Layne's Chicken Fingers is set to throw open the doors of its second Richmond-area restaurant on Saturday, with a grand opening celebration at 8801 Staples Mill Road in Henrico. The first 50 dine-in guests who show up will walk away with free Layne's for an entire year, a deal sweet enough to make anyone rethink their weekend plans.
The opening marks a new chapter for Virginia franchisee Khurram Burney, who opened the chain's first Richmond-area location earlier this year. According to a release distributed via PRNewswire, the Henrico restaurant will serve Layne's full menu of chicken finger meals, sandwiches and sides, including chicken finger baskets, Texas toast-stacked sandwiches and a chicken club topped with brisket bacon and American cheese. Guests can dip into the brand's signature house sauce, along with jalapeño ranch, honey mustard, barbecue sauce and gravy.
Burney said he was excited to bring Layne's back to the Richmond area with the new Henrico location and looked forward to welcoming more guests and giving them a chance to try the brand, according to the same release. He plans to grow Layne's throughout Virginia, building on the momentum from his first area location and additional development already in the works, the release noted.
A Texas A&M Favorite Finds Its Footing in Virginia
Layne's Chicken Fingers traces its roots back to 1994, when it started as a local favorite near Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, per the prnewswire.com release. The chain built its reputation on hand-breaded crispy tenders, a secret sauce and what it calls genuine hospitality — a formula that, according to Restaurant Dive, still involves marinating, hand-battering and cooking tenders to order, with sauces made in-house.
Garrett Reed, Layne's chief executive officer, said Henrico is a natural next step for the brand, adding that Layne's will bring its chicken fingers and guest-focused experience to more people, the prnewswire.com release states. The company says it has plans for additional openings in Virginia and across the U.S., expanding nationwide through franchise partnerships and what it describes as disciplined growth.
Burney's Virginia footprint didn't start in Henrico. He signed on as Layne's franchisee for the entire state in 2022 and soon after opened his first location in Warrenton, according to Richmond BizSense. That Warrenton restaurant reportedly hit six figures in sales within its first week of business, per 1851franchise.com. Burney has also said three more Layne's locations are in development in Henrico, Fredericksburg and Fairfax, with letters of intent out on properties in other spots including Arlington, Richmond BizSense reported.
Chicken Fingers Are Having a Moment Nationally
The Henrico opening lands amid a broader growth push for Layne's, though exact figures vary depending on the source and date. The prnewswire.com release states the brand has more than 50 locations open, while 1851franchise.com reported that by the close of the second quarter of 2026, Layne's had expanded to more than 50 operating restaurants and signed two dozen franchise agreements — including a 12-unit development deal with experienced IHOP operators to launch the brand in California. Separately, Restaurant Dive reported the chain grew from 10 units in 2023 to 41 locations in 2025 across nine states, with franchising agreements signed for 68 restaurants, including a 44-store deal in Texas, and a stated target of 50 restaurants by 2027. NRN.com, meanwhile, reported that Layne's expected to double its unit count from 40 to 80 by the end of 2026 and surpass 500 locations by 2029.
Restaurant Dive also reported that Reed has estimated the U.S. could eventually support roughly 4,000 Layne's locations over a 20-year development horizon — an ambitious goal in a chicken category that NRN.com reports has grown 46% over the past decade, a net increase of nearly 6,200 locations nationwide, as rivals like Raising Cane's, Wingstop, Dave's Hot Chicken and Zaxby's have also added hundreds of units, according to Restaurant Dive.
Other franchisees are chasing similarly aggressive growth elsewhere. In Oklahoma, franchisee Taylor Thomas opened three Layne's restaurants in 60 days and signed a deal to develop 30 locations statewide, per 1851franchise.com. In Texas, Midland franchisee Eli Cohen, founder of C5 Restaurants, is developing 55 Layne's locations across Texas and Arkansas under a 55-unit agreement signed in late 2025, according to QSR Web. That outlet reported the Midland opening was Cohen's third Texas restaurant of 2026 and came about a week before Layne's debuted its first San Antonio location.
Back in Henrico, the pitch for Saturday is simpler: show up, be among the first 50 dine-in guests, and walk away with free Layne's for a year. For a neighborhood that just got its second taste of the chain, it's a tempting way to find out what the fuss from College Station is all about.
