Bojangles is once again planning a big expansion of stores

Why it matters: Bojangles is a regional chain with a cult-like following. Its expansion plans will test the appetite for the brand in other parts of the country.

Flashback: Over the years, Bojangles, which was bought in 2019 by Jordan Co. and Durational Capital Management, has expanded into new markets with mixed results.

• When the company went public in 2015, pressured by Wall Street's drive for growth, Bojangles laid out a plan that included filling out its core in the Carolinas, then expanding into new markets.
• By the next year, however, a franchisee had closed eight restaurants in Orlando, I reported for the Observer in 2016.
• "We love Florida. It's just not going to be anytime soon that we go back to Orlando," then-CEO Clifton Rutledge told analysts at the time.