Bojangles, a North Carolina-based fried chicken chain with 900 locations, is planning to open restaurants in Iowa as it continues a national expansion to midsize markets across the country. The first Iowa restaurant could open as early as 2028.
Submitted photo
A Southern fried chicken restaurant is planning to open new restaurants in Iowa as it eyes northern and western expansion.
Bojangles, a North Carolina-based chain known for its chicken, biscuits and sweet tea, told The Gazette it is searching for opportunities to build locations in or around Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Des Moines and Council Bluffs.
The brand is recruiting franchisees to develop new multilocation agreements in cities or territories. If the right franchisee is found soon, Bojangles could open its first Iowa restaurant as early as 2028.
But a lack of franchisees won’t necessarily preclude the brand from moving to Iowa, according to Brooks Speirs, vice president of franchise sales for Bojangles. Almost one-third of the chain’s current restaurants are corporate-owned.
The move comes on the heels of rapid growth. Since the regional chain launched its national expansion in 2022, it has grown to 900 locations — about 50 of which are not in its traditional southeastern territory.
The brand has opened 25 restaurants across 12 states in the first half of 2026 alone, including its first restaurants in Michigan, New York and Oklahoma. The nearest Bojangles location to Iowa is in Normal, Illinois, with no locations in any of Iowa’s other neighboring states.
Bojangles also is interested in expanding to other Midwestern states like Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin. Speirs said that it’s easier for the restaurant to stand out among competitors in midsize cities and markets than it is in major cities.
Brooks Speirs, vice president of franchise sales for Bojangles
Chris Pyle/Camera Man Studio
“When we initially launched this, we looked at some midsize markets like Tampa and Oklahoma City, then bigger cities like Houston and Dallas. While we’re happy with the results, we’ve definitely been more successful in those midsize markets because it’s easier to become more of a household name,” Speirs said. “It’s a lot cheaper to advertise in Des Moines than it is in Houston.”
As Bojangles expands out of the South, he said more of its restaurants are exclusively offering boneless entree options like chicken tenders and sandwiches — a menu that is simpler to produce and appeals to younger demographics.
“The trend among young people is tenders, tenders, tenders,” Speirs said. “If we can move into a new market, let’s have the consumer put us in the classification of a Raising Cane’s, and not a Kentucky Fried Chicken.”
In recent years, other chicken chains like Raising Cane’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Chicken Salad Chick have opened locations across central and Eastern Iowa. More established competitors, like Chick-fil-A, have also continued to grow with new locations in Cedar Rapids and Coralville.
In 2025, Chick N Max, a Kansas-based fast-casual chain that calls itself “Home of the Chicken Sandwich,” announced plans to flock to several Iowa markets in a new wave of Midwestern expansion.
The explosion of these types of restaurants may be due to the consumer perception of poultry, Speirs said.
“Chicken has this halo effect to the consumer — that it’s better for you than other proteins out there,” he said. “That halo continues to drive demand. With Bojangles, there’s a lot of white space out there.”
And, while Bojangle’s offers 10 sauces for its tenders, you may not need it.
“Our tenders already have bold flavor, so you don’t need sauce,” he said.
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