Layne's Chicken Fingers to expand Pittsburgh locations

Layne’s Chicken Fingers is poised to open three more Pittsburgh-area locations by the end of 2025 — in addition to its new Bloomfield location hosting a grand opening on Saturday.

The Bloomfield Layne’s is located at 5200 Baum Blvd., the site of a former Boston Market. It joins the two existing locations in Pittsburgh: 3621 Forbes Ave. in Oakland and 1210 E. Carson St. in the South Side Flats.

That means Layne’s, which is famous for its hand-breaded chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, milkshakes and secret sauce, would have a total of six locations in Western Pennsylvania.

Eliot McDonald, Layne’s Chicken Fingers’ director of operations in Bloomfield, said the areas being targeted include Cranberry, Bethel Park and Greensburg. However, he won’t reveal specific locations yet.

“Nothing has been signed yet, but we are actively looking,” he said of lease negotiations.

Layne’s Chicken Fingers was born in 1994 in College Station, Texas, and the original location became a Texas A&M staple. It has gradually expanded out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with nearly 30 locations nationwide.

The next closest Layne’s to Pittsburgh is in Morgantown, as the three in Western Pennsylvania are the only ones in the state.

Grand opening

McDonald said he heard through Instagram that there could be people camping out ahead of the Bloomfield location’s grand opening Saturday.

“I personally think that’s a little crazy, but to each their own,” he said. “I love seeing the enthusiasm.”

The Bloomfield location is offering free Layne’s for a year to the first 10 dine-in guests. Ten more guests will be selected for the prize from those who have signed up on the Layne’s app and selected Baum Boulevard as their home location since the soft opening two weeks ago, according to McDonald.

The grand opening celebration will last from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a DJ, but the restaurant will remain open until midnight. Its regular hours are 10:30 a.m. to midnight every day except for Saturdays, which are 11 a.m. to midnight.

Guests will also have the opportunity to receive Layne’s swag and win a free finger with every meal. McDonald said swag available includes: key chains, stress balls, T-shirts, coupons and similar items.

All customers will get to spin a prize wheel to find out what they won, he said.

McDonald said Layne’s had been eyeing the Baum Boulevard spot for awhile, but UPMC previously owned the property, and Layne’s was told it might never become available.

“When I first moved up here, that was one of the first sites I remember being shown,” he said of the new restaurant, which is just down the road from Layne’s Pittsburgh office.

But McDonald said in July, Layne’s received a call saying it would go on the market.

“We asked to see it immediately, and we closed the deal pretty quick,” he said.

There aren’t many drive-thru options so close to Downtown, McDonald said, citing Arby’s, KFC and Wendy’s as the only ones in the area.

“The fact that that spot came available — it is a prime piece of real estate,” he said.

The Oakland and South Side Flats locations have been doing well, McDonald said, which is part of the reason for Layne’s expansion. He said the Layne’s franchisee in the area is based in Pittsburgh.

“That’s where we’re going to build the most of them is in the Pittsburgh area,” he said.