Dive Brief:
- Zaxbys opened its first New York City restaurant at the end of June in the Bronx, according to a press release. A second store will open in Manhattan in the coming weeks.
- The Bronx location is roughly 2,000 square feet and has seating for 15 customers.
- The New York market entry is a strategic accomplishment for the 1,000-unit chicken chain, which is looking to leverage the popularity of chicken tenders into a national growth strategy encompassing nontraditional development and northward expansion.
Dive Insight:
The openings are likely the first of many, if the brand continues to accelerate its growth trajectory, as told QSR Magazine it intends to. Zaxby’s annual net openings have increased from 19 in 2023 to 36 in 2025 when the brand crossed the 1,000-unit mark.
“Opening our first two restaurants in New York this summer marks an exciting milestone in our growth journey and a significant chapter in our expansion across the Northeast,” Zaxbys CEO Bernard Acoca said in a statement.
The chain’s second New York location will be in Manhattan at 1267 First Ave., and feature self-ordering kiosks and a 16-seat dining room.
The chain has pursued a fairly broad expansion strategy, signing deals in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in 2024. Last year, the chain opened its first stores in the Phoenix and Las Vegas markets and signed its first deal covering a military base. In June, the brand promoted Waffle House alum Russell Holland to chief development officer after he spent a stint leading its nontraditional growth strategy.
Such unit growth comes at a moment when the chicken category as a whole is expanding, with Wingstop opening 493 net new stores in 2025. Raising Cane’s crossed the 1,000-unit threshold earlier this year, and Dave’s Hot Chicken is continuing its own aggressive expansion. Layne’s Chicken Fingers, a relatively small regional brand, is also making a bid for national growth.
Outside of this expansion, legacy chicken chains including KFC and Popeyes are investing significant resources in brand turnarounds. And QSR giants like Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Taco Bell have all added chicken strips to their menus in the last 18 months. With consumer price sensitivity high, this expansion of chicken concepts and the addition of chicken to menus at previously existing brands could intensify the competition in the sector, ultimately slowing growth for individual brands.
