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The Lockport Legend 112217
The Lockport Legend 112217
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lockportlegend.com DINING OUT<br />
the Lockport Legend | November 22, 2017 | 21<br />
The Dish<br />
Slim Chickens hopes to hold court at Orland Square<br />
Orland Parker brings<br />
Arkansas franchise<br />
to southwest<br />
suburbs<br />
Bill Jones, Editor<br />
“The food court<br />
was in dire<br />
need of a new<br />
restaurant. I felt<br />
like it needed a<br />
spark.”<br />
Faris Ballouta — Slim<br />
Chickens’ Orland Park<br />
franchisee<br />
Slim Chickens<br />
288 Orland Square Drive<br />
in Orland Park<br />
Hours<br />
• 10 a.m.-9 p.m.<br />
Monday-Saturday<br />
• 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday<br />
For more information ...<br />
Web: slimchickens.com<br />
Faris Ballouta is no<br />
stranger to Orland Square<br />
and its food options.<br />
The 20-year Orland Park<br />
resident already owns a<br />
Red Mango and Doc Popcorn<br />
inside the confines of<br />
the mall, but he thought<br />
the food court options were<br />
lacking.<br />
“The food court was in<br />
dire need of a new restaurant,”<br />
as Ballouta put it. “I<br />
felt like it needed a spark.”<br />
So, he decided to turn<br />
slim pickins into a Slim<br />
Chickens.<br />
Ballouta, 28, said he was<br />
inspired by his travels to the<br />
South.<br />
“We’ve been wanting to<br />
bring a chicken place to the<br />
Orland area,” he said. “In<br />
the South, they just have<br />
great chicken. I just really<br />
wanted to bring Southern<br />
chicken to Orland Park.”<br />
Slim Chickens started in<br />
2003 in Fayetteville, Arkansas,<br />
where Ballouta said<br />
he first tried it. He said he<br />
was drawn to the chain’s<br />
approach to poultry, which<br />
is now available at more<br />
than 60 locations across 11<br />
states. It is fresh — never<br />
frozen — and hand-breaded<br />
at the store, he said. It also is<br />
cooked to order, rather than<br />
kept under heating lamps,<br />
but customers still generally<br />
go from ordering to eating<br />
within a few minutes.<br />
While the Slim Chickens<br />
business model is focused<br />
on both fried chicken tenders<br />
and wings, the Orland<br />
Square location offers an<br />
express menu, predominantly<br />
focused on the tenders<br />
plate (prices vary by<br />
size), which gives diners<br />
fried chicken strips along<br />
with french fries, as well<br />
as a choice of 15 dipping<br />
sauces.<br />
The business also offers<br />
a chicken and waffles plate<br />
($8.49), which smothers the<br />
fried chicken and a waffle<br />
in both butter and syrup for<br />
Slim Chickens’ take on a<br />
Southern classic.<br />
The opening of the restaurant<br />
the afternoon of<br />
Nov. 17 saw Slim Chickens<br />
faced immediately with<br />
lines of people looking to<br />
try it out. And Ballouta said<br />
the opening right before the<br />
holidays was strategic, to be<br />
ready to go when the mall is<br />
at its busiest starting Black<br />
Friday, Nov. 24.<br />
“Once people try our<br />
food, they’re going to come<br />
back,” he said.<br />
The chicken and waffles plate ($8.49) at Slim Chickens in Orland Square bathes both of the aforementioned items in butter<br />
and syrup. Photos by Bill Jones/22nd Century Media<br />
Slim Chickens is located inside the food court at Orland<br />
Square, offering an express version of the franchise’s<br />
menu.<br />
The tenders plate (prices vary by size) comes with french<br />
fries and a choice of Slim Chickens’ 15 dipping sauces.