Wednesday column reprise: Bojangles vs. Chick Fil A
Stan Seymour
Note from Dan: While I’m at the beach with my family I’m treating you to some columns that ran within the past year. This one first appeared Sept. 29, 2011. Since then, Bojangles owner Stan Seymour lost his bid for Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, and Salem finally got it’s long-desired Chick Fil A.
Salem is a city that rarely squawks. But for many years there’s been one oft-heard gripe around town: no Chick-fil-A.
Salemites have to drive all the way to Valley View or Tanglewood malls to feast on a crispy chicken sandwich deluxe and waffle fries.
That 8-mile outrage is a shameful stain on Salem’s otherwise stellar record of luring fast-food joints to West Main Street, which is pretty much a giant mall food court except it has lots of drive-throughs and no common roof.
So there was lots of clucking when Salem crowed it had finally landed a Chick-fil-A for West Main. It would join McDonald’s and KFC and Subway and Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and Hardee’s, Arby’s, Zaxby’s, Wendy’s, Quiznos, Burger King, Sonic, Firehouse Subs, Sam’s Hotdog Stand, Dairy Queen, Starbucks and Sheetz.
But it’s ruffled the feathers of Stan Seymour, who owns Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits outlets in our valley and who just happens to be running for the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors.
One of his chicken stands is on West Main, and he sounds madder than a wet hen over the Chick-fil-A plan.
Seymour said Salem is being more lenient on parking, landscaping and setbacks with Chick-fil-A than it was with his Bojangles’ outlet. The city and Chick-fil-A deny it.
“We have and will continue to work closely with city officials to ensure we abide by all requirements as we construct and operate this new restaurant,” said Chick-fil-A spokeman Mark Baldwin.
Seymour has appealed to the city board of zoning appeals, and if he loses there, he could drag this out even longer by appealing again to circuit court.
“Nobody should have to follow those laws,” he said. “Maybe they’ll get them off the books now.” And “It’ll hurt my business, so I’m going to slow it down if I can.”
Seymour told me Wednesday that he had warned Salem city officials, in writing, about developing the location a year ago.
All of this forced an unhappy Salem City Council to postpone action on the new Chick-fil-A this week. Mayor Randy Foley said he hated to see “someone abuse the process and delay it on purpose.” Councilwoman Lisa Garst cast her vote to delay with “great disappointment.”
Figuratively, you could say council flipped Seymour the bird.
So who’s the winner here?
It’s not the junk-food hungry people of Salem. They seem destined for an even longer Chick-fil-A drought.
It’s not the city of Salem, which stands accused of playing favorites to recruit a long-sought fast-food franchise to the trans fat oil slick known as West Main Street.
And it’s not the privately owned and quite profitable Chick-fil-A company, which already has nearly 1,600 locations in 37 states. They don’t need Salem for their bottom line.
The winner is clearly Stan Seymour, who early in his campaign told this newspaper’s Katelyn Polantz, “People asked, ‘Are you going to put a chicken in every pot?’ I said, ‘No, but I’m going to stir it.’”
He certainly has done that. The guy is no birdbrain.
Yesterday, Seymour was on the front page of The Roanoke Times. Today, people on blogs and Facebook are writing about his restaurants.
Some are calling him a free-enterprise hypocrite and not so slyly suggesting he’s too chicken to compete. Others counter that Seymour’s standing up for small-business rights against governments that favor large corporations.
On my blog, readers are joking that even though he’s running as an independent, Seymour is so conservative his chicken stands serve only right wings. “I serve them out the left side of the building, though,” Seymour cracked.
As recently as Monday, nobody in this valley was talking about Bojangles’ or its fried bologna biscuits or Stan Seymour or his run for the board of supervisors. Now, lots of people are.
Seymour said he’d had nearly 20 calls of support from residents of Salem. Meanwhile, Salemites who are angry with him can’t even vote against him.
By that yardstick, the guy’s a political marketing genius. He broke a few eggs and now he’s got a mouth-watering omelet. There’s almost no such thing as bad publicity.
As for Salem, and the fate of its long-sought Chick-fil-A, former Mayor Howard Packett noted the sky won’t fall no matter which way this ends.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to go hungry on West Main Street,” he cackled.
August 8, 2012 - 6:00 AM
One thing I really like about Charlottesville is that nearly all the fast-food joints are way up on Rte 29 North of the city, where its really inconvenient due to 8 lanes of traffic.
This spotlights the town’s stellar selection of restaurants, some sit-down, some closer to fast food. I’d rather hit up Bodo’s for a bagel at breakfast than sludge down an egg mcmuffin that was made a few months ago in a factory. Instead of hitting up Dominos or Papa Johns Salty and terrible pizza, There’s Slice, Mona Lisa Pasta, Christian’s, among others.
I wonder why the people of Salem, who have such pride in their town, haven’t demanded a better selection of eateries in the area? Why do they settle for the crappiest of the crappy fast food?
Bojangles used to be really good but lately I find it too greasy. It could be a “I’ve gotten to old to eat that shizzle” thing. The pintos are better than Chick-Fil-Hate’s waffle fries which are undercooked. But CFA’s chicken and sauces are better. That Hobangles hot sauce ain’t Cajun.
I’d rather have all the fast food in one spot instead of spread out all over town.
Now that the Salem ChickfilA is open, I’ve visited there a couple of times. I have to say that all the employees are extremely cordial and very positive. The negative is that the parking lot configuration is horrible. They have a double width drive thru (two lanes), which negates many of the parking spaces on one side of the restaurant. The elevation of the restaurant makes the parking lot on the other side pretty confusing and difficult, as well.
Just a logistical observation, but I thought it worthy of interest, considering some of the original arguments by the Bojangles owner.
When is Stan going to build his Bojangles close to the Chic-fil-A on 220?
Scott, how exactly do citizens and local governments determine who builds or buys properties from private land owners, assuming it’s already properly zoned?
The great thing about Charlottesville is the large amount of condescension all its’ current and former residents exhibit. Then there’s always the lack of cogent logistics, the seemingly automatic bump in dining prices – because the ‘local’ restaurants all jack up their prices due to preferential treatment by their cronies in local government. The fuel prices are always at least 10-15 cents higher than any place 30 or more miles away, too.
Yes, TJ’s ‘village’ is certainly quite the experience. No wonder Blacksburg’s wannabe elitists are so envious.
Dan, per the article:
“Salemites have to drive all the way to Valley View or Tanglewood malls to feast on a crispy chicken sandwich deluxe and waffle fries.”
Sorry, but before Chick-fil-A opened in Christiansburg, the options for the NRV’s hard-core patrons were A) Get a visitor’s pass to park on campus and wade through the students to go to the one at VT B) Go to Bluefield, WV (it’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from there) or C) Chick-fil-A at Valley View.
Salemites’ choices instantly look better.
crooked road, regarding the elevated drive thru at Salem CFA, I agree with all your comments. And, as was pointed out by others during construction, when the dark evening months arrive, those lanes will be steering the cars headlights directly into the eyes (at eye level) of westbound drivers on Main St.!
Agreed, Scott. Zaxby’s is about the lowest of the low… probably even worse than Bojangles.
“Scott, how exactly do citizens and local governments determine who builds or buys properties from private land owners, assuming it’s already properly zoned?”
Well, apparently in Boston, Chicago and SF, they decide based on religion.
Political issues aside, I think Chick-Fil-A has far better food than Bojangle’s. 20 years ago Bojangle’s chicken and biscuits were great tailgating fare, but every time I’ve tried Bo’s in the last decade, even the biscuits have been so greasy that they soak through wax paper. IMO, for flavor, texture, quality of food and quality of service CFA has ‘em beat by a mile.
KFC was always a childhood favorite, largely because they were the only game in town. I still like it every once in a while but sadly, they too suffer from an excess of grease and in recent times, the price is just outrageous. We got a 16 piece meal for a recent family gathering and paid over 50 bucks. It was ridiculous!
Best place to grab a sandwich or soup and/or salad at lunchtime in Salem is O’Brien’s Meats. Sandwiches are STACKED with meat. Salads that you would pay $6-7 for anywhere else are about $3. I bought 2 sandwiches and a salad with ham on it and it cost me $10. No lie.
Rick, by voting with their wallet and patronizing said establishments.
They wouldn’t locate there if there wasn’t a large group of people with bad taste in food.
W. Main St in Salem really is bad. Bad traffic, bad architecture and bad food. It’s such a contrast to downtown Salem, which has some charm.
8.Best place to grab a sandwich or soup and/or salad at lunchtime in Salem is O’Brien’s Meats.
Sounds good. Let’s do lunch!
John, if you’re serious, that’d be great! Would you be coming from Christiansburg? I ask because the deli is only open from 10:30-2:30 M-F, I believe. They are a butcher shop for their main money the rest of the time.
crooked road,
http://virginiagasprices.com/ would completely disagree with your statements about gas prices. Of the top 15 cheapest gas stations in the commonwealth, 7 of them are in Charlottesville, Waynesboro, or just a ride up in Orange. 15-30 cents more per gallon?? I think not. I think you’re thinking about all the gas stations in Salem close to the interstate, raping the wallets of passers-by. Remember, they were the ones to gouge up to $6/gallon during the one day fuel crisis a few years ago.
So yeah, your credibility is already shot.
But, to address your point about condescension… My family has lived in Roanoke since 1984. I spent time in Northern VA during the Internet Tech Boom, and last year I relocated to Charlottesville. After having lived in Central, Northern, and Southwestern VA, I can say hands down that the people here pretty much have it right on their opinions on it being amazing here. Now, I’m a Hokie, and I loathe the UVa subculture more than most. Thankfully where West Main street begins in Charlottesville, the popped-collar frat idiots stop. And that’s when Charlottesville really gets nice.
Bottom line: Charlottesville has the amenities and progressive community of Northern Virginia, but the Traffic and cost of living of Southwestern Virginia. We have a town one third the size of Roanoke but 10 times the number of restaurants, and entertainment events, and cultural significance.
I’m sorry you are stuck in the Roanoke Black Hole, like so many others. I wish you and everyone would leave the valley and explore what the outside world is like. and I’m not talking about going to Redneck Nirvana Myrtle Beach for the week.
excuse me, 10-15 cents per gallon. i re-read what you posted too quickly about 30 miles. either way, you’re still wrong about the prices.
Chuck if you are in the Radford or Christiansburg area, I would suggest R&R Market on Wadsworth St. in Radford. Best deal on chicken in town (it’s pressure fried) and the breasts are easily as big as my fist.
That O’Briens is quite good! Best price and lots of meat on the sandwiches there.
I have heard that R&R Market does burgers too, and much like the old Kenney burgers.
It’s ironic that an evangelical doesn’t serve fried chicken the way God made it – with bones inside.
The Bojangles on 221 ain’t half-bad. However, the ChickFilA and Bojangles are both irrelevent now that there’s Thelmas’s and Popeyes.
Zaxby’s and KFC are patronized by the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible.
I will have to try R&R; I bought a ’70′s era pressure fryer at a yard sale and pressure fried chicken is fantastic.
The Zaxby’s franchise in Salem is owned by a gentleman who is very open about his Christianity. Maybe he should just start using that in his advertising.
Yes, R&R market has good chicken. The biscuits are pure grease, though.
Contrasuzie:
“I ask because the deli is only open from 10:30-2:30 M-F, I believe.”
Works for me. Except for three delayed closings hanging in the wings, any day next week works. Shoot me an e-mail.
Scott
Someday when I retire I would love to live in or near C’ville. Housing is more expensive, but it is so muc more vibrant than Roanoke. Charlottesville’s downtown mall is what Roanoke’s downtown would love to be, but never will be. And though you may not care for the university, its presence drives the accessibility of much of the culture and restaurants that you do enjoy.
#126 Come on, scott, the cost of housing in Charlottesville is most definitely NOT the same as Roanoke or other parts of Southwest Virginia. And traffic out 29 really stinks. Good place otherwise.
gdad, i’ve found housing to be a bit higher, but for a better quality of life for sure. The house i owned in Roanoke is probably 10% less than the one I am in here, only the one here was built in 2011, and the one there was built in 1971. Downtown lofts in Roanoke and C’ville are roughly the same price too, only there’s a lot more in C’ville right now.
Traffic on 29 is not bad at all except during rush hours… and even then it’s less clogged than 419 in SW Roanoke county. Not that I’d want to go up Rte 29 too far beyon Hydraulic for any reason. It’s all chain restaurants and mini malls. The new incoming movie theater and Trader Joes at Stonefield, and the existing Whole Foods are right there at Hydraulic and 29.
It really is beautiful here, and old blue, I understand where you’re coming from. I’m just very happy that the elitist undergrads pretty much stay on campus. (excuse me… “on grounds” how pompous and self-aggrandizing.)
Having spent a lot of time in Blacksburg and living here, I’ve made one pretty big observation. In Blacksburg, you NEVER see UVa stuff, even in the summer when school’s out. In C’ville there’s plenty of Hokies up here, and proud of it!!
John Wilburn, the biscuits are amazing when covered in honey though
We always pick up 18 or 20 pieces there when we go tailgate.
UVA & Charlottesville. Kind of like a Hoover!!
Peach Shake. BOO YAA!!
Bob apparently just got home from the bar, as his post makes about as much sense as Tea Party convention.
My sisters and I are definitely big chick-fil-A fans! We are moving to Roanoke or Charlottesville next summer, so we’re happy to know there are good places to eat down there. No such luck in CT. Below is a link to a video to support our friend who owns a Chick-fil-A and just wants to stay away from the drama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxhiMkRNDMg&feature=youtube_gdata_player