Layne’s Chicken Fingers is preparing to open three restaurants in San Antonio, Texas, with its first location scheduled to welcome customers Tuesday, October 27. The Texas-born chain is stepping into an increasingly crowded chicken-finger market, where rival Raising Cane’s has also been adding restaurants.
The first Layne’s is coming to 7249 Bandera Road, while a second restaurant is under construction on Southwest Military Drive and a third is planned near Marbach Road and Loop 1604. The three are at different stages of development, so San Antonio diners won’t be getting all three at once.
The first Layne’s opens on Bandera Road October 27
The first restaurant will open in a former Carl’s Jr. building at 7249 Bandera Road, near Eckhert Road on San Antonio’s Northwest Side. Crews renovated the space for Layne’s, and local reports confirm that the opening is set for Tuesday, October 27.
That location has a firm announced opening date. The other two do not. Customers looking for a Layne’s right away should start with the Bandera Road restaurant rather than assume the other sites are operating.
Two more restaurants are in the pipeline
The second San Antonio location is at 742 Southwest Military Drive on the South Side. It is under construction, with franchise operators currently targeting March 2027 for an opening, according to an October 23 interview with What Now San Antonio. That target could change as work progresses.
The third restaurant is planned near the Marbach Road exit at Loop 1604 on the Far West Side. Plans were filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on October 16. The approximately $1.45 million project is expected to begin construction in late November, with work targeted for completion by the end of April 2027.
Unlike the two existing-building projects, the Marbach location is planned as a new building using Layne’s prototype design. Its final street address hasn’t been assigned publicly, and a projected construction finish is not the same as a confirmed grand-opening date.
Who is bringing Layne’s to San Antonio?
Eli Cohen, a partner in franchise group C5 Restaurants, is helping lead the expansion. The group already operates three Layne’s restaurants in Lubbock and is bringing the brand deeper into the San Antonio market.
The San Antonio restaurants are part of a much larger 44-unit franchise development agreement announced in November 2025. That agreement stretches across San Antonio, West Texas and the Coastal Bend; it does not mean all 44 restaurants are planned for San Antonio.
Cohen told local reporters that the growth of neighborhoods around Marbach Road, including new homes and retail, makes the West Side attractive for another restaurant.
What will be on the menu?
Layne’s began in College Station in 1994, serving chicken fingers before becoming a growing regional chain. Its familiar combo includes fried chicken tenders, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast and a peppery signature sauce. The menu also features chicken sandwiches, grilled cheese, wraps and milkshakes.
For now, the San Antonio opening schedule has one clear date: October 27 on Bandera Road. The Southwest Military restaurant remains under construction, and the Marbach site remains a planned project. Those next two opening dates will come as development moves forward.
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