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In 1977, Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas opened the first Bojangles restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Both men had spent decades managing fast food restaurants when they spotted a gap in the market.
They both agreed that the South lacked a distinctive fast-food chain built around its unique flavors.
Their business model was based on three concrete practices:
The menu centered on two signature items:
Their biscuit-making process became legendary, where each batch requires exactly 49 steps, from sifting the flour to brushing the tops with butter.
This meticulous attention to detail turned Bojangles into a cornerstone of Southern fast food, particularly in the Carolinas where the chain first expanded.
Bojangles launched its franchise program in 1978, opening its first franchised location in Greenville, South Carolina.
Shifting their strategy bigly from the single Charlotte restaurant just one year earlier.
The Horn & Hardart Company acquired Bojangles in 1981, injecting capital that funded 25 new locations across the Southeast by 1983.
During this expansion, Horn & Hardart purchased the 26-restaurant Biscuit King chain based in Jacksonville, Florida, converting these stores to Bojangles restaurants and entering the Florida market.
When Hurricane Hugo hit the Carolinas on September 22, 1989, Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits kept 335 restaurants running despite widespread power outages and flooding.
While McDonald's, Hardee's, and other chains locked their doors, Bojangles' employees served hot biscuits and fresh coffee to emergency workers, cleanup crews, and displaced families.
Store managers cooked by generator power and distributed thousands of meals to storm shelters.
This response helped Bojangles turn from a regional chicken chain into a Carolina institution—in the months following Hugo, their sales increased 28% and customer surveys ranked them as the most trusted fast-food brand in both North and South Carolina.
Bojangles opened its first restaurant inside Central Piedmont Community College's central campus in 2005.
Three years later, travelers walking through Concourse B of Charlotte Douglas International Airport found Bojangles' distinctive red-and-yellow storefront among the terminal's food options.
The chain's crispy chicken and buttery biscuits soon dominated Charlotte's fast-food landscape, with Bojangles restaurants dotting street corners, shopping centers, and food courts across the city.
In May 2012, Bojangles secured naming rights to NASCAR's oldest race, renaming the "Southern 500" at Darlington Raceway into the "Bojangles' Southern 500."
The $2.5 million annual sponsorship placed Bojangles' name on billboards, merchandise, and television broadcasts.
In March 2020, Bojangles signed retired NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. as its brand ambassador.
The partnership featured Earnhardt in television commercials promoting Bojangles' chicken and biscuits, with the driver sharing memories of post-race meals at Bojangles during his racing career.
In May 2014, Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter cut the ribbon at Bojangles' 600th restaurant opening on West Trade Street, celebrating the chain's return to its 1977 birthplace.
After a failed 1994 attempt to list on the stock market, Bojangles succeeded in May 2015, selling 7.75 million shares at $19 each.
The company then expanded internationally, opening kitchens in:
In January 2020, Bojangles stripped the apostrophe from its logo and store signs, transforming "Bojangles'" into "Bojangles" across its restaurants.
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