CEO getting his 'Bojangles' fix'

Fried chicken is Randy Kibler's favorite food. Good thing, too, because the Columbia, S.C., native is just finishing up his first year as CEO of Bojangles', the Charlotte chicken chain that celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.

Kibler, 54, got his start in fast food at 15, at a Hardee's owned by Carolina Panthers founder Jerry Richardson. From there, he worked his way up in Richardson's restaurant franchise company, Flagstar, before leaving and developing other chain restaurants, including Quincy's Family Steakhouse and Firehouse Subs.

When Richardson joined with an investment group led by former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl last year to buy a majority stake in Bojangles', he asked Kibler to take the helm.

As the Midtown Bojangles' in Charlotte bustled with a breakfast crowd this week, Kibler sipped sweet tea -- no straw, please -- and talked about his first year on the job and what lies ahead. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity:

Q: Before becoming CEO, you had experienced Bojangles' as a customer?

A: Absolutely. The Cajun filet biscuit is one of (my wife's) ... absolute favorites. We have an incredibly strong, loyal customer base. People talk all the time about getting their Bojangles' fix. If you go on the Web and put in Bojangles', people just say all kind of incredible things about how much they miss Bojangles', or college kids will put on there, "We go for a Bo run."

Q: When you became CEO, did you want to maintain what was already there, or were there things you thought could be built upon?

A: We already have great food. It wasn't like Bojangles' was doing poorly. But when you look at it, there were just things we could do better. We had added a few things to the menu which we've pulled back off, to keep it focused on breakfast, chicken and iced tea.

Q: What are some examples?

A: We had a second flavor profile of our chicken, Southern chicken -- and there's nothing wrong with the product -- but it's kind of a "me too" product. We can do better quality if we just have one," the Cajun flavor.

We had things like catfish on the menu and barbecue. Good products, but not products that should stay long term.

Q: How do you keep the chain moving forward?

A: You just have to pick the things that are very pertinent. One of the things we did this year was add salads. And it took a little explaining for me to be able to say, "Well, I've been talking about reducing the menu, and now all of a sudden I want you to add salads."

If you look at who our competitors are, every one of them has a salad offering. We wanted to eliminate the veto vote: If you were deciding with a group of folks where you were gonna go to lunch and you wanted a salad, then we were not even in consideration at that point.

So from my perspective, yes, it's important to keep the menu focused. But on top of that, we should also have the things that are absolutely pertinent to be competitive. We just added gift cards, because it's a nice thing people give now at holidays.

Q: How has the chain been growing recently, and what about the future?

A: Our focus is on the Southeast right now: Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, northern Florida. If you add the Carolinas and Georgia, Alabama and that whole area, that's enough room to put 1,000 Bojangles' [locations] and not even bat an eye. If we can grow at 50 stores a year over the next five years, that will change the whole dynamics of the brand.

We're not an industry with a history of great consistency. [McDonald's] created their company on consistency, not great food. It's dependable.

We want to be something beyond that. We want to be dependable and consistent so you have confidence in us, but with great flavor and taste.