Sneak peek: What to expect at Arizona's 1st Bonjangles
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Sauce is abundant, but unnecessary at Bojangles. Photo: Jessica Boehm/Axios
Friends, neighbors, meat eaters: It's almost "Bo Time."
The big picture: Arizonans will get to experience the Southern fast-food staple Bojangles on our home turf for the first time when the chain's Gilbert location opens July 20.
Why it matters: Ask any Southerner about Bojangles and you're sure to get an earful on how the scratchmade biscuits and spicy fried chicken saved them from a hangover, fueled a late-night study session or transported them back to their childhood kitchen table.
Zoom in: Bonjangles' flavors should actually taste familiar to Arizonans, says Marshall Scarborough, vice president of menu and culinary innovation.
- The chicken tenders and breasts are coated in a spice mix that includes southwestern chili peppers, he tells us.
The intrigue: That seasoning and the buttermilk breading make it so that the chicken really doesn't need sauce (though they have seven options if you disagree), the Bojangles crew tells me.
- My reaction to that as a self-professed sauce person: 🤨.
Yes, but: I'll admit when I've been proven wrong.
- The flavor — not spicy but certainly smoky and spice heavy — was delicious sauceless.
- I did try a few of the sauces, for journalism, and loved the classic buttermilk ranch.
🍗 Best bites:
- Chicken biscuit: Breakfast is where it's at, Scarborough says, and I can see why. The flaky-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside biscuits felt like a warm hug to start the day.
- Fries: Not for vegetarians, these bad boys are doused in beef tallow and seasoned with the same Cajun spices as the chicken.
- Iced tea: I'm not a sweet tea person but I enjoyed it here to cut the savory food flavors.
- Bo-berry milkshake: The classic desserts (Bo-berry biscuits and peach cobbler) were a bit too sweet, but I loved this shake.
If you go: Doors open at 5am on July 20. The first 100 people in line will receive a $100 gift card and be entered to win free breakfast for a year.
What's next: A second Arizona location is in the works in Avondale.
- " ... If this one does well we're looking at putting them all over Phoenix," says Christian Nava of LV Petroleum, the local franchisee.