Zaxby’s

Name: Zaxby’s

Type of Food: Chicken, chicken fingers, buffalo wings, salads.

Interesting Fact: At Zaxby’s, they love the letter Z. On their menu, for example, appetizers and salads become Zappetizers and Zalads at Zaxby’s.

History: Zaxby’s founders Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley looked around their community and saw plenty of fast food or sit-down dining options, but felt something was missing. They decided to provide the most delicious chicken fingers and Buffalo wings in town. That hatched a simple idea to create a fun atmosphere where food quality is of the utmost importance. In March 1990, they opened the first Zaxby’s in Statesboro, Georgia. Its menu is built around buffalo wings and chicken fingers, including them on platters, in sandwiches, and on salads (called Zalads on their menu).

McLeroy and Townley opened four more restaurants, and in 1994, they began to franchise the brand. The food and service was so popular, the Athens, Ga.-based chain has boomed to more than 470 units in 11 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and is still expanding.

Website: www.zaxbys.com

View the menu: here

Find your local Zaxby’s: here

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Chick-fil-A

Name: Chick-fil-A

Type of Food: Chicken

Interesting Facts: It is the second-largest chicken-based fast-food chain in the United States. Chick-fil-A’s slogan, “We Didn’t Invent the Chicken, Just the Chicken Sandwich,” is based on a true story: at a time when hamburgers dominated fast-food menus since the beginning,Chick-fil-A was credited with creating and inventing the chicken sandwich.

History: Chick-fil-A got it’s start in 1946 as the Dwarf Grill, a restaurant opened by Truett Cathy in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville in 1946. This restaurants original location was  near a now defunct Ford plant.During the next couple of years, Cathy worked on his recipes, and is credited with inventing the first chicken sandwich in 1964. Cathy discovered that pressure cooking the chicken in peanut oil allowed for a fast serving time, and could give him something more unique than another burger joint ( aproccess still used today). The original sandwich also came with simply two pickles because that was the only condiment he had on hand when the sandwiches were created. With popularity of this item, the first Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967. The initial growth strategy was through Chick-fil-A locations in shopping malls. There are 375 mall locations at this time. Since 1986, most of Chick-fil-A’s growth has been in freestanding units (as of May 2009, the chain has over 775 freestanding units). In total Chick-fil-A has 1430 locations in 38 states.

Website: www.chick-fil-a.com

View the menu: here

Find your local Chick-fil-A: here

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Bojangles

Name: Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits

Type of Food: Chicken and biscuits

Interesting Fact: Founded in 1977 by former KFC president Richard Thomas and partner Jack Fulk, Bojangles is named for the song written by Jerry Jeff Walker.

History: The first Bojangles’ was opened by founders Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas in July 1977 in the South End area of Charlotte, NC. Located mostly in the southeastern United States, Bojangle’s has a core menu featuring Bojangles’ Cajun Spiced chicken, fresh buttermilk biscuits and fixin’s such as Bojangles’ Dirty Rice, Bojangles’ Cajun Pintos and seasoned fries. All Bojangles’ kitchens prepare menu items from scratch. Besides Cajun-style chicken, Bojangles’ offers a wide breakfast menu including Cajun fillets, seasoned sausage or steak, country ham, eggs and cheese. Bojangles’ boasts more than 426 total locations in 12 states, as well as Honduras and Mexico.

Website: www.bojangles.com

View the menu: here

Find your local Bojangles’: here

El Pollo Loco

Name: El Pollo Loco

Type of Food: Mexican focused on grilled chicken

Interesting Fact: On July 31, 1995 El Pollo Loco earns a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for building the world’s largest burrito in Anaheim, California. The burrito is 3,112 feet long and weighs two tons.

History: It all started in 1975, in the small town of Guasave on Mexico’s Pacific Coast a roadside chicken stand named El Pollo Loco (pronounced “L-Po-yo Lo-co” and Spanish for “The Crazy Chicken”) by Juan Francisco Ochoa. Its signature menu item was (and remains) unique– fresh, natural chicken marinated in a special recipe of herbs, spices and citrus juices passed down from the founding family. News of El Pollo Loco spread rapidly throughout Northern Mexico. By 1979, El Pollo Loco restaurants could be found in a variety of Northern Mexico cities. Shortly after, news of the delicious marinated chicken traveled across the border into the United States. In 1980, people lined up around the block as the first American El Pollo Loco opened on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles. It quickly expanded and by 1991, there were 200 El Pollp Loco locations.  In 1998, El Pollo Loco added self-serve salsa bars in its restaurants, allowing customers the opportunity to personalize menu selections with El Pollo Loco signature salsas, including  its famous House Salsa, Spicy Chipotle Salsa, Avocado Salsa and Pico de Gallo. Other El Pollo Loco favorites include made-to-order signature grilled burritos, The Original Pollo Bowl®, Pollo Salads, Tacos al Carbon, quesadillas, Chicken Tortilla Soup and more. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, El Pollo Loco, Inc. is a privately held company owned by Trimaran Capital Partners and company management. El Pollo Loco opened 30 new restaurants during 2008. As of December 31, 2008, there were 413 El Pollo Loco restaurants: 247 owned by franchisees and 166 owned and operated by the company. The restaurants are located in the following U.S. states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Website: www.elpolloloco.com

View the menu: here

Find your local El Pollo Loco: here

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Popeyes

Name: Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits

Type of Food: Fried Chicken & Biscuits

Interesting Fact: “Popeyes,” is named after the character Popeye Doyle in the movie “The French Connection”, not the cartoon sailor character of the same name.

History: The Popeyes story began in New Orleans back in 1972, when Al Copeland opened a quick-service restaurant called “Chicken on the Run,” in a small New Orleans suburb of Arabi. But business was slow, and Copeland realized that he’d have to sell a spicier alternative to his standard chicken recipe if he wanted to impress flavor-seeking New Orleanians. Copeland had already been experimenting with the flavorful Cajun recipes he’d been enjoying all his life and soon reopened his restaurant as “Popeyes.” Today, Popeyes has more than 1818 restaurants in the U.S. and 27 international markets.

Website: www.popeyes.com

View the menu: here

Find your local Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits here

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