After undergoing a meticulous evaluation process based on customer satisfaction, food quality and overall experience, Unit Director Greg Nicholson and his Bojangles’ restaurant, located at 1718 West Main St. in Locust, N.C., have won first place in Bojangles’ coveted ShowBo awards, earning Nicholson a $10,000 cash prize.
Second and third place unit directors and restaurants were also recognized at last night’s ShowBo Awards. The Bojangles’ located at 7155 Market St. in Wilmington, N.C., was awarded second place, and Unit Director Joy McLawhorn earned a cash prize of $3,000. Judges named Unit Director Justin Smith of the restaurant at 750 Cabarrus Ave. in Concord, N.C., third place winner, and he was awarded with $2,000.
Each year Bojangles’ conducts an extensive evaluation of each of its nearly 180 company-owned restaurants to determine the winners of the company’s ShowBo awards. The assessment for the ShowBo awards for this year included two rounds of unannounced inspections conducted by a team of two judges at both the lunch and dinner dayparts. Each judge awarded points to restaurants based on a rigorous set of operating standards. Results for each team were combined for overall scores.
“We have always believed in recognizing the best of the best in the Bojangles’ system, and the ShowBo awards provide Bojangles’ with yet another method of ensuring the highest standards of customer service and satisfaction,” said Bojangles’ President and CEO Randy Kibler. “This year, Greg’s restaurant demonstrated to each set of judges their ability to execute, and how much pride they take in serving Bojangles’ famous chicken and biscuits and legendary iced tea at the highest quality possible.”
Along with the unit directors of the top three Bojangles’ receiving a cash prize, all first-time ShowBo finalists receive a one-of-a-kind ShowBo ring containing four rubies. When unit directors who are previous ShowBo finalists are selected again as finalists, their rubies are replaced with diamonds. Area directors who had at least two stores in this year’s group of 19 finalists also received their first ShowBo ring and included Jessica Bobbitt, Elaine Johnston and Mike Knutson. Area directors who have received this honor more than once were recognized again last evening including Earl Beasley, Patrick Boykin and Larry Caudill.
From 180 company-owned restaurants, the judges narrowed ShowBo finalists to a group of 19 restaurants and unit directors. In addition to the three grand prize winners, other unit directors and restaurants recognized as ShowBo finalists included – Cuc Aquino and the Bojangles’ located on Lawrenceville Hwy in Lawrenceville, Ga.; Michael Bryant and his restaurant on East Main St. in Spartanburg, S.C.; Roger Chan and the Conover, N.C., restaurant; David Doddard and the Dobson, N.C., Bojangles’; Charles Foster and the restaurant on Old Dowd Rd. in Charlotte; Thomas Hawkins of the Bojangles’ in Roebuck, S.C.; Shawn Healy and his Bojangles’ restaurant in Moncks Corner, S.C.; Lori Jordan and the restaurant in Inman, S.C.; Melinda Leonard and her restaurant located on George Lyles Parkway in Concord, N.C.; Hugh Quinn and the Bojangles’ restaurant in Advance, N.C.; Serena Rodriguez and the Granite Falls, N.C., Bojangles’ location; Jim Shields and the Bojangles’ on Sam Furr Rd. in Huntersville, N.C.; Robert Shores and his restaurant located on North Main St. in High Point, N.C.; Miranda Sieber and the Charlotte restaurant on Stafford Rd.; and Jim Wilkinson of the Bojangles’ on Burkemont Ave. in Morganton.
Founded in 1977 in Charlotte, N.C., Bojangles’ Restaurants Inc. serves only the highest quality and most flavorful food to its loyal customers, with all of its proprietary menu items made from scratch. A special blend of seasonings gives the food its unique flavor, including Bojangles’ core menu selections of World Famous chicken, fresh made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits and legendary iced tea steeped the old-fashioned way. Bojangles’ also offers biscuit sandwiches that are served all day. Unique sides like Dirty Rice, Cajun Pintos and Seasoned Fries are just a few of the flavorful fixin’ choices. First franchised in 1978, Bojangles’ boasts close to 500 locations in 10 states, primarily in the Southeast. The company was named one of the top 10 growth concepts in 2009 by both GE Capital and QSR magazine. Its strong performance in all three day parts is what sets Bojangles’ apart from all other restaurants.