Licensees Gary Avants, Jordan Avants and Melissa Crowe opened the doors to Asheville’s fourth Zaxby’s restaurant Monday. The new restaurant is located at 425 Smokey Park Highway. A Southeast favorite for chicken fingers and wings, Zaxby’s will operate from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
“We’ve always wanted to bring a Zaxby’s to this area of Asheville,” said Avants, who owns 12 Zaxby’s locations, including all three existing Asheville, N.C., locations, along with one in Weaverville, N.C., three in Alabama, two in Georgia and two in Tennessee. “Zaxby’s has built its reputation and loyal following by providing excellent service and great-tasting food, and we plan to carry on that tradition with this new, convenient location.”
All 11 locations feature a motivational plaque that reads, “It’s not about us. It’s about the people.” The Avants and Crowe families will also hang that sign in the new Asheville location. When asked what motivated the family to open another Zaxby’s, Gary indicated that the sign says it all. He says the sign refers to “the people” as their employees, vendors, guests and the community who make it possible to deliver quality food and service.
Casey Crowe will serve as the district manager and Ashley Noggle as the director of marketing for the new Asheville location.
The 3,100-square-foot location will seat 70 in Zaxby’s custom design — floor-to-ceiling brick walls, modernized tables and booths, complemented by an eclectic mix of photography. Zaxby’s also offers drive-thru services to meet the needs of customers on the go.
The new location will be the fifth for Buncombe County, and the 55th for the Tar Heel State. Zaxby’s currently operates more than 570 locations in 13 states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
An alternative to fast food, Zaxby’s offers prepared-at-order chicken fingers, wings, sandwiches and salads. Zaxby’s most popular items are its hand-breaded Chicken Fingerz and Wings, smothered in a choice of nine sauces with names like Wimpy, Tongue Torch, Nuclear and Insane.
The menu also offers innovative Zappetizers like Tater Chips, Spicy Fried Mushrooms and Fried White Cheddar Bites, as well as a variety of Party Platterz perfect for any family gathering or special occasion.
Zaxby’s also offers three salads, or Zalads: The House, The Blue and The Caesar. All of Zaxby’s Zalads offer more chicken, unique ingredients, such as French-fried onions, fresh veggies and juicy tomatoes, and are larger than most salads offered elsewhere. Each is prepared with chicken, three kinds of lettuce and a variety of toppings. Zalads are assembled at the time the order is placed, versus being pre-made and stored in a cooler.
Additionally, Zaxby’s offers Milkshakes at participating locations, which come in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors. They are rich and creamy, hand-blended, and are topped with whipped cream.
