Chicken chain that ‘kicks Chick-fil-A’s a**’ opens in East Idaho. Now it’s targeting Boise.

Is there an expanding chicken sandwich chain that kicks Chick-fil-A in the tail feathers?

Idaho Falls will find out this week.

Fast-growing Super Chix will open its first Gem State restaurant Wednesday in the suburban city of Ammon. Franchisee Bill Hawes, who helped bring Five Guys Burgers & Fries to the Treasure Valley, hopes to launch a Super Chix in Meridian later this year. After that, Hawes and his partners plan to open another location in either Boise or Nampa, he says.

“We believe this to be the best chicken sandwich anywhere!” brags Hawes, who owns two Fanci Freez restaurants in Boise and Meridian.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Super Chix’s roots are in Texas. Five years before the Popeyes-led chicken sandwich wars of 2019, the company that owns KFC quietly unveiled the first Super Chix in the Dallas area. Texas media liked what it tasted. After a second store opened, the Dallas Observer declared, “The new Super Chix in Addison kicks Chick-fil-A’s ass.”

The Super Chix brand was sold that year — and now it’s beginning to erupt. The chain was recently named to QSR Magazine’s list of “The 40 Hottest Startup Fast Casuals in America.”

Claiming to serve “the last true chicken sandwich,” Super Chix also emphasizes frozen custard on its menu. (“Super Chix is … killing Chick-Fil-A in the dessert game, hands down,” the Dallas Observer noted.)

“We’re not a fast-food joint,” Super Chix says. “We marinate our filets and jumbo chicken tenders in-house each day. All our produce is delivered fresh and cut by hand. To top it off we serve hand-cut fries crisped in 100-percent peanut oil” and “in-store churned, hand-dipped premium frozen custard.”

Compared with Chick-fil-A, you’ll fork over a bit more cash for the Super Chix experience. You can order a chicken sandwich either grilled or breaded. You’ll pay $6.99 for a Simple (filet with a kosher pickle), $7.49 for a Deluxe (filet with pickles, garlic aioli, lettuce and tomato) and $7.99 for a Cheesy BBQ (filet with cheddar onion rings and BBQ sauce). Other options include Nashville Hot ($7.49), Korean BBQ ($7.49) and the special Cordon Bleu ($8.49), a breaded filet with ham and swiss cheese topped with honey mustard sauce.

Super Chix’s breaded chicken tenders are egg-dipped before getting dunked in that crackling peanut oil. Prices range from $4.79 for two to $7.79 for five. You can order them tossed in Nashville Hot or Buffalo sauce, too.

The hand-cut fries are popular because, well, hand-cut fries are delicious. They come in varieties ranging from Cheese Fries ($4.19/$6.19) to Loaded Fries ($4.99/$6.99) — with seasonings such as salt, Sweet, Cajun and Rosemary Pepper.

Salads are no afterthought. They, too, are available in grilled or breaded filet form. And they cost $9.99, if you need any reminder that Super Chix is not really a fast-food chain. Choices range from a House Salad (bacon, gouda cheese, tomatoes, Fresno peppers, honey mustard dressing) and a Southwest Salad (avocado, tortilla strips, tomatoes, tomatillo dressing) to the Asian Sesame Salad (cashews, mandarin oranges, Fresno peppers, carrots, sesame dressing).

When it’s time for dessert, grab frozen custard in a cone, cup or as a shake. Pure Vanilla and Dutch Chocolate are available, but why not choose a rotating flavor such as Butterfinger or Mint Oreo?

In a grand opening celebration Saturday, Super Chix in Ammon will give away free chicken and fries to the first 100 customers through the door starting at 11 a.m.



In a press release, Super Chix CEO Darryl Neider said he expects 14 to 18 new corporate and franchise locations to open this year.

“In just the last 10 months, we have signed agreements with eight franchise groups to develop more than 90 Super Chix restaurants from North Carolina to northern California,” he said, “with more development areas in negotiations.”

If all goes according to plan, Treasure Valley chicken fiends will be crowing later this year about the first of two new Super Chix opening in the Boise area.

This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 4:00 AM.