Texas-Born Chicken Chain Opens 50th Location With Free Chicken for a Year Giveaway

A Texas-born chicken chain is celebrating a major milestone in a very Texas way: by giving some customers free chicken for a year.

Layne’s Chicken Fingers, the College Station brand that started near Texas A&M, is opening its 50th location in Lubbock. For a company that began as a local Aggieland favorite, reaching 50 restaurants is a big step from campus comfort food to a growing regional name.

According to MySA, the new Lubbock location is set to open at 2612 W. Loop 289, Suite 300, on Saturday, June 7. The restaurant is marking the grand opening with giveaways, including free Layne’s for a year for the first 50 customers in line.

That kind of promotion usually gets attention fast, especially in a college town.

Free food for a year is not just a coupon. It is the kind of offer that can have people lining up early, bringing friends, posting photos, and turning a restaurant opening into a local event. In Lubbock, where Texas Tech students, families, and chicken-finger fans already have plenty of opinions about food, the opening has a built-in audience.

Layne’s also has a Texas origin story that helps explain why the 50th location matters.

The company says it opened in College Station in 1994 and became known for chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, potato salad, and its signature sauce.

For a lot of Texans, that kind of menu feels familiar in the best way. It is simple, filling, and built around the kind of food people grab after school, after work, after a game, or late at night with friends.

The Lubbock opening also comes as chicken-finger chains continue to compete heavily across Texas.

Raising Cane’s, Slim Chickens, Golden Chick, Chick-fil-A, and other brands have all helped make chicken strips and dipping sauces a major fast-casual category. Layne’s is not the biggest name in that crowded field, but it has something many chains would like to have: a loyal Texas college-town identity.

That identity may matter in Lubbock.

A brand that started in College Station opening a milestone location in Texas Tech territory creates a fun little college rivalry angle. Aggies and Red Raiders may not agree on much during football season, but chicken fingers have a way of crossing school lines.

According to Layne’s, the company has expanded beyond its original College Station roots with locations in Texas and other states.

The Lubbock restaurant is also expected to offer more than just the first-50-customers prize. MySA reported that additional grand-opening giveaways include free Layne’s for a month, free Layne’s for a week, gift cards, and limited-edition merchandise.

That means the first day could draw people who are not just hungry, but hoping to win something.

For Lubbock, the opening adds another recognizable name to the city’s fast-casual scene. For Layne’s, it marks a milestone that shows how far the company has grown from its early days serving students in College Station.

The story is lighter than a crime report, weather warning, or public health scare. But that is part of why it works.

Not every Texas story has to be heavy. Sometimes the thing people want to know is where the big line will be this weekend, who is giving away free food, and whether a local opening is worth checking out.

In this case, a Texas-born chicken chain is hitting 50 locations, planting a flag in Lubbock, and turning the grand opening into a giveaway event.

For the first 50 people willing to show up early, that could mean a lot of chicken fingers.