1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 208

  

  How many of you are familiar with the restaurant Bojangles? If you do live in the on the Central East Coast of the US, you probably haven't. Bojangles is a regional chain that specializes in Cajun style chicken and biscuits. It's also turning the big 4-0!

    Just the other day, my wife asked for Bojangles. It's reasonably easy to get to from our house. Prices are really fair. Plus, They've got great iced tea and really good fries. The trick is to dip them in their Cajun sausage gravy!

   Anyways, on my way driving home, I took a sip of tea (the temp was almost 100, folks) and I noticed on the cup that Bojangles got their start the same year I did- 1977! So, of course, I felt it was appropriate to do a write-up about them for the A Madman Turns 40 project.

The founders at the original location, 1977

   Bojangles was started in 1977 by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas. Their idea to serve chicken, and biscuits, and breakfast all-day with a Cajun flare was a unique idea to my home state of North Carolina. That's right, Bojangles was started in Charlotte, NC! 

  Within a year, Bojangles opened it's first franchise location. By the time I was 4 or 5, I remember going to the Bojangles on Falls of the Neuse Road every Sunday after church with my mom and dad. That locale was the first in Raleigh and the 28th location opened in the franchise overall. I don't remember my regular order but I was in love with the dirty rice- a spicy blend of rice, sausage, peppers, and God knows what else. But man is it good stuff!

The first Bojangles Franchise locale, 1978.

There's now over 600 Bojangles opened as far north as Pennsylvania and south in Florida. The company is even a publicly traded company, opening on the NASDAQ in 2015. The future continues to look bright for Bojangles. You poor souls without a Bojangles, who knows, maybe they'll head to your neck of the woods sometime soon!

Man, don't this look good!

So that's my look at 1977 for today. 2017 seems to be a big year for Bojangles and a certain Madman with a Book. Now if I could only get the owners to give me their 4-piece Supreme Dinner for only $.77 for the rest of the year...