A new restaurant and take-away at the York Designer Outlet is the taste of the town.

A queue of eager and hungry customers lined up today (Friday) for the arrival of Slim Chickens, in what used to be Ed’s Diner.

Originally from Arkansas, their signature dish is hand-breaded buttermilk chicken tenders, while their fresh Buffalo wings can come with 15 handcrafted dipping sauces.

The menu also features sandwiches, wraps, salads, and sides, alongside plant-based options.

The 56 cover restaurant opened at 12 noon, with free chicken tenders to the first 30 customers.

Among the early diners were Kevin and Deborah Young from Wetherby.

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Tucking into a chicken salad, Deborah said her lunch was “absolutely beautiful” and she was loving everything.

“It’s very tasty, absolutely delicious. There’s an awful lot. It’s a really big portion.”

Kevin was enjoying the chicken wings.

York Press: yum yum!

“They have a lovely buttery taste, nice and creamy, not spicy,” he said.

Harry and Henry Keith thought the food was ‘very good.’

“The five pickles are all different,” said Harry.

“We were in the USA a few weeks ago. It reminds us back of what we enjoyed in America.

“There’s a lot of diversity of foods you can buy. It’s not just burger and chips,” he said.

Nicky and Emily Johnson have been to other Slim Chickens branches, describing themselves as “fans already”, liking “everything” about it.

“It’s all cooked fresh and reasonably priced as well,” Nicky added.

Veronica and Ingrid Lee said their lunch was “very nice.”

York Press: Friendly, fast service with a smile

“The chicken was very tasty. The chips are really good too but the milkshakes are the best too,” Veronica added.

The new restaurant employs 30-staff and is managed by Frankie Azad.

“I’m excited and over the moon,” he said.

Slim Chickens’ is represented in the UK by the Boporan Restaurant Group, who operate nine brands including Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Ed’s Easy Diner, Carluccio’s and Giraffe.

Some of the Boporan bosses were at the launch including CEO Satnam Leihal and operations director Richard Pigott.

Richard told the Press: “It’s great to bring this to a new area in the north, adding to Leeds, Sheffield and the Gateshead Metrocentre.

“It will be employing 20-odd people, in addition to the existing team at Ed’s Diner. We converted the diner into Slim Chickens. We have been here a long time and are just bringing something new to the area.”

York Press: A view from outside

Quizzed about a city centre branch one day, he added: “we’ll see how it goes.”

York Designer Outlet centre manager Paul Tyler said: “We think Slim Chickens is a great addition to the food area and already we can see it resonating with the customers because of the queue.”

Paul added the upstairs food area now has 60 more seats, and next month there will be an extra staircase to ease access to it.