A Bojangles’ restaurant in Johnson City, Tennessee has won first place in the company’s coveted ShowBo Awards. The honor is a result of a meticulous evaluation process based on customer satisfaction, food quality, and overall experience.
For earning the first place designation, Jessica Jones, unit director of the Bojangles’ located at 2108 W. Mountcastle Drive, was awarded $10,000. Jones, a first-time winner, is part of Trigg Enterprises franchise group, which owns seven Bojangles’ restaurants regionally.
Each year, Bojangles’ conducts an extensive evaluation of its more than 370 franchise-operated restaurants to determine the winners of the franchise ShowBo Awards. The assessment for this year’s awards included two rounds of unannounced inspections conducted by a team of two judges at both the lunch and dinner hours. Each judge awarded points to restaurants based on a rigorous set of operating standards, and results for each team were combined for overall scores.
“The recognition and celebration of our hard-working team members is an integral part of the Bojangles’ culture,” says Bojangles’ senior vice president of franchise operations Tony Hopson. “Our team in each restaurant comes to work every day with the goal of exceeding our guests’ expectations. Jessica Jones and the team are the ones in the kitchen early each morning preparing our Southern, made-from-scratch menu items that Bojangles’ is known for. We are proud of their accomplishments and congratulate the entire team on being this year's champions.”
In addition to the Bojangles’ in Johnson City, two other Bojangles’ locations received top three ShowBo recognition. The Bojangles’ at 1834 E. Raleigh Street in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, part of Tands Franchise Group, was awarded third place and unit director Jamie Harrell earned a cash prize of $5,000. Second place was awarded to the Bojangles’ at 1196 East Jackson Blvd., in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and unit director Randy Mexin earned a $7,500 cash prize.
Along with the unit directors of the top three Bojangles’ receiving a cash prize, all first-time ShowBo finalists receive a one-of-a-kind ShowBo ring containing four rubies. When unit directors who are previous ShowBo finalists are selected again as finalists, their rubies are replaced with diamonds.
In May, Bojangles’ also named ShowBo winners for their top company-owned restaurants. The Bojangles’ on Broad Avenue in Rockingham, North Carolina, was awarded first place and unit director Lisa Knight earned a $10,000 cash prize. Second place went to the Aberdeen, North Carolina restaurant at 1807 Sandhills Blvd, where unit director Carol Peterson was awarded $3,000. Third place was awarded to the Columbia Avenue Bojangles’ in Batesburg, South Carolina, and the restaurant’s unit director Jonathan Devore earned a $2,000 cash prize