Vernon Avenue Bojangles’ undergoing rebuild

The Bojangles’ restaurant at 400 West Vernon Ave. has been torn down and is currently undergoing a rebuild.

The restaurant — the first Bojangles’ owned by Tands, Inc., and the first in Kinston — originally opened its doors on July 25, 1980. The new construction project began July 9 and is estimated to be completed within 90 days.

Donna Rodwell, Tands spokeswoman, said the square footage of the new building will remain about the same as the old building.

“So customers will not notice a difference in the size of the building,” she said. “However, they will notice a fresh, updated look that I think our customers are really going to love.”

The building has undergone remodels in the past, but has never been rebuilt from the ground up.

“Over the years, this restaurant has undergone two major renovations,” Rodwell said, “and is now being torn down and rebuilt to better serve our customers.”

Customers can visit the two other Bojangles’ locations in Kinston — 1028 W. New Bern Road near N.C. 55/11 and 3007 N. Heritage St. near Airport Road.

“We fully expect to be up-and-running in no time,” Rodwell said, “and we know our customers will love the new store.”

There are 550 Bojangles’ locations in 10 states and Washington, D.C. Tands, based in Kinston, owns 56 currently-open locations, with 49 of them in Eastern North Carolina and seven in Richmond, Va.

The franchise is known for its uniquely seasoned and marinated chicken, made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, Dirty Rice and Legendary Iced Tea.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.