| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder(s) | Jack Fulk, Richard Thomas |
| Headquarters | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Number of locations | close to 500[1] |
| Key people | Randy Kibler (CEO) |
| Products | Fast food, including fried chicken, biscuits |
| Website | www.bojangles.com |
Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits is a regional chain of quick service restaurants based in Charlotte, North Carolina, specializing in spicy, "Cajun" fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits. The restaurants, named for the the stage name of Bill Robinson and memorialized in song by Jerry Jeff Walker, are also known for their distinctive side dishes including dirty rice, Cajun-style pinto beans, and seasoned french fries, and Southern sweet tea.
Founded in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1977 by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas, Bojangles' grew rapidly to over 335 locations by 1985. The company suffered from overexpansion and poor management under the ownership of the Horn & Hardart Company. By the time the company was sold in 1990 there were only 154 restaurants. The company has now grown to over 500 restaurants and opens a new restaurant on average every ten days. Currently Bojangles' has restaurants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and DC, as well as three restaurants on Roatan Islands, Bay Islands, Honduras. On Apr 18, 2008</ref> The Wall Street Journal ranked Bojangles' as one of "25 High-Performing Franchises across all industries."[2] Among its other recognitions, Entrepreneur Magazine has named Bojangles' the number 1 restaurant in the chicken category, QSR Magazine has listed Bojangles' in its Top 10 Franchise Deals, Inc. magazine has listed Bojangles' among the fastest growing private companies for several years, GE Capital has shown Bojangles' to be among its top ten fastest growing restaurant chains and The Nations Restaurant News has shown Bojangles' to be the fastest growing chicken chain in 2010 and the fastest growing drive-thru, free standing QSR restaurant chain.
Jack Fulk sold the Bojangles' concept to the now defunct New York company, The Horn & Hardart Company,[3] in 1981. Horn and Hardart had pioneered "fast food"[4] in another era with the use of coin operated automats, the last of which was located on 42nd Street in New York City and was closed in 1991. Horn and Hardart was a publicly held company and raised large amounts of capital for expansion of the Bojangles' chain.
During the time of Horn and Hardart's ownership the chain grew rapidly and expanded to 335 restaurants including 100 restaurants in Florida. Part of this growth was fueled by acquisitions including the Florida based Biskits chain. The conversion of the Biskits restaurants was unsuccessful and saddled the company with a large amount of new debt. Several events brought about a modicum of stability in the late 1980s even while many of the company's largest markets were closed. When Hurricane Hugo struck the Carolinas, the company was able to open many of its restaurants while electricity remained off for more than a week in many areas. The massive amount of business sparked a turn-around in the company's sales that continued for many years. The company was stabilized under the leadership of CEO John Bifone, and a settlement was reached with the franchise association which had threatened the company.
In 1990, Horn and Hardart sold most of its interest to Sienna Partners and Interwest Partners, which were managed by a group of young California venture capitalists based in Silicon Valley. The company was then headed by former KFC executive, Dick Campbell. After modest investment in facilities, training and operations, the company began a slow and steady improvement that lasted throughout most of the 1990s. In 1994 the company attempted a public offering which collapsed before completion based upon a "softening" of the performance and over-expansion of company units and franchisee acquisitions. Dick Campbell was replaced by CEO Jim Peterson. Again the company stabilized and improved its performance, eventually selling to a group of investors headed by former Wendy's executive Joe Drury [5] and financed by FMAC in 1998.
Bojangles' was purchased again in 2007 by Falfurrias Capital Partners,[6] a private equity firm. The investment group includes Hugh L. McColl Jr., founder and chairman of Falfurrias Capital Partners and former chairman and chief executive of Bank of America, and Jerry Richardson, founder and president of the NFL Carolina Panthers. Falfurrias Capital named restaurant veteran Randy Kibler CEO of the Company. In August, 2011, Falfurrias sold Bojangles' to Advent International, a global private equity firm based in Boston.
Bojangles' continues to expand rapidly and has experienced success during the recession, building upon same store sales increases and new unit expansion.
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