More westward expansion is on the way for Bojangles, which opened its first restaurant in Texas in June and recently signed a large development agreement for the Las Vegas market.
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bojangles has its largest footprint, nearly 500 of its roughly 800 locations, in the Carolinas, with other stores spread across several Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states. The opportunity to bring a new brand to Las Vegas sparked Jeanette Davis’ interest as the vice president of food and franchise brands for LVP Restaurant Group looked to expand the group’s portfolio.
“I was on the lookout for a distinctive brand,” said Davis, who noted she knew Bojangles CEO Jose Armario from her previous role directing brand operations for convenience store retailer EG America. “We wanted to be first to market in Vegas. Chicken is a fast-growing protein and the Bojangles product is in high demand.”
LVP Restaurant Group, an entity of gas station and c-store developer LV Petroleum, signed a deal to develop 20 Bojangles restaurants in Las Vegas and also open 10 restaurants within its TravelCenters of America franchise locations across Western markets. The addition of the chicken chain, which last month announced the launch of its expansion strategy, including a streamlined menu, new building design and new staffing model, is part of LVP’s efforts to grow the traditional restaurant side of the company, said Davis, while also bringing another option to its travel center customers.
Jeanette Davis is the vice president of food and franchise brands for LVP Restaurant Group.
“We want to go with brands that offer our 18-wheel drivers the comfort of home,” said Davis. “Burgers and fries, they get tired of those after a while.”
The group’s portfolio of 15 restaurant brands also includes Black Bear Diner, Del Taco, Dunkin’, Sbarro and Einstein Bros. Bagels.
Developing the 20 traditional Bojangles restaurants with LVP is Kingsbarn Realty Capital, which acquires commercial real estate assets and provides direct and indirect real estate investments. Based in Las Vegas, the firm has more than $1.95 billion of assets under management, and for the last two years has been the exclusive real estate provider to LV Petroleum and its restaurant group.
“We develop turnkey real estate projects,” said Anthony Hama, a managing director at Kingsbarn focused on ground-up commercial development. The company, he explained, acquires sites and works through the development process, including design, permitting and construction management, before turning over locations to the operating group. Kingsbarn worked with LVP as it identified restaurant brand targets, said Hama, and he sees the Bojangles breakfast offering in particular as a differentiator in a city overflowing with restaurant options.
Anthony Hama is a managing director at Kingsbarn Realty Capital.
“That sets them apart from a lot of the other chicken brands,” he continued. “Vegas being a 24-hour town with an active breakfast market, Bojangles is well positioned to capture that market share.”
Known as much for its sweet tea, biscuits and breakfast as it is for its chicken, nearly 40 percent of sales at Bojangles come before 11 a.m., according to the company. Average sales at its full-size franchised restaurants (Bojangles also has an express model) surpassed $2.1 million in 2022.
While Bojangles largely built its brand on its bone-in chicken offerings, a new streamlined menu is pared down to breakfast items and boneless options such as chicken sandwiches and tenders. Davis said that’s the menu LVP will roll out at its Vegas restaurants, which will also feature the latest building design.
Hama said Kingsbarn has so far identified a half dozen sites where it can develop Bojangles, both new builds and conversions, including sites in the entertainment corridor near the Las Vegas Strip and in southwest and northwest parts of the city.
To help introduce Bojangles to Las Vegas consumers, both Hama and Davis said they expect to tap into the city’s growing professional sports scene, which in recent years attracted NHL (Las Vegas Knights) and WNBA (Las Vegas Aces) teams, snagged the NFL’s Raiders from Oakland and secured multiple events from the NFL Draft and Super Bowl to a Formula 1 Grand Prix.
“Bojangles has been really successful in leveraging their relationship with professional sports,” noted Hama. With its box meals and family meals, added Davis, Bojangles is “perfect for sports fans, tailgating, catering.”
The brand created a Tailgate Tour last year, hosting tailgate parties at more than 20 major college football gameday matchups throughout the season. NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has appeared in ad campaigns and will again this year, and Bojangles also recently signed a multi-year partnership with Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. Themed content will be released throughout the Panthers’ NFL season and the deal expands on Bojangles’ status as the Carolina Panthers’ official tailgating partner.