We have a name and new details on Ashley Christensen’s upcoming chicken sandwich project
The thing about chicken sandwiches is the world is always looking for the next great one.
Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen will join the fried chicken arms race this year with three new fast casual restaurants in three corners of the Triangle. The concept, previously referred to as its placeholder, “Project Xtra Crispy,” now has an official name.
The restaurants will be called BB’s Crispy Chicken, a name drawing its inspiration as a baby version of Christensen’s chicken-centric downtown spot, Beasley’s Chicken and Honey.
BB’s Crispy Chicken will open in Raleigh’s Wegmans-anchored Midtown East development off of Wake Forest Road, Durham’s University Hill shopping center and Cary’s Parkside Commons.
The BB’s menu is being finalized, but Christensen offered a few teasers. There will be a “Deluxe” sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles, another with Texas Pete, blue cheese and shredded iceberg lettuce and one dubbed the Super Pickle, which Christensen says will amp up what many consider the best part of a chicken sandwich.
“When we would ask people what makes a chicken sandwich delicious to you, a lot of them would say it has to have extra pickles,” Christensen said. “So we’ll have the Super Pickle, loaded with extra pickles, shredded lettuce and a mayo with pickle juice.”
Fried and grilled sandwiches
The BB’s menu will have fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, opting for a breast instead of the thigh served at Beasley’s in Raleigh. There will also be a fried green tomato sandwich and a list of sides including fries and salads. Beer and wine will be served, along with sodas. And for dessert look for a trio of milkshakes made with milk from a local dairy.
The Raleigh BB’s will open first, followed by Durham and then Cary. If all goes well, BB’s will look beyond the Triangle.
“I think we’re focused on launching these concepts, the first closest to home (in Raleigh),” Christensen said. “I was born in Greensboro and grew up in Kernersville, and it would be cool if my mom had a BB’s close by.”
Christensen said she was first approached about the fast casual project by MDO Holdings founder Michael Olander, Jr., the son of Eliza Kraft Olander, an early investor in Poole’s.
After two years of work, BB’s will enter a market that’s never been hungrier for chicken sandwiches. Christensen said she has not tried the Popeyes version that became a phenomenon last year and hasn’t been to Chick-fil-A in a long, long time.
Christensen doesn’t expect a crispy chicken sandwich to fall out of fashion any time soon.
“It’s sort of a timeless offering,” Christensen said. “There’s some version of a crispy chicken dish in nearly every culture of food.”
Turning over operations
BB’s will exist outside the AC Restaurants group, which includes all of Christensen’s other projects, including Poole’s Diner, Death & Taxes and the new Poole’side Pies. She handled the menu planning side of BB’s but said she wanted to leave operations to Olander and his company.
“I’m very focused on everything we have downtown,” Christensen said. “Those concepts are growing in age and we’re fine-tuning them to, everyday, be the best they can be. The work is looking at them each day and making sure they stay sharp, fresh, relevant. (With BB’s), I didn’t want to run operations and tax my team.”
Christensen takes issue with the gulf of disappointment often lying between the idealized photos of fast food and the paper-wrapped reality served in five minutes or less. She said BB’s intends to put its best on the plate.
“Often the food in these restaurants doesn’t look anything like the photos,” Christensen said. “We want to produce food that exceeds expectations.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 10:53 AM with the headline "We have a name and new details on Ashley Christensen’s upcoming chicken sandwich project."
