HH_113017

homerhorizon.com DINING OUT
the Homer Horizon | November 30, 2017 | 27
The Dish
Slim Chickens hopes to hold court at Orland Square
Orland Parker brings
Arkansas franchise
to southwest burbs
Bill Jones, Managing Editor
“The food court
was in dire
need of a new
restaurant. I felt
like it needed a
spark.”
Faris Ballouta — Slim
Chickens’ Orland Park
franchisee
Slim Chickens
288 Orland Square Drive
in Orland Park
Hours
• 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Monday-Saturday
• 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
For more information ...
Web: slimchickens.com
Faris Ballouta is no
stranger to Orland Square
and its food options.
The 20-year Orland Park
resident already owns a
Red Mango and Doc Popcorn
inside the confines of
the mall, but he thought
the food court options were
lacking.
“The food court was in
dire need of a new restaurant,”
as Ballouta put it. “I
felt like it needed a spark.”
So, he decided to turn
slim pickins into a Slim
Chickens.
Ballouta, 28, said he was
inspired by his travels to the
South.
“We’ve been wanting to
bring a chicken place to the
Orland area,” he said. “In
the South, they just have
great chicken. I just really
wanted to bring Southern
chicken to Orland Park.”
Slim Chickens started in
2003 in Fayetteville, Arkansas,
where Ballouta said
he first tried it. He said he
was drawn to the chain’s
approach to poultry, which
is now available at more
than 60 locations across 11
states. It is fresh — never
frozen — and hand-breaded
at the store, he said. It also is
cooked to order, rather than
kept under heating lamps,
but customers still generally
go from ordering to eating
within a few minutes.
While the Slim Chickens
business model is focused
on both fried chicken tenders
and wings, the Orland
Square location offers an
express menu, predominantly
focused on the tenders
plate (prices vary by
size), which gives diners
fried chicken strips along
with french fries, as well
as a choice of 15 dipping
sauces.
The business also offers
a chicken and waffles plate
($8.49), which smothers the
fried chicken and a waffle
in both butter and syrup for
Slim Chickens’ take on a
Southern classic.
The opening of the restaurant
the afternoon of
Nov. 17 saw Slim Chickens
faced immediately with
lines of people looking to
try it out. And Ballouta said
the opening right before the
holidays was strategic, to be
ready to go when the mall is
at its busiest starting Black
Friday, Nov. 24.
“Once people try our
food, they’re going to come
back,” he said.
The chicken and waffles plate ($8.49) at Slim Chickens in Orland Square bathes both of the aforementioned items in butter
and syrup. Photos by Bill Jones/22nd Century Media
Slim Chickens is located inside the food court at Orland
Square, offering an express version of the franchise’s
menu.
The tenders plate (prices vary by size) comes with french
fries and a choice of Slim Chickens’ 15 dipping sauces.