Christensen's fried chicken restaurant to open in Wegman's development

Award-winning chef Ashley Christensen will open her first fast-casual chicken restaurant in Raleigh.

Posted 5:48 p.m. Sep 24, 2019 — Updated 5:48 p.m. Sep 24, 2019

Kathy Hanrahan, Out

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Award-winning chef Ashley Christensen will open her first fast-casual fried chicken restaurant in the Wegman's development in Raleigh, MDO Holdings announced Tuesday.

The Raleigh location will be located in at 3,300 square-foot location in Midtown East. It is expected to open in spring 2020. Wegman's, which is the anchor of the development, will open on Monday.

In July, Christensen announced plans to open fast-casual fried chicken restaurants at University Hill in Durham and in west Cary. A new website, titled Project Xtra Crispy, promotes the project, but is not the final name or branding. The other two locations are expected to launch later in 2020.

The projects are a joint venture between MDO Holdings and Christensen, who has been working to craft a menu of five types of chicken sandwiches, sides, salads, spun-to-order milkshakes and fried pies. Wine and beer will also be on the menu.

"I have often thought about the right way to expand our reach beyond downtown," Christensen said in July. "We are excited to bring the approachable, universally comforting flavor of chicken sandwiches to a larger audience."

Christensen and Michael Olander Jr., CEO of MDO Holdings, have not yet announced the restaurant's name. Olander is a friend of Christensen's and also released a statement on the new restaurants.

"Ashley and I have been friends for years and I couldn’t be happier for us to partner with her on this new journey," he said. "I am ecstatic that we get to work together to spread her ideas on food and community."

In May, Christensen, who owns Poole's, Death and Taxes, Beasley's, and Chucks, was named the James Beard Foundation awards winner for Outstanding Chef in the country in Chicago. She opened a pizza place called Poole'side Pies at 428 S. McDowell St. next to Poole's Diner earlier this month.

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