Raleigh Chef Ashley Christensen has sold her stake in fried chicken sandwich shops
Raleigh chef and James Beard winner Ashley Christensen has sold her stake in the fast casual brand BB’s Crispy Chicken.
Christensen developed BB’s with Raleigh-based MDO Holdings, the brand’s majority owner. That company announced this week that Christensen had sold MDO her minority stake, making it the full owners of BB’s.
BB’s launched in 2021 with its first location in Raleigh’s Midtown East development and has since opened two more locations in Durham and Cary. The brand jumped into the current national chicken sandwich craze, serving a battered style of fried chicken it billed as “shatteringly crisp.” Beyond the sandwiches, BB’s was known for an array of house-made hot sauces, fried cheese curds, french fries and seasonal milkshakes.
The restaurants will remain open and no operational changes have been announced.
In a release, the company said Christensen made the exit to focus on her hospitality group AC Restaurants and its current and upcoming restaurants.
“I am so proud of what we have accomplished over the last two years. I’ve always been a fan of the crispy chicken sandwich — the joy it can bring, and the technique that goes into a truly great one—and I feel like we nailed that with BB’s robust menu,” Christensen said in a release. “It’s been a pleasure to share this food with a broad reach of folks throughout the Triangle, and I am excited to step back and watch the brand continue to grow and evolve.”
Christensen first announced she was working on the fast casual brand in 2019, teasing the launch of what was then called “Project Xtra Crispy.” The next year the name was revealed as BB’s Crispy Chicken.
MDO Holdings owns multiple food and lifestyle brands across North Carolina, including O2 Fitness, the Durham Food Hall and Wilmington’s Epic Food Co. The company is owned by Michael Olander, Jr., the son of Eliza Kraft Olander, an early investor in Christensen’s flagship restaurant, Poole’s Diner.
“It has been a true honor to work with Ashley to develop and launch BB’s,” Michake Olander said in a release. “She worked tirelessly to craft a recipe that perfectly balanced a crispy exterior and juicy center. She was the perfect partner to navigate all of the challenges of building and opening a concept in the midst of a pandemic. We are all forever grateful for all she has done to help launch this fantastic brand and we are excited to support her any chance we can moving forward. Her contributions to our community are immeasurable and we are proud to have played a small part in growing her impact.”
