When you think Tops Bar-B-Q & Burgers has finally reached the top, it surprises you. Again.
Over the years, the Memphis-based barbecue chain has introduced many new items atop its famous barbecue and burgers. Think turkey burgers, pulled chicken sandwich, and quesadillas.
Meet Tops latest: Smoked Chicken Club Wrap.
“We use our pulled smoked chicken and applewood bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and our signature Memphis white sauce,” says Chief Operating Officer Hunter Brown. And it’s wrapped in a flour tortilla.
This new wrap is “what Tops does best,” adds Tops CEO Randy Hough, who describes it as “a lighter option,” but still with the “authentic flavor guests expect.”
And, Brown says, it can be used in a Tops combo.
“It’s available to make a meal like anything we have,” he says. “People can add fries or a drink or choose from other sides.”
I stopped by the Tops on Poplar Avenue to try this tasty new item which debuted that day, June 1st. It appeared that these wraps were flying out the door. The people in front of me each ordered one. The people sitting next to me at an outdoor table were eating them.
Tops district manager Anthony Collins tells me he’s already sold nine. And it was only shortly after noon — lunch time.
And fellow district manager, Cynthia Brown, says, “I had six on my screen while I was making them.”
Hough says: “We’re always looking for ways to give guests more variety while staying true to what we are.”
Tops, which opened in 1952, introduced chicken to its menu about four years ago.
The new chicken wrap is being introduced as a limited time offer, but it’s the customers who decide if it’s going to make it to the permanent menu, Hough says. It’s like their smoked bologna. It originally was a limited time offer, but once they saw the customer response, they said, “This has got to stick around. This ain’t going anywhere. Let’s get it on the menu.”
Tops has a list of potential items, Hough says. “There is a long line of items that we’ve tested.”
Some make it, some don’t. “Some of them are not right for us.”
New items are tested with Tops employees before they hit the restaurants, Hough says, adding, “it starts from our employees and from there to our guests.”
Bottom line? “It’s got to he good for our guests.”
