Layne’s Chicken Fingers, a quick service chain founded in the mid-1990s in College Station, Texas, will make its Natural State debut off Interstate 30 at 2110 Highway 5 in Benton before the end of the year, franchisee Jake Willett said in an email Tuesday.
Willett also confirmed that construction is slated to begin before the end of the year on a newly built location at 3711 McCain Blvd. That is the space adjacent to Red Lobster just west of McCain Mall’s south entrance, formerly home to a Sleep Number mattress store. Willett said the plan is to open the North Little Rock location by the end of April 2025. A third location is also in the works at the corner of Cantrell Road and Chenal Parkway, Willett said, noting that he hasn’t closed on that site yet, “but I feel very confident that location is going to work out,” he said.
Arkansas Business reported in March that Willett, of Texarkana, Texas, signed a development deal with the franchise to bring 10 Layne’s Chicken Fingers locations to Arkansas over the next five years. Each location will be built from the ground up and offer drive-thru and quick service indoor dining, Willett said.
Layne’s menu offerings (which vary by location, the website says) include marinated chicken finger combos (original or zingy chicken) that typically come with crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, a drink and a side of Layne’s Sauce. Its mascot is the Astro Chicken, a chicken in a space helmet that “was promoted to CFO — Chicken Finger Officer” in 2021.
Layne’s menu sounds similar to Raising Cane’s, a chicken tender franchise founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although Layne’s opened first in 1994, Raising Cane’s is more ubiquitous with over 800 locations, including one on East McCain Boulevard on the opposite side of the newly designated U.S. Highway 57 from Layne’s future North Little Rock location. Incidentally, the North Little Rock Raising Cane’s is basically right next door to a Popeyes and across the street from a Chick-fil-A. Despite their proximity, all three stay busy.
Layne’s began expanding outside of College Station in 2018, and while the menu is similar to its chicken rival, it’s more extensive, with the inclusion of a chicken wrap, chicken finger sandwiches served on Texas toast, a grilled cheese sandwich, milkshakes and a variety of sauce offerings.
Layne’s has 13 locations in Texas with about five more coming soon, along with two locations in Pennsylvania and one each in Wisconsin and West Virginia. According to its website, the franchise will soon enter Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wyoming. The expansion is part of a franchise program launched in 2021 that aims to have 50 units opened and 200 sold by 2025.
Willett said the Benton location is slated to open on Dec. 16.
