Bojangles abruptly closes three Jacksonville-area restaurants

Five years after opening its fourth Northeast Florida restaurant in St. Augustine and plans to open as many as five more in the area, Bojangles is largely pulling out of the market — at least for now.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based fast-food chain known for its Cajun-seasoned fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits abruptly closed at least three of its corporate-owned standalone restaurants Sunday evening including two in Jacksonville and one in Orange Park.

By Tuesday, marquees outside its locations at 4463 Deerwood Lake Parkway and 13559 Beach Blvd. gave notice that the restaurants had closed. Social media users said a similar notice appeared at the chain’s 492 Blanding Blvd. location in Orange Park.

Unaffected was the St. Augustine restaurant as well as non-corporate-owned restaurants attached to two Jacksonville-area Love’s Travel Stops — one in North Jacksonville and a second in Baldwin.

Attempts to reach the restaurants were unsuccessful and messages left with Bojangles’ corporate offices went unanswered.

For the company founded with one restaurant in Charlotte in 1977 that has grown to nearly 800 locations, the Northeast Florida closings mark a major setback for the brand that said in 2017 that the market could potentially support 20-25 locations.

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Closings disappoint customers

Although word spread on social media on Sunday, some customers were unaware of the closings until they tried to get breakfast early Tuesday morning.

"Well, this sucks," said Jon Ringold of Jacksonville after he and his wife, Marie, pulled into the parking lot of the Bojangles on Deerwood Lake Parkway. Because they were focused on the traffic, the couple didn't notice the "closed" sign.

"We really liked their [Cajun] chicken biscuit. And their chicken-fried steak biscuit was good, too," said Marie Ringold, noting the couple treated themselves to breakfast at the restaurant every couple of months.

"I hope the people who worked there can find other jobs," she said.

Bojangles CEO on chain's future

Bojangles CEO Jose Armario outlined his vision for the restaurant's future expansion during a recent interview with QSR magazine.

"This is going to sound weird or controversial. But I’d like to get out of the chicken business. I want to get into the experience business,” QSR reported.

Armario, who became CEO in January 2019, told the magazine that he was ready to lead the evolution of the chicken and biscuit restaurant brand that was founded 46 years ago. The evolution includes streamlining the menu, operating procedures and modernizing the design of new restaurant buildings, according to the QSR article.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bojangles abruptly closes 3 restaurants in Jacksonville, Orange Park