EV Charging Meets Chicken Rippers At Bojangles (In Other Words, The War On EVs Is Over)

Fresh off the launch of its new Chicken Rippers rip-and-dip sliders last month, on May 20 the iconic Southern-style eatery Bojangles debuted its first ever on-site EV charging station. It’s just one station, but it puts Bojangles on the map as an ultra-enthusiastic booster of the fast growing “charge-and-dine” model among the nation’s leading quick service restaurant chains. So, whatever happened to the war on EVs?

EV Charging Meets Craveable Southern Flavor

CleanTechnica’s Jake Richardson covered the new Bojangles announcement last week, and in this piece I’ll take a closer look at the language Bojangles deploys to pitch the new EV charging service. If it seems a little over the top, fair enough. After all, the company is a little late to the party. Cracker Barrel, Waffle House and almost everyone in between has already launched new EV charging initiatives, so the pressure is on Bojangles to stand out from the crowd.

In a press statement, the company explained that the new charging hub “signals Bojangles’ evolution beyond traditional quick-service dining and positions the brand as a forward-thinking player at the intersection of mobility and hospitality.”

“Bojangles is stepping forward as a category leader—transforming charging time into an opportunity for comfort, convenience and craveable Southern flavor,” the company declared.

Bojangles Chief Information Officer Richard Del Valle also pitched in his two cents. “With EV charging, time becomes an asset. We’re turning that stop into something meaningful: a chance to relax, refuel and enjoy a true Bojangles experience,” Del Valle said.

“This is about more than charging vehicles, it’s about redefining the stop along the way,” he emphasized.

In addition to carving out space for itself in the competitive world of the charging-plus-dining experience, Bojangles also went out of its way to declare that the war on EVs is over.

“By integrating EV infrastructure into its footprint, Bojangles is supporting broader adoption of electric vehicles and reshaping expectations for what a quick-service restaurant can be,” the company asserted.

“As consumers increasingly prioritize efficiency and sustainability, Bojangles is leaning into its strengths, hospitality and quality, to meet those needs in new ways,” they elaborated for good measure.

EV Charging And The Southeastern EV Market

It remains to be seen if Bojangles can go mano-a-mano against other food retailers, but the company’s home turf of the Southeastern US is a good place to start. Outside of hotspots for EV sales like California and Texas, the Southeast has proven itself to be EV-friendly territory despite its red-state political environment.

EV sales took a steep downward turn in the Southeast and elsewhere around the US after President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress successfully terminated the $7,500 EV tax credit last September. The impact was widely anticipated. However, the Southeast Alliance for Clean Energy was among those anticipating that EV sales in the region would recover. “While sales fell significantly in Q4, data from December already show early signs of a shift upward toward higher sales figures,” SACE noted in its March 2026 update.

The Bojangles announcement also indicates that car-friendly businesses continue to bank on the ability of on-site charging to attract more traffic to their stores. New-bought EVs are not going to vanish into thin air simply due to a change in federal tax policy, and the widespread availability of used EVs could also factor into the continued demand for convenient, public EV charging stations.

The ambitious EV-only startups Slate Auto and Rivian are also adding to the mix. Both are moving forward on plans for launching new EVs into the market later this year into 2027. In particular, last month Rivian somehow managed to nail down a $4.5 billion loan guarantee from the Trump administration, earmarked for constructing its new factory in Georgia.

With that in mind, it’s no coincidence that Bojangles chose a store in Savannah, Georgia to highlight its new EV charging campaign, rather than tapping a store in its home town of Charlotte, North Carolina for the honor.

Not to worry. Charlotte will probably get its turn sooner or later. In the May 20 announcement, Bojangles affirmed that the Savannah charging station is just the first of a series. The company currently counts 870 owned and franchised sites on its roster covering 23 states, including 351 stores in North Carolina.

What Is This XLR8 America Of Which You Speak?

Before we leave Bojangles behind, let’s also take a closer look at the company’s EV charging management partner, XLR8 America. The Bojangles campaign marks the first time XLR8 has surfaced on the CleanTechnica radar, but the California-based startup has become a fast-moving force in the EV charging space.

In June of 2025,  XLR8 announced a new branch of operations consisting of an EV charging infrastructure management service for commercial real estate owners, portfolio managers, municipalities, and others. “This service directly addresses the significant operational burdens, unexpected costs, and often low returns experienced by owners managing these assets in-house,” XLR8 explained.

The company currently counts Lincoln Electric, Autel Energy, Atom Power, DG Matrix, EVoke Systems, and Kennedy Power Systems on its partnership roster.

In a press statement, XLR8 CEO Frank O’Connor indicated that the initial Bojangles installation in Savannah represents the tip of the EV charging iceberg. “When a driver pulls in for a Bo-Berry Biscuit and their battery tops off while they dine, that’s not a coincidence — that’s the charge-and-dine experience made real,” O’Connor enthused.

“Together, we’re building a national network that makes EV charging effortless and every stop genuinely worth making,” he added.

For the record, the charging equipment itself comes from the Florida firm Energy and Environmental Design Services, which specializes in commercial properties. In addition to the quick-serve restaurant business, EEDS also has its eye on new opportunities to install EV chargers at convenience stores, with a particular focus on independent stores through its new “C-Store United” initiative.

“The C-Store United Program has been developed to provide support to the independent C-Store owner looking to enter the EV charging market while maintaining their branding, customer data, and a flexible ownership stake,” the company explains.

EEDS also notes that it’s on a mission to help C-store clients “go on the offensive,” so keep an eye open for more activity in that area.

Photo: The leading quick serve restaurant chain Bojangles has just launched a new EV charging campaign to go with its new rip-and-dip Chicken Ripper sliders (courtesy of Bojangles).

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