Fried chicken chain restaurant Layne’s Chicken Fingers will soon make its way to the Permian Basin, the Odessa American reported.
Established in 1994 in College Station by college students Mike Layne and Mike Garratt, the restaurant is now based in Frisco and led by CEO Garrett Reed, who acquired the restaurant in 2017 after pitching the idea to the founders.
Reed confirmed the company’s effort to open a restaurant in the Odessa-Midland area.
“He hopes to find someone local to Odessa-Midland to pick up a franchise but said if he doesn’t, several restaurant groups are interested in bringing the growing chicken empire to the area,” the report stated.
The new location joins a catalog of other restaurants across Texas, in Dallas-Fort Worth, Allen, Frisco, Lewisville and Roanoke as well as College Station and Houston.
“We are looking for franchisees…there is a lot of interest from different franchise groups…so far all the growth has been with franchisers who are local to the communities…we have a lot of interest (in the Odessa area) from bigger groups that want a larger territory, but before we sign on with a larger group we are making a push for someone locally to franchise,” Reed said.
Known for its homemade-style fried chicken fingers, Reed said the chicken doesn't need sauce, although they have it.
“Our chicken tender is made of the best pieces of chicken and is marinated for 48 hours,” he said.
Gravy is offered with food orders, as well as a variety of sauces. The original recipe the duo started with is still used and the secret sauce is, indeed, secret with nine or 10 seasonings and “only about three people know what they are,” he said.