This ‘breakout’ chicken chain is invading Idaho. Meridian opens first — and soon
A fast-growing chicken chain is flocking to Idaho soon, but Boise will need to be patient.
Meridian tops the pecking order.
Slim Chickens is building a new restaurant at 3369 W. Chinden Blvd. — just north of Costco in the parking lot. The store is on pace to open in August, according to Oscar Garcia, operations director for franchisee Ultra Vortex Chicken.
Headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Slim Chickens was QSR Magazine’s “Breakout Brand of 2021.”
The Meridian restaurant is the first in Idaho. “Our plans are to open some 20, 21, in Southern Oregon and Southern Idaho,” Garcia said. Slim Chickens operates roughly 220 locations nationwide, he added, and has inked franchisee commitments for more than 1,100 stores.
Raising Cane’s is probably the most wished-for chicken chain not yet in the Gem State. But Slim Chickens undoubtedly will win new fans. It offers tenders, wings, chicken and waffles, and plenty more.
“We do way more than tenders,” Garcia said. “We do tenders, we do sandwiches, wraps, salads, Mason jar desserts and a whole bunch of things.”
A comparable chicken chain would be Chick-fil-A, he said, “but our menu is even broader.”
Slim Chickens’ bird is hand-battered, buttermilk-dipped and “cooked fresh to order,” Garcia said. “You wait a few minutes, but it’s still fast. If you wait more than 3 minutes, we’re not happy. Let’s put it that way.”
The other thing that separates Slim Chickens? The housemade sauces. There are 17. They range from Blue Cheese, Ranch and Gravy to Korean BBQ, Garlic Parmesan and Mango Habanero.
At around 3,000 square feet, the Meridian restaurant will offer indoor dining and a double drive-thru. “We’re probably going to hire some 70-plus team members,” added Garcia, who recently moved to Meridian from Bend, Oregon.
There’s no Boise site yet for a Slim Chickens, Garcia said, but it’s “definitely in the plan. We figure we could have probably at least five in the Treasure Valley area. If not more.
“We really, really love the product,” he added. “The two hallmarks, if you will, are Southern hospitality and the blues. There’ll be blues music playing in the lobby all the time, and we will be demonstrating and serving up Southern hospitality all the time.”