Bryant's First Zaxby's Hatches Monday, December 15

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Arkansas' Ninth Zaxby's Opening This Year Mirrors Chain's Rapid Expansion

December 12, 2008 // Franchising.com // Bryant, Ark. — Zaxby's licensee David Bowden, along with district managers Seth Allman and Paul Allen, will open the doors to Saline County's first Zaxby's restaurant this Monday. Zaxby's, a Southeast favorite for chicken fingers and Buffalo wings, is located at 2207 N. Reynolds Road, a quarter mile south of Interstate 30. The restaurant will operate from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.

"We are pleased to introduce Zaxby's to Bryant and Saline County," said Allman, who will oversee operations in the new restaurant. "Zaxby's has enjoyed great success as a business, employer and neighborhood partner in Greater Little Rock, and we look forward to providing a convenient location for yet another community in this growing area."

The new restaurant showcases Zaxby's welcoming interior design, featuring a bright, open interior décor, complemented by vintage memorabilia and signage. The roughly 3,300 square-foot restaurant provides comfortable booths and tables, with a seating capacity of 72. Zaxby's also provides drive-thru services to meet the needs of customers on the go.

The new Zaxby's location is the first for Saline County and the 15th for the state. Currently there are six Greater Little Rock area locations: one each in Cabot, Conway, Jacksonville, Maumelle, Searcy and Sherwood. Zaxby's footprint includes more than 460 locations in 11 states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Allman believes the new restaurant — from the atmosphere to the service — will exceed community expectations. "We've assembled a great team of over 40 associates who, we are confident, will deliver on the Zaxby's mission to 'consistently create encore experiences that enrich lives one person at a time,'" said Allman.

An alternative to fast food, Zaxby's offers prepared-at-order chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads. Zaxby's most popular items are its hand-breaded Chicken Fingerz and Jumbo Buffalo Wings, smothered in a choice of eight sauces with names like Wimpy, Tongue Torch, Nuclear and Insane. The menu also offers innovative Zappetizers — Onion Rings, Tater Chips (home-style potato chips) and Spicy Fried Mushrooms, as well as a variety of Party Platterz perfect for any family gathering or special occasion.

Zaxby's also offers three salads, or Zalads: The House, The Blue and The Caesar. All are prepared at order, with grilled or fried chicken, three kinds of lettuce, shredded cheese, fresh veggies and juicy tomatoes. Customers have a choice of buffaloed or blackened chicken when ordering The Blue. All of Zaxby's Zalads offer more chicken and unique ingredients, such as French-fried onions, and are larger than most salads offered elsewhere. Each Zalad is assembled at the time the order is placed, versus being pre-made and stored in a cooler.

Zaxby's is a "quick-casual" restaurant chain headquartered in Athens, Ga. Zaxby's opened its first restaurant in Statesboro, Ga., in March 1990, and by July 2001 opened its 100th location in Jacksonville, Fla. Zaxby's celebrated its 200th restaurant opening in its hometown of Athens, Ga., in May 2004, and in December 2005 observed its 300th opening in Dallas, Ga. In October 2007 Zaxby's opened its 400th location in Macon, Ga.

About Zaxby's

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 1990, they opened the first Zaxby's in Statesboro, Ga. The concept, one of the early "quick-casual" restaurants, proved successful.

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 460 units in 11 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and continues to grow.

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