A beloved home-style fried chicken tenders restaurant that got its start across from Texas A&M University in College Station nearly 30 years ago is now setting its sights on the Amarillo market.

Known for its fresh, Southern-style chicken tenders, the restaurant has quietly expanded over the years and now operates in states such as Utah, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Despite its growth, the brand has retained its roots in quality comfort food and a grassroots origin story.

Garrett Reed, the current owner, shared the restaurant’s humble beginnings. The idea for the eatery came from Texas A&M Corps of Cadets member Mike Layne, a native of Georgia who was frustrated by the lack of authentic fried chicken in College Station. Inspired by cravings from back home, Layne opened the first location in a modest 1,200-square-foot building across from the A&M campus.

“It seated about 25 people, mostly in old Dairy Queen booths from the ’50s,” said Reed. “It was a sit-down place, more like a café, but always had a drive-through. It was just a bunch of idiot students that ran it those first couple of years. I don’t know how good of a job they did, but they made really good food.”

Eventually, Layne graduated and passed the torch to the restaurant’s general manager—another Mike—who had grown up with Reed. Over the next 15 years, the second Mike added two more locations.

“In 2016, I went to College Station and talked with Mike,” Reed recalled. “I told him his chicken was better than the big chains and asked why he wasn’t growing it more. He told me he liked his cows and his ranch and didn’t want to be a ‘big guy.’”

Now, under Reed’s leadership, the brand is eyeing a potential expansion into Amarillo, bringing its signature down-home chicken to the Texas Panhandle. No formal location has been announced yet, but discussions are underway.

If the Amarillo location becomes a reality, it could mark the next big chapter in a story that started with a Georgia boy, a college town, and a craving for good fried chicken.