Why Does Bojangles Have No Chicken? An In-Depth Explanation for You

You may have noticed lately that your local Bojangles doesn‘t have any chicken on the menu. As a loyal Bojangles fan, I totally understand your disappointment! Bojangles chicken is delicious, so where did it go? I did some digging on the chicken shortage situation, and here‘s what I learned. Let me walk you through it!

A Quick History of My Favorite Chicken Chain

First, let me give you a quick rundown on Bojangles for context. In case you didn‘t know, Bojangles got its start in Charlotte, North Carolina back in 1977. It was founded by two guys named Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas who were determined to perfect fried chicken and biscuits.

Their first location became instantly popular thanks to their unique breaded and fried chicken recipe and signature biscuits made with buttermilk and sugar. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Bojangles expanded into more locations throughout the Southeastern U.S. They really stood out from the competition by frying their chicken fresh on site instead of using frozen chicken like other chains.

By 2015, Bojangles had over 600 restaurants across 10 different states! Their tasty comfort food earned them a ton of loyal fans (like you and me!). Everything was going great…until COVID came along.

How the Pandemic Caused Chaos

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, it caused some major issues for restaurants like Bojangles. As you know, lockdowns forced dining rooms to close and many places shifted to takeout, delivery or drive-thru only. It was a crazy time!

On top of that, chicken suppliers and plants started shutting down because of worker shortages and unsafe conditions. Major poultry companies like Tyson Foods, who provides chicken to Bojangles, cut production by 5% in 2020 and 2021.

With less fresh chicken being produced, this left Bojangles unable to get enough to keep up with customer demand. And since Bojangles refuses to ever use frozen chicken, they couldn‘t exactly stock up as supply decreased. What a mess!

Why the Chicken Shortage Continued

Even when COVID restrictions eased in 2021, chicken supply issues continued. Chicken plants were still understaffed and operating at reduced capacity. Extreme weather also caused problems, like when a winter storm hit Texas chicken producers.

At the very same time, more people were traveling and eating out again – sending demand for chicken skyrocketing! Just imagine every restaurant competing for limited chicken inventory. No wonder prices hit record highs!

According to the USDA, the wholesale price per pound for chicken increased 61% from 2020 to 2021. That‘s just crazy! As a smaller regional chain dependent on fresh chicken daily, these volatile market conditions really hurt Bojangles.

Rather than take shortcuts with frozen chicken or jack up prices, many Bojangles took chicken menu items completely off the menu until supplies and costs stabilized.

New Menu Options to Fill the Void

With chicken in short supply, the Bojangles team got creative and introduced some new menu options beyond their core fried chicken and biscuits. In 2021, they launched hand-breaded premium sandwiches made with pork and Angus beef.

Some of the new sandwiches they added include:

• Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich
• Hand-Breaded Pork Chop Sandwich
• Angus Beef Burgers
• Spicy Fried Pork Tenders Sandwich

To complement these new proteins, Bojangles also developed new tasty sides like Sriracha Ranch Chicken Bites, Loaded Beef & Cheddar Potatoes, and Bacon Mac & Cheese Wedges. Yum! The goal was to give customers like us more variety until they could get consistent chicken inventory again.

The Triumphant Return of Chicken in 2022

The good news is that the chicken supply situation finally started improving around mid-2022. Poultry plants were able to boost production again, even if costs remained higher than before the pandemic.

With more reliable inventory, many Bojangles locations happily welcomed back their fried chicken in all its glory! Signature menu items like the Cajun Filet Biscuit, chicken supremes, and chicken sandwiches returned to make customers‘ days. Hallelujah! 🙌

However, some Bojangles are still struggling with supply constraints based on their location and suppliers. One restaurant might have a full chicken menu while another can‘t source enough chicken to meet demand yet. It remains an ongoing process.

In the meantime, those new pork chops and smoked brisket sandwiches are great alternatives when the chicken menu is limited.

What This Means for the Future of Bojangles

While the chicken shortage was really unfortunate, Bojangles definitely learned a few things. Moving forward, they are continuing to strengthen relationships with suppliers and distributors to improve stability.

Most importantly, they remain super committed to only serving the highest quality chicken and biscuits. They will never sacrifice the standards and values that customers like you and I love them for. Now, new menu innovation goes beyond chicken into pork, beef and more.

Bojangles has weathered the storm and I‘m confident even better days are ahead. This iconic Southern chain knows how to roll with the punches while dishing out comfort food that takes us back home. The next time I‘m craving that Cajun Filet Biscuit, I know it‘ll be waiting for me!

Now let‘s get to those burning questions I‘m sure you still have about the Great Bojangles Chicken Shortage…

I know you likely still have a good amount of questions about why Bojangles locations have been without chicken recently. I‘ll try toanswer all the key questions I had too when I first heard the news:

Why exactly has my Bojangles not had any chicken lately?

The main factors are short-staffed chicken plants producing less, combined with the demand for chicken skyrocketing. This resulted in costs jumping 61%. With such volatile supply and pricing, many Bojangles dropped chicken temporarily.

Does Bojangles even make their own chicken in house?

Great question! No, they don‘t actually produce the raw chicken themselves. While Bojangles hand breads and fries the chicken fresh on site, they rely on big suppliers like Tyson Foods for the raw chicken they source. This reliance on third parties is what hurt them when supplies dropped.

Okay, so when is Bojangles going to get chicken back on the menu?

It varies a lot by location, but many Bojangles started selling chicken again in mid-2022 as the supply and costs stabilized somewhat. But some spots are still having inventory issues based on their supplier situation. I‘d recommend calling your store or checking their app to see their latest offerings.

Can‘t Bojangles just buy frozen chicken like other fast food places?

You‘re absolutely right, frozen chicken could help them weather shortages. But Bojangles insists on only using fresh, never-frozen chicken in their recipes. It‘s part of their brand standards for premium quality that we all know and love them for.

Are Bojangles‘ famous biscuits impacted by the shortage too?

Fortunately, nope! Since the biscuits are made in-house using basic ingredients like buttermilk, flour and sugar, they‘ve been available without supply issues. It‘s just the fresh chicken inventory that‘s been constrained and forcing cutbacks.

Will Bojangles ever offer plant-based or meatless chicken options?

At this point, they have no plans to do vegetarian "chicken." Bojangles feels plant-based alternatives don‘t match the deliciousness of their fresh chicken. They‘ve focused more on new pork and beef dishes to diversify the menu for now. But never say never!

Is only Bojangles dealing with chicken supply problems?

Definitely not – they‘re in good company! KFC, Wingstop, El Pollo Loco, and other bigger chains have also reported chicken shortages and menu impacts from the volatile market conditions lately. It‘s an industry-wide supply chain issue.

Will we have to pay more for Bojangles chicken now whenever it returns?

Bojangles really tried to avoid it, but some modest price increases were unavoidable given the 60%+ spike in costs. Most menu items have seen bumps of around 10-15%. But rest assured your chicken will return as soon as possible!

If you made it this far, thanks for sticking with me on the Bojangles chicken journey! Let me wrap up with some key takeaways:

• COVID severely disrupted chicken supply chains all over, decreasing supply right as demand skyrocketed. This made the chicken Bojangles depends on much harder to source.

• Rather than use frozen chicken or jack up prices like crazy, many Bojangles temporarily stopped selling chicken until market conditions and inventory improved.

• New pork, brisket and boldly flavored menu items gave customers something delicious to enjoy in the meantime.

• As supply rebounded in 2022, most Bojangles resumed serving America‘s favorite bird again! But some spots are still experiencing constraints.

• Through it all, Bojangles never wavered from their commitment to only the highest quality ingredients and food. Their values proved resilient even in crisis!

• While challenging, this shortage encouraged valuable innovation beyond core menu items. The future is bright for this one-of-a-kind Southern staple.

The next time you visit Bojangles and bite into a perfect Cajun Filet Biscuit, realize that you‘re enjoying the product of 40+ years of doing things right. Here‘s to many more years of biscuit bliss to come!