Construction is scheduled to begin in late April on a new 3,200-square-foot, $1 million Bojangles restaurant in Bedford. It will be the North Carolina-based chicken restaurant chain’s fifth location in the Fort Worth area.

The new restaurant will be built at 1937 Airport Fwy. in a shopping center just off the westbound access road to Texas 121 and is scheduled for completion in October.

Bojangles had planned several locations around Fort Worth and opened its first restaurant in Euless in June 2023, followed a month later by the opening of the Lancaster location. As promised, the fried chicken restaurant chain opened a third location in Little Elm in October 2023 and a fourth restaurant in far south Fort Worth earlier this year.

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Bojangles has been around since 1977 and is famous for its Cajun-inspired chicken and buttermilk biscuits. The company was founded by Jack Fulk and named after the song “Mr. Bojangles.”

Bojangles is known for its bone-in chicken in its East Coast restaurants, but in new markets like Texas, it’s simplifying its menu to only offer boneless chicken. That means chicken tenders are the name of the game in Texas.

Other options at Bojangles include Bo-Berry cookies, peach cobbler, salads, lemonade and milkshakes.

Bojangles had three restaurants in Fort Worth, Haltom City in the 1980s

Bojangles continues its expansion in North Texas. This is not the first time the fried chicken chain has set foot here. In 1984, Bojangles operated three restaurants in Fort Worth and one in Haltom City:

• 4355 East Lancaster Ave, Fort Worth – now an Autozone

• 2621 Hemphill St., Fort Worth – Now Tacos La Banqueta

• 7419 Camp Bowie W. Blvd., Fort Worth – Now Cancun Mexican Restaurant

• 5600 East Belknap St., Haltom City – Now a vacant building

In the December 27, 1984, issue of the Star-Telegram newspaper, there is a coupon for a $9.99 combo meal with 16 pieces of chicken and 12 biscuits. At Bojangles today, a 12-piece chicken package with six biscuits costs $25.99.

By 1985, Bojangles expanded, opening three stores in Dallas and one in Arlington at 818 N. Collins St. However, a few years later, all Bojangles stores in Texas closed.

It’s unclear why Bojangles pulled out of Texas, but the restaurant chain’s comeback has gained momentum.