May 1—CHEYENNE — Layne’s Chicken Fingers, a Texas-based chicken shop, may be coming to Cheyenne. The company announced plans in late April to expand to the capital city, and eventually to Laramie.
Michael Hickerson worked at the original Layne’s in College Station, Texas while attending school at Texas A&M University. While working there in the mid-2000s, he helped owner Garrett Reed open a second store across town.
Hickerson enjoyed working for Layne’s, but pursued a career in banking after college when he and his wife moved to Laramie in 2007. When his brother told him the company was expanding in his hometown, Corsicana, Texas, he assumed had just been another chicken shop of the same name. However, as it turned out, Layne’s began franchising in 2021 and now has over 15 locations open across the country.
Since then, Hickerson has toyed with the idea of franchising and bringing the Texas brand to the Cowboy State.
“Many times the thought has crossed my mind: ‘I wonder if I could talk to the previous owner about opening Layne’s here’ because I think it would be nice and, selfishly, I would love to eat it again,” Hickerson said.
He identified Cheyenne as a potential location to pursue his career change due to the larger market than Laramie and the lack of other stores specializing in chicken offerings. There are places like Chick-fil-A and McDonalds that offer chicken on their menu, but this store is more akin to Raising Cane’s, Slim Chickens, or Zaxby’s – offering their own rubs, homemade sauces, sandwiches, and wraps. , Also.
“It seems to be getting more and more popular,” Hickerson said of stores specializing in chicken tenders. “I don’t know how to say this nicely, but, being from the South, I miss Southern food. It’s so well seasoned. … So, I definitely feel like there’s a need for it. And Like I said, I enjoyed it myself.”
Currently, he is in the process of identifying a location in Cheyenne or Laramie for the new Layne’s, whichever opportunity presents itself first, although he said he is attracted to the larger Cheyenne market. Hickerson also said he leans more toward new construction, but is open to the possibility of renovating an existing building, if that option becomes available. Overall, he estimates it will be about a year before the chicken shop opens somewhere in southeast Wyoming.
Hickerson has never franchised a restaurant before, but he is confident in his abilities with his business knowledge from the banking industry and the support of the established franchise. Although his goal is to open stores in Cheyenne and Laramie, he said he would be willing to consider the possibility of expansion into the Front Range at some point in the future.
“I’d like to start one and see how it works, maybe open a second one in Laramie, if that works, and just, kind of, see how we can expand and make it one store…
