Iconic Chicken Chain to Open 50 New Stores – Any More in Louisiana?

(KMDL-FM) The recent opening of Southern Classic Chicken in Lafayette has once again ignited chicken wars down here along the bayou. You're probably familiar with Louisiana's other two chicken giants, right?

Those would be Popeyes and Raising Cane's. We call them Louisiana chicken giants because they have their foundations built firmly in the soft and muddy ground that is Louisiana. But oddly enough, it's very seldom that you find Raising Cane's and Popeyes embroiled in battle. At least with each other.

READ MORE: Crowds Flock to New Fried Chicken Restaurant in Lafayette

READ MORE: Louisiana Restaurant Ranks #2 in Fried Chicken Survey

Most of the time when we "go to chicken fighting," the legal kind, it's between Popeyes and those interlopers from Atlanta, Chick-fil-A. We know better than to choose sides in that discussion, but we should caution you, there appears to be another player poised to step deeper into the fray that is fried chicken in Louisiana.

Get our free mobile app

What Chicken Restaurant is Opening 50 New Locations This Year?

You might already be familiar with the iconic chicken chain Zaxby's. They are another Georgia entry into the fried chicken fight for your hard-earned chicken buyer dollar. They already have a presence in Louisiana with stores in Gonzales, Watson, and Bossier City.

But are they about to open more stores in the coming year? Didn't the Lafayette location of Zaxby's close? They did, that's the former location you see on Verot School Road. It's now a Legend's. Maybe the chicken fight is just too tough in Louisiana.

According to a story published in USA Today, Zaxby's principals have announced an aggressive plan to open some 50 new stores this year. The brand's primary footprint is in the south and southeastern United States, but the brand has made inroads into the western section of the country as well.

If Not Louisiana, Where Will Zaxby's Open Its New Locations?

Although it does appear as though the next round of major expansion will be in the southeast with locations in Georgia, North and, South Carolina, Indiana, and Tennessee already targeted. The chain has already opened 16 new locations so far this year, including a store just across the Mississippi River from Louisiana in Natchez, Mississippi.

As of this report, there has been no official word of a new Zaxby's opening in Louisiana, at least in the near future. That is subject to change, of course. Then again, you could always cook it yourself.