 franchised,
319 company-owned[2](Dec 30, 2018)
Area served
Southeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic states
Key people
  • Jose Armario (CEO)
  • Brian Unger (COO)
  • Jackie Woodward [2] (CMO)
ProductsFast food, including fried chicken, biscuits, french fries
Revenue US$ 1.28billion (2017)[2]
OwnerThe Jordan Company
Durational Capital Management
Websitewww.bojangles.com

History
Logo used until 2020

Bojangles' opened its first location in Charlotte in 1977. The following year, the first franchised restaurant began operations.

Jack Fulk sold the Bojangles' concept to the now-defunct Horn & Hardart Company of New York[4] in 1981.

Bojangles' received fame in 1989 because their restaurants remained open when Hurricane Hugo struck the Carolinas while a majority of other fast-food restaurants had closed.[5]

During the time of Horn and Hardart's ownership, the chain grew rapidly and expanded to 335 restaurants including 100 restaurants in Florida. Part of this growth was fueled by acquisitions including the Florida-based Biscuits chain.

In 1990, Horn and Hardart sold most of its interest to Sienna Partners and Interwest Partners. The company was then headed by former KFC executive, Dick Campbell. In 1994 the company attempted a public offering. Campbell was subsequently replaced by CEO Jim Peterson. The company was sold to a group of investors headed by former Wendy's executive Joe Drury and financed by FMAC in 1998.[6]

Bojangles' expanded throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with the 300th location opening in 2003. The restaurant started its first college campus location on the grounds of Central Piedmont Community College in 2005. The company also purchased naming rights to the original Charlotte Coliseum on Independence Boulevard in Charlotte.

Bojangles' was purchased again in 2007 by Falfurrias Capital Partners,[7] a private equity firm. The first airport location was opened in 2008 at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. In August 2011, Falfurrias sold Bojangles' to Boston-based Advent International, another private equity firm, after a competitive bidding process with other investors.[8]

Advertisement for Bojangles' at Durham Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina (1989)

In 2012, Bojangles' began sponsoring the NASCAR race Bojangles' Southern 500, and opened another college campus restaurant at UNC Greensboro.[9]

The company opened its 600th restaurant on July 8, 2014, on Galleria Road in Charlotte with Charlotte mayor Dan Clodfelter cutting the celebratory ribbon.[10]

In April 2015, the company filed with the US regulator for an initial public offering of its common stock, expecting to raise $372 million.[11]

In January 2019, Randy Kibler was replaced by Jose Armario as the Chief Executive Officer and brought with him Brian Unger, to serve as the Chief Operating Officer. Both individuals were past employees of McDonald's.[12]

On January 28, 2019, Bojangles' was acquired by the Jordan Company and Durational Capital Management (making Bojangles' a privately held company)[13] with Bojangles' shareholders receiving $ 16.10 a share[14][15] after their approval on January 14, 2019.[16]

In December 2019, Bojangles' and Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores came to an agreement to add 40 Bojangles' locations at Love's Travel Stops in Illinois, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi - all new states for Bojangles' - over the next ten years.[17]

At various times Bojangles' has franchised restaurants in Grand Cayman Island, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico, Ireland, and China. Currently, U.S.-based restaurants are in 11 U.S. states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. Their home state of North Carolina has the largest number of locations.[18]

Fried chicken at Bojangles'

Restaurants offer the full menu during all operating hours. Biscuit sandwiches are the predominant breakfast item, including their signature cajun chicken filet biscuit, as well as country ham, egg, cheese, bacon, sausage, and country fried steak options. For lunch and dinner, their signature item is their bone-in fried chicken with a variety of side items (called "Fixin's"), including french fries, cajun-seasoned pinto beans, dirty rice, Bo-tato Rounds (a type of tater tot), coleslaw, green beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and grits. They also offer boneless chicken tenders known as "Chicken Supremes" which are served with a variety of dipping sauces, fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, a fish sandwich known as the "Bojangler", and a number of salads which can be topped with either grilled or fried chicken. Desserts include the Bo-Berry biscuit, which is a biscuit with blueberries and topped with a sugar glaze, a sweet-potato fried pie, and cinnamon buns. Seasonal and limited-time offerings also appear on some menus, such as pork chop biscuits.[19]

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See also

References
  1. "All Bojangles' Locations | Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits". locations.bojangles.com.
  2. Ruggless, Ron (April 2, 2019). "Bojangles names new marketing chief". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  3. Wehrum, Kasey (June 2011). "Obituary: Jack Fulk, 1932-2011". Inc. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  4. McKibben, William (October 4, 1982). "Bojangles'". The Talk of the Town. The New Yorker. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20170116224300/https://www.bojangles.com/about-us/history
  6. "Chicken Franchise Spreads Its Wings". Greater Charlotte Biz. September 2005. Archived from the original on August 15, 2007.
  7. "Bojangles' Acquired". QSR Magazine. September 13, 2007.
  8. "Bojangles". Advent International. Archived from the original on January 25, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  9. "History of our famous Chicken 'n Biscuits restaurants". Bojangles'. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  10. Adams-Heard, Rachel. (July 9, 2014). Bojangles' reaches a milestone: 600 stores. The Charlotte Observer: retrieved July 9, 2014.
  11. "Restaurant chain Bojangles' files for IPO" (Press release). Reuters. April 7, 2015.
  12. "Former McDonald's execs take helm at Bojangles' after sale". KNXV-TV. January 31, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  13. "Bojangles', Inc., Durational Capital Management and The Jordan Company Complete Acquisition". GlobeNewswire (Press release). January 28, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  14. Peralta, Katherine (November 6, 2018). "NY firms to acquire Charlotte-based Bojangles'". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  15. Miller, Jennifer (November 6, 2018). "Charlotte-based Bojangles' to be sold in 2019". WECT. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  16. Rivera, Michael (January 14, 2019). "Bojangles' receives stockholders approval for acquisition". Verdict Food service. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  17. Genovese, Daniella (December 18, 2019). "Bojangles' to expand into four more states in deal with Love's Travel Stops". Fox Business. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  18. "Bojangles locations". Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  19. "Bojangles Menu". Retrieved March 30, 2020.
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