Best Chicken Tenders in Memphis bracket down to these 4 restaurants

The hottest competition of the summer is getting even hotter.

Only four restaurants remain after more than 1,650 votes were cast in Round 2 of The Commercial Appeal’s Best Chicken Tenders in Memphis bracket showdown.

Moving on to Round 3 are Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, Bardog Tavern, Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken and The Four Way. That means we’re saying goodbye to Alfred’s On Beale, Ching’s Hot Wings, One & Only BBQ and Blues City Cafe.

A friendly reminder: All restaurants in our bracket are all local to and founded in Memphis or the Mid-South area — and nominated by readers. We’re voting on chicken tenders, not wings, breasts or thighs.

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A breakfast biscuit with sausage, Soul on a Roll, French toast and the “Old School Wrap” breakfast burrito are seen at a table at Big Bad Breakfast’s new restaurant in Cooper-Young on Sept. 25, 2026. The restaurant will officially open on Sept. 29. (Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal)

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The stakes are especially high in this showdown, with the winner getting unlimited bragging rights and a story by Food & Dining reporter Brian Strickland, who has a “Ph.D. in chicken tenders.”

On Monday, July 6, Round 3 matchups will be announced and voting will open at 5 a.m. The voting window will remain open until noon Thursday, July 9.

Keep following our bracket so you don’t miss the next voting deadlines (voting ends at noon on the final day of each round). You can vote up to once per hour.

July 6-9: Semifinals voting

July 13-16: Finals voting

July 17: The best chicken tenders in Memphis will be announced with a feature story on the winner at commercialappeal.com.

Erin Munz is the news director at The Commercial Appeal. Contact her at erin.munz@commercialappeal.com.

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Best Chicken Tenders in Memphis bracket down to these 4 restaurants