From donuts to chicken gizzards, Chester's has always offered more than your average
chicken joint. Here's everything you need to know before you hit up Chester's Chicken!
We all have to start somewhere, and so did Chester's Chicken. In 1952, W.O. Giles,
the founder of Chester's, bought Hol-in-One Donut Co. in Arkansas. He later took this business to
Montgomery, Alabama and sold frozen donuts along with a line of donut fryers. The company still
makes fryers and food prep equipment, and this all paved the way for a certain poultry venture.
The brand soon grew to include chicken fryers, and out of that stemmed Chester's
Chicken. In 1965, the company created the Chester the Chicken mascot. And so,
the family-owned business became a chicken chain,
along with an enterprise that continues to sell donuts and chicken fryers to this day. The Chester
chain unfortunately doesn't have any donuts on its menu nowadays, but it's still heartwarming
to know that the founder could whip up some mean pastries in addition to his fried meat.
"Mm. Yummy. Donut."
Nothing stays the same forever, including plenty of brand logos and mascots. Some do so for
problematic reasons, but in the case of Chester's, it was simply time for something new. In 2021,
the company unveiled a redesign that was meant to lower costs for franchisees while
also increasing sales. This initiative included a new digital menu, packaging,
and a simplified logo. This was done to add emphasis to Chester's freshly made fried chicken.
The old Chester's logo was made up of a bold black and yellow font, while the new
version features "Chester's: Chicken on the Run" written in a dark blue font, with the friendly,
happy face of the chicken next to it, along with his hat, smile, and bandanna. Furthermore,
the brand completely rehauled its website. This was done to make the website and brand appear
more friendly and accessible to customers so that its fried chicken could be enjoyed by more people.
The rebranding of the Chester's brand didn't end with that redesign. From its logo to its website,
the company did a lot to make its appearance and accessibility better,
and that included the name of the entire chain. At first glance, you might not notice that any major
changes have been made to the name. Chester's has always been Chester's, after all. But in fact,
there did indeed used to be a little more to the company's moniker than what it is now,
and though it isn't the most significant of changes, it's still worth pointing out.
Originally, the chain was known as "Chester Fried," as opposed to just Chester's. That's
what it was called beginning in 1974, but then in 2002, "Fried" was dropped, leaving "Chester's"
by its lonesome. Ted Giles, the CEO of Chester's, claimed that this change was made to ensure brand
consistency. It's hardly the most revolutionary name change ever, and it doesn't really reflect
any revolution in the type of chicken that the chain makes. But if you've ever found yourself
wondering what happened to Chester Fried, the answer is nothing. It's just Chester's now.
The most popular fast food chains are ubiquitous. That's what makes them popular,
after all! According to Chester's website, the chain has over 1,200 locations that have
been serving chicken for more than 50 years. For comparison, Popeyes has around 3,450 locations. So
Chester's isn't the biggest, but it's got a solid presence, and they've got plans to keep growing.
Texas alone has 70 Chester's locations, so there's a good chance if you happen to
be in the Lone Star State, you'll come across one. While Chester's
isn't as massive as the likes of Popeyes or McDonald's, it's slowly but surely growing,
and you may see more locations pop up in the future, perhaps even in your own neighborhood.
"My neighborhood has gone through so much."
Popeyes had some phenomenal success when it relaunched its chicken sandwich in
2019. When you compare the Popeyes menu to Chester's, you'll notice some pretty
significant similarities. Not only are both chains obviously heavy on chicken,
but they also offer fruit-filled pies for dessert. And the similarities don't end there. Not only
does Chester's also offer chicken sandwiches, but they launched around the same time as Popeyes.
To get specific, Chester's unveiled its chicken sandwich on August 15, 2019,
while Popeyes was released just a few days earlier on August 12. Popeyes ate up most of the hype,
so there's a good chance you've already bitten into it once or twice. So now's as good a time
as any to give Chester's offering a go and see how the two stack up to each other.
A fast food order simply isn't complete without a delicious side. McDonald's has their famous
fries. Popeyes has their unbeatable savory biscuits. As for Chester's,
you've got quite a bit to choose from. You can get potato wedges, mashed potatoes,
or green beans with bacon. When paired with fried chicken, these sides make for a pretty satisfying
meal. But one of the best sides at Chester's has absolutely got to be the mac and cheese.
"Macaroni and cheese! Aye, you know what I like!"
It's made with extra creamy cheddar, along with cavatappi noodles. It's so good that it'll remind
you of some home-cooked mac and cheese. In a 2021 Twitter poll, Chester's asked its fans to pick
between three of its sides: mac and cheese, green beans, and mashed potatoes. The green beans didn't
receive any votes, while the mac and cheese took the crown with two-thirds of the votes. So treat
yourself right and dig right into that gooey, cheesy goodness the next time you're at Chester's!
Many restaurants have numerous locations scattered across the
country, operating out of many different places. Some consist of the store itself
or a spot at a mall food court. Others operate primarily out of gas stations,
including Chester's. If you've ever come across a Chester's, chances are high it was at a gas
station or a convenience store. Maybe you were just shopping for something else entirely,
and then you realized that you were in need of a fresh and fried pick-me-up.
Chester's primarily operates in gas stations and supermarkets,
but they're also able to do business in some smaller locations, including airports. And if
you stop by a 7-Eleven, you may very well discover them selling Chester's Chicken
as well. So if you're ever in a rush and need to get yourself some gas or groceries,
you'll be able to kill two birds with one stone by also quenching your need for chicken.
Chicken tenders and sandwiches aren't the only things you can find on the
Chester's menu. There are also the sides and desserts, of course, but in terms of the bird,
there are some unique options that you won't find at other chicken chains.
There's even a section designated for fried gizzards and livers. Yes indeed,
chicken liver and gizzards make up a good portion of the Chester's menu,
which should come as no surprise, as both items are common in the poultry aisle of grocery stores.
Perhaps a little more surprising is the significant number of Chester's fans who quite
enjoy these unique cuts. If you take a gander at some online reviews, you'll discover plenty
of people praising the gizzards and livers. One review on Tripadvisor notes that they're
extremely tasty, while another review described the gizzards in particular as chewy and tasty.
Maybe you've never thought about having fried gizzards instead of a chicken sandwich or an order
of tenders. But if you ever stop by Chester's, it might just be time to expand your poultry palate.
"We're gonna try it! Come on!"
The Love's Travel Stops chain has hundreds of locations spanning 41 states. Based in Oklahoma
City, it operates gas stations and RV locations that offer food and drink for people on the road.
So naturally enough, Chester's Chicken, a food concept that operates out of plenty of groceries
stores, has worked with Love's Travel Stops in the past. And one of their collaborations
stands out above the rest. Back on November 18, 2021, the two companies worked together
to bring the public "Truckersgiving." No, this didn't mean Chester's started selling turkey.
But it did mean good food for truckers who came down to a Chester's within a Love's location.
"Truckersgiving" was a day for Love's and Chester's to truly celebrate truck drivers.
They had the chance to go to a Love's Chester's location, show employees their commercial driver's
license, and then get themselves a hat, along with a side of Chester's delicious mac and
cheese. Even if you're not a truck driver, it's already been established that mac and
cheese is a smart choice at Chester's. So clearly, Truckersgiving was treating these workers right!
There's nothing like a crispy, crunchy plate of fried chicken. You could make a
batch of your own at home, but when you're in a pinch, having fast food joints like
Chester's around is an incredible blessing. It's all pretty much made the same way,
but different fried chicken joints add their own extra and unique bits to their particular
dishes. When it comes to Chester's, the chain has its own classic spin on its poultry,
which is fried to a particular definition of crispy, savory, and flavorful perfection.
If you stop by Chester's, there's a good chance you're going to pick up some chicken tenders,
a sandwich, or anything in between. So we imagine you'd like to know how the main component of each
of these products is crafted. As explained on Chester's website, their chicken is never frozen,
as it's instead made freshly over the course of a day. Furthermore,
it's made out of a double-breaded coating, created from Chester's own breading and
batter dip. The chain also uses a blend of special spices, along with their own formulated
shortening. After all this, the chicken is of course fried, and we get some delicious,
juicy chicken delivered straight to our salivating mouths and rumbling stomachs.
"Get in my belly!"
There are lots of chicken chains out there, including Chick-fil-A, Popeyes,
and of course, Chester's. They all offer pretty similar items on their menus. But
if you're a lover of all things fried chicken, you might find yourself wondering which one is
the best. While you might assume that the more popular chains are automatically the kings,
some of the lesser-known joints, like Chester's, are equally as delicious, if not more so. In fact,
there was a time when Chester's had a pretty high placement on chicken franchise rankings.
To be specific, Chester's was once ranked as the fourth-best franchise in the Chicken
Category by Entrepreneur Magazine. However, it's since slipped a spot down to fifth,
as it's topped by Bojangles, KFC, Wingstop, and Popeyes. Even though Chester's fell a bit,
holding steady at number five is still an impressive accomplishment. Bottom line:
you shouldn't have any trouble finding some pretty darn good fried chicken at Chester's.
Wendy's has a famously active Twitter account, but they're not the only fast food company with
a fun social media presence. Chester's is on all the typical platforms: Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram. As media evolves, brands have to do the same in order to increase their influence
and presence, after all. But TikTok is the hot social media app of the moment,
so it's only natural that Chester's would also want to establish a presence there.
While it's more of a platform for individual content creators,
many brands have TikTok accounts to promote their products, and Chester's is no exception.
The chain launched its TikTok in 2021, and the page is filled with various
chicken-related content, naturally enough. You can find shorts of the brand's mascot,
Chester the Chicken, doing things like dancing along to a popular song. They're
typically accompanied by captions relating to the chicken that Chester's sells.
Other highlights include videos that match Chester's menu items
to Stranger Things characters. You can find some pretty interesting content on
Chester's TikTok page, and that's a good thing,
because that's what consumers generally demand out of their favorite brands in the 21st century.