Bojangles? Bringing Biscuits to Bentonville

A fast food restaurant that will be a first for Northwest Arkansas is planning its grand opening for the last week of December.
Bojangles’ Restaurants Inc. is based in Charlotte, N.C., and has locations in 10 states. It will make its regional debut in a 3,700-SF building at 1320 S.E. Walton Blvd. in Bentonville.
The chicken and biscuit restaurant seemed a perfect fit for Northwest Arkansas, according to Barry Cann, who will own the franchise along with his wife, Rhonda Cann, and mother, Nancy Bartholomew, as part of their Nee Enterprises entity.
Construction of the building, including build-outs, is estimated at $1.8 million. Mathias Properties of Springdale owns and is leasing the land to Nee Enterprises.
“With the biggest poultry producer in the U.S. [Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale] in Northwest Arkansas, we should have the best chicken restaurant,” said Barry Cann, a Van Buren native.
Barry Cann said one of the best things about Bojangles’ is the made-from-scratch, buttermilk biscuits that are always fresh. The restaurant will open at 5:30 a.m. and serve breakfast all day.
“They’re handmade,” Barry Cann said. “People never forget our biscuits.”
What also sets Bojangles’ apart, according to Barry Cann, is the freshness of their products.
For example, french fries are discarded after 10 minutes of being made if they are not served. Biscuits are tossed after 20 minutes.
“Nowadays in the fast food restaurant business, that’s pretty hard to find,” he said.