PITTSBORO — Chicken chain Zaxby's is now open in Pittsboro. Whether you’re in the mood for “Chicken Fingerz,” the Zaxby’s signature sauce, or just some old fashioned southern hospitality, the new location at 28 Harper Lane opened on Monday.
The Pittsboro Zaxby's, built locally by Thomas Construction Company, is the first in Chatham County. Co-manager Scott Holloman and his wife Molly started hiring at the beginning of January and will have some 80 employees when fully staffed.
“This is a place with tremendous growth,” Holloman said in an interview. “There's plenty of options, but not the quick-service chicken restaurant. More than anything we wanted to get here before all the growth, so we could get our feet under us. We're really building for the future.”
Holloman got started with Zaxby's as a 20-year old cook and is now a franchisee some 15 years later.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring Zaxby’s to Pittsboro,” said Ben Little, franchisee and president of ZaxPitt, LLC, in a statement. “It’s impossible to spend any amount of time here and not fall in love with the area. We look forward to being good stewards of the community with our work with Make a Wish of Eastern North Carolina, while serving the best chicken in town.”
Atlanta-based Zaxby’s was founded in 1990 and is often compared to other fast food chicken joints like KFC, Raising Cane's, Popeyes and Chick-Fil-A.
Customers will be able to order in-store, at the drive-thru and via the company’s app.
“We're going to be trying to impact lives now and serve the guests, but we really think within five to 10 years this store could… be one of the top performing stores in the company,” Holloman said.
He also emphasized community support, noting that Northwood High School is nearby and Holloman said he was looking at some kind of community program that could give discounts to Northwood students or to promote spirit nights around athletic events. But more than anything, he emphasized teamwork.
“If you go in there and look in that kitchen, they're shoulder-to-shoulder,” he said proudly. “I watch people come in and in less than five minutes they’re walking out the door with whatever they ordered.”
The restaurant has a dozen experienced Zaxby’s employees who helped train up the new hires. “We’re not going to be perfect, but we’re going to execute as best we can,” Holloway said. “We want feedback and we want people to know that when they come in here, don’t leave mad — we want to know what we did wrong so we can coach somebody. Whether talking to a manager or using the surveys, let us know how we did.”
Between community outreach and the emphasis on customer service — he emphasized how it’s important to get a guest’s name and to treat them like family — and the team at Zaxby’s Pittsboro is ready to make an impact.
The restaurant is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.