For the first time in three years, Huey’s has introduced two new items: the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and the Crispy Chicken BLTA.
The Crispy Chicken Sandwich is “a very standard chicken sandwich,” says Alex Boggs, 38, Huey’s marketing director/area director. But it has roasted garlic aioli on it and pickle chips. The BLTA comes with the same aioli as well as bacon, lettuce, tomato, and fresh avocado. Both sandwiches are on a brioche bun, which is a first for a Huey’s sandwich (but not for a couple of their burgers).
The new sandwiches are included in Huey’s “table tent,” the book of specials and featured items at every table. But, Boggs says, “The numbers show that these very well might stick around for a while.”
They’re the first new menu items to be introduced “since we rolled out our smash burger,” says Boggs. “We’ve also brought out our steak sandwich, but that was something we took off and then put back on the menu. So I don’t know if it would technically qualify as new. The steak sandwich came back last summer.”
They introduced the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and the Crispy Chicken BLTA on June 30th. “We used to test out about one burger a year, and we would either come up with something fun or we would let our employees pass on suggestions,” says Boggs. “And we picked what the winner was.” They’d feature the winner as a seasonal item. “Sometimes we might share it with a seasonal dessert or seasonal appetizers. We’ve done a sweet potato French fries à la mode before. We’ve done fried jalitos, which are like jalapeño and cream cheese poppers. We’ve kind of gotten away from doing this as frequently as we used to. But we’re always looking at what’s the big miss on our menu. Is there a hole in the category? Is there something that’s trending that we should be doing that we’re not?”
They’ve begun adding things “at a slower pace,” but only items they’re “a lot more sure of,” says Boggs. “We’ll put more research into it. More testing into it. Because the goal for us at this point is to get it out for a summer or half a year and put it on permanently if it sells good.”
This isn’t the first time Huey’s has offered chicken. “We’ve always had our deluxe grilled chicken sandwich. And that’s been on the menu for about as long as we’ve been around. And then probably about 15 years ago we brought out our ‘Southern Chicken Miners.’ We call them our miners to kind of go along with our prospector theme.” That would be the guy in a beard and hat pictured on the menus flipping a coin. “But they’re little individual sliders. And so it’s three small versions of it. And we serve them with pickle, ranch, and shredded lettuce. Deep fried. They’re nice and crispy. It’s just not the same as the full Crispy Chicken Sandwich.”
People wanted this sandwich, Boggs says. “Our employees have been asking for it. It’s in our suggestions every so often: ‘We should add a crispy chicken sandwich.’ The guests have mentioned it to us.”
So they went to work creating it. “When we come up with a concept or an idea, we really start with the main protein of it. So we said, ‘We know we want a crispy chicken sandwich,’ and just started testing all sorts of options,” Boggs explains. “What cut of chicken are we going to do? What kind of breading do we want? We knew we wanted it to be a whole muscle product as opposed to just pieces. So, we started looking at what options are out there.”
They went with the breast. “When we ended up settling on the piece of chicken we would use, it was just head and shoulders above most of the other options.”
Then came the next question: “What kind of a bun are we going to put it on? And ended up going with a brioche bun, which is just a wonderful product. It holds up really nicely and it’s a beautiful bun,” says Boggs.
When they were coming up with sandwich ideas, his sister, Ashley Boggs Robilio, suggested avocado as one of the toppings, and it worked perfectly on the Crispy Chicken BLTA. They put the avocado slices on the bottom bun on purpose. When the cold avocado hits the warm chicken it “just turns into the perfect texture and flavor.”
Customers have been “putting their different little spins” on the new chicken sandwiches, Boggs says, like adding buffalo sauce.
Huey’s, which began with the 1927 Madison Avenue location in 1970, now has 10 locations, including the newest, which opened in 2022, at 8170 McGregor Crossing, Suite 200, in Olive Branch, Mississippi. They’re hoping to open an 11th location, but they don’t yet know where, says Boggs.
Huey’s does everything “slowly but surely,” he says. “We don’t make decisions very fast. We put a lot of time, thought, and energy into them.”
Thus, they’ve been “pretty inconsistent” with their store openings, having opened four restaurants in a six- or seven-year period in the ’90s.
Then they opened two Huey’s restaurants in 2003: 7825 Winchester Road and 4872 Poplar Avenue at Erin Drive. “We will never open two stores the same year again,” Boggs says. There were “too many moving parts,” including finding people to work at two stores instead of just one.
Huey’s, which was co-owned by Jay Sheffield and the late Thomas Boggs, Alex Boggs’ dad, has always been a part of Boggs’ life. He remembers when he and his brother and sisters went to Huey’s in their pajamas at night because their dad “had to fix a problem” at the restaurant. When he was 10, Boggs was already helping prep in the kitchen. But, he says, “We weren’t allowed to touch a knife or go anywhere the heat was.”
Building a career at Huey’s was something he wanted to do, Boggs says. “It was something I gravitated to naturally. I really looked up to my dad as a kid and watched him in his element, working the floor of the restaurant, listening to the employees. It was something I thought was really special and it still seems very cool to me.”
And Huey’s is still a family affair. Ashley Boggs Robilio is president, Samantha Boggs Dean is director of community engagement, and Lauren McHugh Robinson is CEO. The family also co-owns Folk’s Folly restaurant.
Another part of the Huey’s legacy is volunteering at events, which range from Zoo Rendezvous, which their dad co-founded, to A Taste of CBHS, which is held at Alex Boggs’ alma mater, Christian Brothers High School.
Then there’s the greatest bonus feature of being affiliated with Huey’s: being around food every day. Boggs, like his customers, has his favorite go-to item. “I get the ‘Fiesta Chicken Wrap.’ Fresh, grilled chicken wrapped up in pita with lettuce, cheese, and tomato. Very easy. Very light.” And, he adds, it’s still good if you get interrupted and have to eat the rest of it “30 minutes or an hour later. As anyone in a restaurant knows, you often get interrupted.”
