Just when you thought the Boise area had reached its saturation point for new chicken restaurants — nope. Not even close.
(And, no, Raising Cane’s still isn’t planning to open here this year.)
But on a more pressing note? Mysterious new brand Chicken Delite is on track to debut this spring in Meridian.
This won’t be chicken fingers. Or hot chicken. It sounds intriguing, actually.
Describing itself as a “Mediterranean rotisserie restaurant,” Chicken Delite will take over the former Qdoba spot at 3319 N. Eagle Road, suite 100 — kitty-korner from Dave’s Hot Chicken, just north of the intersection with Ustick Road.
Chicken Delite will be based on Chicken Maison, a family-owned chain of restaurants in Southern California, said Tony Flores, sales and leasing associate with Northwest Commercial Advisors, which helped facilitate the lease. One of Chicken Delite’s partners is branching off from the Chicken Maison family and moving to Idaho to start the new brand, Flores said.
That could be tasty. Chicken Maison is a popular, growing chain. It’s expanded to 10 locations “across the South Bay and into Orange County,” it says. You’ll find a copycat recipe for its signature spicy lemon garlic chicken online — and plenty of excited Yelp reviewers.
“First off,” one Yelp reviewer wrote, “I’m not even a huge fan of chicken, but I’m telling you their lemon garlic chicken is incredible! So good that you will need to get the whole chicken just to have some for later.”
Chicken Delite’s menu won’t be as elaborate as Chicken Maison’s, Flores said, but will focus on rotisserie chicken — along with sides such as rice, pasta and salads.
The restaurant has a target opening date of April 1, he said.
Chicken Delite has an Instagram page but no posts yet: @chickendelitemeridian. It’s slated to be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.