A popular Southern fast-food chain is coming to New Jersey.
NJ is often revered for its robust food scene. Thousands of pizzerias and delis line the streets throughout the Garden State. Certain areas enjoy a concentration of specific cuisines: Indian, Cuban, Korean, Italian and the like can be found in pockets across the state. That is to say that food options in Jersey are never scarce.
However, there is a specific area that NJ lags behind: fast-food. Across much of the American South, the Southwest and the West Coast, fast-food options are plentiful. Oftentimes, a state’s most popular chain is something completely foreign to New Jersey. But the tide is shifting. Last year, the state’s first Raising Canes opened in New Jersey and others quickly followed it as the brand rapidly expands in the Northeast.
Now, another chicken chain has officially landed in New Jersey. Bojangles opened in Piscataway at the end of April, marking the brand’s foray into the Garden State. Bojangles briefly operated a store in Newark that has since closed.
Bojangles is a North Carolina-based fast-food chain that specializes in fried chicken and biscuits. Since opening its first store in 1977, Bojangles has grown to 800 restaurants across 17 states. Popular menu items include boneless chicken tenders, chicken sandwiches, biscuits and gravy and sweet tea.
Bojangles locations are abundant in the South, and locals often praise the chain for their well-seasoned and crispy chicken tenders, which they call “Chicken Supremes.” The breakfast options are also plentiful, featuring favorites like sausage biscuits, country ham biscuits and a hash brown-like side called Bo-Tato Rounds.
Fast-food chicken is experiencing a period of rapid growth. A few years back, we all witnessed the “Chicken Sandwich Wars” as fast-food spots competed to create the platonic ideal of a chicken sandwich, which was a front-facing battle on social media. Millions took to Instagram and Tik Tok to review different chicken sandwiches from various fast-food establishments.
Beyond sandwiches, chicken chains like Raising Canes and Bojangles—which both specialize in boneless tenders—have experienced viral moments in their own respect. But, until recently, NJ was boxed out of the conversation.
With several Raising Canes and now a Bojangles (with more to come), New Jersey is quickly joining other areas of the U.S. when it comes to fast-food options.
Although you’ll usually find me discussing the state’s best restaurants, I’m an American after all and as such, I love a good fast-food binge from time to time. New Jersey’s lack of some seriously good regional chains has often irked me, but the tide is shifting and Bojangles’ expansion to the state—along with Raising Canes and Freddy’s before it—proves it.
When can we get a Culver’s, though?
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
