The new Bojangles on US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park, FL, is drawing frustration from locals after opening with only chicken tenders and strips. Fans expected the chain’s famous bone-in chicken but left disappointed.
Posted By: Shawna
Man, let me tell y’all something that new Bojangles on US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park is a straight-up disaster. Who opens a chicken restaurant and only sells tenders? Like, what are we even doing here?
I don’t even know where to begin, because honestly, I’m still in disbelief. So the brand-new Bojangles over on US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park finally opened, right? I was excited, ready to get that real Southern-style chicken crispy, juicy, and with some flavor. I pulled up thinking, finally, we got a Bojangles in this area. But y’all… they only selling strips and tenders. That’s it. Like, what in the world?
Let me just say this if you’re gonna open a fried chicken restaurant, the bare minimum you should have is bone-in chicken. That’s literally what people come for! You can get tenders anywhere gas stations got tenders, grocery stores got tenders, heck even convenience stores have tenders. But Bojangles? We expect better. We want that real deal chicken the kind with bones that’s cooked fresh and seasoned right. So imagine my face when the lady at the counter told me, “Sorry, we’re only serving tenders right now.” Girl, what?!
Now, I’m not trying to bash nobody trying to make an honest living, but come on. How do you have a grand opening, balloons outside, long line around the building, and all you’re serving is tenders? That’s not a grand opening that’s a soft disappointment. You got folks in Pinellas Park hyped up for weeks, only to open the doors and serve the same thing people can buy frozen at Walmart. This ain’t it, Bojangles.
And you know what’s really wild? Florida is supposed to be a tourist state. You mean to tell me out of all the places you could’ve put your best foot forward, y’all decided to half-step in one of the most visited states in the country? If the government or supply chains are in that bad of shape in 2025 that you can’t even sell real chicken, we got a bigger problem than I thought. Like seriously, is this where we at now? Tenders-only America?
It just feels lazy, like they wanted to say “we opened” just to check it off the list. But for what? To sell half a menu? That’s not a good look, especially when Bojangles has a name built on authentic Southern chicken. You can’t be talking about “It’s Bo time!” when all you got is strips. It’s giving “No time” and “No bone-in.”
So yeah, I left empty-handed and irritated. I’ll try again later once they figure out what kind of restaurant they actually want to be. But for right now? I’m gonna pass. This whole opening was just a hot mess — unnecessary and disappointing. Bojangles, do better. Florida deserves better.
