Chicken Delite to open with California concept in Meridian

Just when you thought the Boise area had reached its saturation point for new chicken restaurants – nope. Not even close.

(And no, Raising Cane’s still doesn’t plan to open here this year.)

But on a more urgent note? Mysterious new brand Chicken Delite is set to debut this spring in Meridian.

These won’t be chicken fingers. Or hot chicken. Sounds intriguing, actually.

Describing itself as a “Mediterranean rotisserie restaurant,” Chicken Delite will take over the former Qdoba spot at 3319 N. Eagle Road, suite 100 – kitty-korner of Dave’s Hot Chicken, just north of the intersection with Ustick Road.

Chicken Delite will be based on a similar concept to Chicken Maison, a family-owned chain of restaurants in Southern California, said Tony Flores, sales and leasing associate at Northwest Commercial Advisors, who helped facilitate the lease. One of Chicken Delite’s partners is breaking away from the Chicken Maison family and moving to Idaho to launch the new brand, Flores said.

This could be tasty. Chicken Maison is a popular and growing chain. It’s expanded to 10 locations “across the South Bay and Orange County,” it says. You’ll find a copycat recipe for her spicy lemon-garlic chicken online – and plenty of enthusiastic Yelp reviews.

“First of all,” wrote one Yelp reviewer, “I’m not even a big fan of chicken, but I’m telling you their lemon garlic chicken is amazing! So good you’ll need to grab the whole chicken just to have some later.

Chicken Delite’s menu won’t be as elaborate as Chicken Maison’s, Flores said, but will focus on rotisserie chicken, as well as sides such as rice, pasta and salads.

The restaurant is expected to open April 1, he said.

Chicken Delite has an Instagram page but no posts yet: @chickendelitemeridian. It is expected to be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

This story was originally published February 28, 2024, 4:58 p.m.