JANESVILLE — Spring has welcomed warmer weather and two new restaurants to the Milton Avenue and Humes Road fast-food scenes.
Dairy Queen Grill & Chill and Layne’s Chicken Fingers opened their doors in the last days in April.
The DQ Grill & Chill opened at 1900 Milton Avenue, in front of the post office, on April 30. The new restaurant is owned by Ravi Patel and his wife, who also own a Dairy Queen on West Court Street in Janesville.
In a release, Patel noted his years of experience with the Dairy Queen brand, and his community-oriented mindset cultivated by years of working in the hospitality industry.
“It’s been amazing connecting with the Janesville community at our first location and we can’t wait to keep the same energy with our new location,” Patel said. “It’s not just about the delicious ice cream and hamburgers; it’s about building relationships and creating memorable experiences. I can’t wait to welcome everyone in and share the warmth and hospitality that the Dairy Queen brand is known for.”
The DQ Grill & Chill will offer lunch and dinner options including StackBurgers, chicken strip baskets and hot sandwiches, as well as soft-serve favorites such as cones, sundaes and the Blizzard Treat.
Founded in 1938, Dairy Queen has more than 7,000 locations worldwide.
The restaurant and the drive-thru are open from 10 a.m. — 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday.
Layne’s Chicken Fingers
Layne’s Chicken Fingers, located in the former Fazoli’s building at 2105 Humes Road, held its grand opening Saturday. The first 10 customers got free Layne’s chicken for a year.
Lucas Bergeson, his brother Josh and his father Randy opened Janesville’s first Layne’s Chicken Fingers restaurant a little over a week ago.
The Bergeson’s have been in the restaurant business for over 30 years and have multiple burger restaurants in Madison.
Lucas Bergeson grew up in Darlington, about an hour from Janesville in southwest Wisconsin, and visited Janesville as a child.
He currently lives in Brooklyn, near the Dane-Rock County line.
Bergeson said Janesville is a great location for Layne’s.
“I’ve always enjoyed Janesville, it has that ‘everyone knows everyone’ vibe like my hometown,” he said. “When the space became available, it was perfect.”
He said he is looking forward to getting involved in the community and is interested in catering for different businesses. He said Janesville is growing and he is excited to be a part of it.
The family prides itself on promoting from within. One of their partners, Yodani Hernandez, worked for them and eventually was promoted to partner.
“The goal is to give people who might not have a chance in management the opportunity to grow in a company,” Bergeson said. “We also pay for English classes if someone wants to learn more English.”
He noted that the Janesville location is the first Layne’s Chicken Fingers restaurant with a drive-thru outside of Texas.
Competition
Bergeson is certainly aware of Raising Cane’s, a similar chicken restaurant opening nearby. He said he welcomes the competition but he feels that his restaurant offers a personal touch with him and his brother working there and laying roots in Janesville.
Bergeson said Layne’s Chicken Fingers’ chicken is unique.
“Our biggest goal was to find a restaurant that served whatever they do better than anyone else,” he said.
Bergeson said they researched restaurants and blind taste-tested a lot of chicken in the process, including from Layne’s, Raising Cane’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Chick-Fil-A. Layne’s stood out.
“The food sells itself, it’s so good,” he said.
Layne’s Chicken Fingers is open Sunday through Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. — 10 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. — midnight.
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