Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Zaxby’s focuses on great food and community
The chain fast casual family eatery offers delicious food and helps community
Zaxby’s on College Avenue in Fayetteville is connecting with the Northwest Arkansas community and making the chain eatery one that is firmly rooted in an area full of local favorites.
The College Avenue Zaxby’s opened almost seven years ago and has been making a difference in the lives of Northwest Arkansas community members ever since.
Zaxby’s Fayetteville Marketing Coordinator, Blake Umlauf, said Zaxby’s is heavily involved with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and its philanthropic causes. Zaxby’s regularly has “percentage nights,” where from certain hours, like 5 to 8 p.m., 25 percent of all proceeds go to the charity that is being sponsored. Zaxby’s also recently donated to the Fayetteville Public Library’s top reader program.
“A big thing we do is fundraisers,” Blake Umlauf said. “We had a big family night fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital recently. We raised like 500 dollars in two hours. We just try to be involved in anyway that we can.”
Inside Zaxby’s in Fayetteville, one can find several sports memorabilia across the walls and pictures from the community. The College Avenue location features Nascar items and a lot of University of Arkansas sports memorabilia like jerseys, pictures and fan items. It is obvious that Zaxby’s is drawing a deep connection to its community even in spite of being states away from its original location in Georgia.
Zaxby’s first started in Statesboro, Georgia in August of 1990. Two childhood friends, Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley started the fast-causal, family food chain after not being able to find any fresh, savory chicken in their area, or any chicken places with a fun, family environment, according to the Zaxby’s website.Zaxby’s has grown tremendously since conception.
The food chain grew out of Georgia and into all of the southern states. It has also started stores in Missouri, Indiana and has gone as far west as Utah. Here in Northwest Arkansas, however, Zaxby’s may not be native, but it is certainly welcomed with open arms.
The College Avenue location was the 5th location to open in this little corner of The Natural State. District Manager, David Jackson, said that the location is unique in its size and amenities. “We have a patio that a lot of stores don’t have, as well as a huge dining room,” Jackson said. “We offer a lot of things that other traditional Zaxby’s don’t offer.” Jackson also mentioned that the local Zaxby’s has been nominated for several awards over the years. “We’ve been nominated for best salad in ‘Best of the Best’ several times,” Jackson said. “The best we got was like second or third in the area. We have great salads. We also won a couple awards at Wingfest for our wings. We even won best overall judges choice last year. We failed to place this year but we are back to the drawing board for next year and we’re going to come through.”
The food at Zaxby’s is mostly chicken, cooked in one delicious way or another, but Zaxby’s really prides
itself on its salads, called “Zalads.”
“The Zalads are always made fresh,” Umlauf said. “Every ingredient is fresh cut and all the vegetables are fresh as well.” The Zalads also come in several varieties, such as the House, Cobb, Caesar, or Blue Zalad. The chicken in the Zalads can be a “garden” version with no chicken, or it can be grilled, fried, blackened, or buffaloed depending on the type of Zalad ordered.
Zaxby’s also recently launched a new flavorful Zalad for a limited time only. The Zax-B-Q Zalad packs a punch with cheddar and jack cheeses, fried onions, fire roasted corn and black beans. It is also served with Chicken Fingerz drizzled in Zaxby’s BBQ Sauce and a piece of toast.
Zaxby’s buffalo wings are also extremely popular, as is the owner’s favorite menu item — the Kickin’ Chicken Sandwich, which has Chicken Fingerz, Ranch sauce and “Tongue Torch” hot sauce on Texas Toast. Right now, and for a limited time only, customers can pick one meal out of “Five Flavorful Favorites” for only $5.99. Each meal is served with crinkle fries and a 22 oz drink. Choose from the Big Zax Snak, boneless wings, Kickin’ Chicken Sandwich, chicken finger sandwich, or a grilled chicken sandwich.
Zaxby’s may not be originally from Arkansas, but with it’s community involvement, family-friendly environment and delicious food, Northwest Arkansas is proud to call it their very own.