"You may not have realized it, but the chicken sandwich battle is so 2019; the new chicken trend in restaurants is tenders. In the past year KFC, McDonald's, and Wendy's have all rolled out new or improved chicken tenders. But when it comes to fast food chicken tenders, Raising Cane's and Zaxby's loom largest because both chains have made their names on them from the start."
"Zaxby's was founded in Statesboro, Georgia in 1990; Raising Cane's was founded six years later in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After years of regional growth both chains exploded in the late 2010s as chicken was taking over the fast food world. While Zaxby's was the far larger chain going into 2020, its growth has slowed and it has only added about 50 locations since then, for a total of 969 at the end of 2024."
A new fast-food front centers on chicken tenders rather than sandwiches, with chains like KFC, McDonald's, and Wendy's updating tender offerings. Raising Cane's and Zaxby's stand out because both built brands around tenders. Both began in the 1990s—Zaxby's in 1990 and Raising Cane's in 1996—and surged regionally in the late 2010s as chicken trends rose. Zaxby's was larger entering 2020 but growth has slowed, reaching about 969 locations by the end of 2024. Raising Cane's experienced rapid expansion during the same period, more than doubling to just over 900 units.
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