Popular fried chicken chain Bojangles opens first Arizona location

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It’s officially “Bo’ Time” for fried chicken and biscuits in the Valley. After pushing off its opening a week, Bojangles, the popular Carolina fast food joint, is now open in Gilbert.

Bojangles debut Arizona store, at Val Vista Drive and Melrose Street, started serving diners at 5 a.m. Customers who visit today can enter for a chance to win a year of free breakfast.

“We are ecstatic about introducing Bojangles to Phoenix and bringing our unique Southern charm to the market,” Jeanette Davis, a senior vice president of franchise operator LV Petroleum, said in a press release.

In March 2024, Bojangles announced plans to expand into Arizona, with 20 restaurants anticipated to open across the Valley. The chain started in 1977 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has grown to include 880 restaurants in 24 states.

We learned that two of those restaurants would be located in Phoenix and Gilbert in 2025. A second location in Avondale on Indian School Road just east of 99th Avenue will open in the coming year, a Bojangles spokesperson shared via email.

In Gilbert, diners can watch staff make Bojangles’ signature bake from its “biscuit theater.” In addition to chicken and biscuits, the fast-food chain serves crispy chicken sandwiches, salads and Southern “fixins,” including dirty rice, macaroni and cheese and Cajun pinto beans. Diners can complete their meal with a sweet tea and a handheld sweet potato pie.