The Budlong Southern Chicken (The Budlong) opened recently at Chicagoland’s Oakbrook Center. The new location, which is the brand’s fourth, features a fresh look for The Budlong, including a reinvented logo and color scheme. Plus, the Oakbrook Center restaurant embraces newly introduced tech innovation that enhances ordering and operations, with an emphasis on speed and efficiency.
“The excitement and energy surrounding The Budlong’s evolution is truly palpable,” said Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands, parent company to The Budlong in a statement. “We’ve been eager to share our brand’s new look with suburban Chicagoland residents, who have long-awaited for us to arrive outside the city. The District showcases our concept in a new light, demonstrating the flexibility of our model to flourish in any type of setting. Malls as well as non-traditional settings like arenas, college campuses and airports provide fantastic opportunities for us to extend the brand outside of our traditional-style restaurants.”
Majewski and head of culinary, Chef Becca McIntyre, along with Chef and head of menu innovation Robert Kabakoff, recently re-engineered The Budlong menu, introducing upgraded recipes, better quality sauces and more value.
This grand opening will be held on Thursday, August 10. The Budlong will give the first 50 guests in line on August 10 free sandwiches for a year* (*one sandwich per week for one year). Also as a way to commemorate the celebration, guests can enjoy an exclusive 50% off deal on the restaurant’s Chicken ‘N’ Waffles, a sweet and savory popcorn chicken option served in a waffle cone topped with powdered sugar and drizzled honey (only available the Oakbrook Center location). And, The Budlong is giving guests at the grand opening bounce-back coupons for complimentary Fries or the fan-favorite, scratch-made Banana Pudding for future visits.
The new eatery’s home in the mall is in The District Food Hall, a 14,000-square-foot vibrant destination featuring an array of chef-driven, elevated dining options. Plus, proving that birds of a feather flock together, The Budlong is opening adjacent to another Craveworthy Brands emerging concept in The District, Lucky Cat Poke Company, a fresh and fast poke bowl eatery opening its first location at the same time.
The concepts join the portfolio of Craveworthy Brands concepts including legacy brands Genghis Grill, BD’s Mongolian Grill and The Budlong and Krafted.
The Budlong Southern Chicken is Southern-fried, through and through, offering a menu including chicken sandwiches, tenders, salads, kids meals, desserts, like the homemade Banana Pudding, and more. All chicken is locally sourced, and hand-breaded, with sides and desserts made with love from scratch. To emphasize the Nashville hot chicken concept, customers have a choice of three different heat levels for their chicken to cater to all taste buds, and if spice isn’t your thing, the brand also has new sauces like Garlic Parmesan and Honey BBQ to drench your chicken in.
