Bojangles

Bojangles is a beloved regional QSR chain known for its Cajun-seasoned fried chicken and made-from-scratch biscuits. With a loyal fanbase concentrated in the Southeast and an aggressive expansion plan, Bojangles places a premium on consistency, throughput, and operational simplicity at the prep station. Hand-breaded products are central to the Bojangles brand’s modernization efforts, making the breading process a priority operational touchpoint.

Previously, Bojangles had been spec’ing in standard commercial refrigerators next to its breading stations to keep proteins cold during prep. Over time, the drawbacks of that approach became impossible to ignore:

• Cleanability: The refrigerators were difficult to clean around and required frequent repairs. Casters repeatedly failed, creating maintenance headaches at the store level.
• Size and inflexibility: Existing sifter and cold storage pairings were large and created excess surface area to clean, complicating daily sanitation routines.
• No off-the-shelf solution: Bojangles needed flexible workflows (some stores flow left-to-right and others right-to-left), multiple protein and batter stations at different elevations, a front basin shelf for hand breading, and a shallow reach depth that no standard configuration could deliver.

“We needed to optimize our batter breading stations to make them more cleanable,” said Marshall Scarborough, VP of menu and culinary innovation at Bojangles. “What we were solving for was ultimately a piece of equipment that would help us with throughput, was easy to operate, and that didn’t require a lot of pieces and parts for simple maintenance.”

Rather than force an existing product into a workflow it wasn’t built for, Bojangles and AyrKing built the solution together. The Bojangles team drew up the design. AyrKing’s engineering team translated it into CAD drawings and coordinated production. Both teams then traveled to the manufacturing facility to review a physical proof-of-concept unit and work through further refinements in person.

The finished station pairs AyrKing’s BBS Mini with a custom Ice Bath Cart, replacing traditional refrigeration entirely. Key design features include:

• A configured left-to-right workflow sequence matched to Bojangles’ specific prep process
• Multiple protein and batter stations at different elevations
• A front basin shelf for hand breading
• A large funnel that feeds reclaimed breading back into the BBS Mini for automatic sifting and reuse
• A custom basket configuration for batter and protein management
• Available in left- or right-sifter orientation

AyrKing designed the Ice Bath Cart to pair directly with the BBS Mini, a unit many Bojangles operators already had in their kitchens, making it available as a retrofit for existing locations rather than requiring a full station replacement.

A larger version of the station, featuring two sifters side by side, was also developed for higher-volume locations with more linear kitchen space available.

From proof-of-concept to restaurant testing took approximately one year and two additional iterations of refinement before the station was ready for wide rollout.

Bojangles has deployed approximately 30 of the compact retrofit units and 35 of the larger new-build versions to date, with the station now spec’d into all new restaurant openings. Locations using the stations have reported:

• High-volume throughput: Stations are handling upwards of 1,000 pounds of protein per day, including during grand opening surges at new locations.
• Energy savings: Replacing plug-in refrigeration with an Ice Bath Cart reduced energy consumption significantly at the prep station.
• Reduced repair and maintenance costs: Eliminating the compressor-based refrigerators removed a chronic source of caster failures and maintenance calls. “These new units are paying for themselves just with the savings we’re getting,” Scarborough said.
• No learning curve: The station was designed to be intuitive. Operators adopted it quickly, with no meaningful training burden reported.

“AyrKing’s custom product exceeded my expectations,” Scarborough said. “It’s been able to serve as a workhorse for our new restaurant openings, where some are doing very, very large grand opening volumes.”

For Scarborough, the value of the partnership extended well beyond the finished product. AyrKing brought genuine fried food expertise to the design process, not just manufacturing capability.

“With AyrKing, you get a good partner that understands the food industry, understands how restaurant kitchens work, and understands how to create solutions that are meaningful,” Scarborough said. “Their expertise was just as valuable as the input from our own operations team.”

• BBS Mini automated breading, blending, and sifting in a compact footprint
• Integrated ice bath cart replaces traditional refrigeration for cold protein storage
• Configurable left- or right-sifter orientation to match existing kitchen workflow
• Ice Bath Cart designed to retrofit onto existing BBS Mini units, protecting operators’ prior investment
• Built-in breading reclaim funnel reduces ingredient waste
• Designed for high-volume, high-frequency use across multi-unit operations

For Bojangles, the custom BBS Mini and Ice Bath Cart station solved a problem that no off-the-shelf product could address. AyrKing’s willingness to observe, listen, and engineer a tailored solution from its existing portfolio made the difference.

“These batter breading tables are a game changer for any operation that needs to manage cold batter and cold proteins and needs to sift flour,” Scarborough said. “It’s a great solution for any restaurant concept that has limited space in the kitchen but wants to serve high quality fried products.”

Learn more about how AyrKing can help your QSR operation save labor, ingredients, and energy.