After a ‘hard time’ in Boise, this restaurant just opened a Meridian ‘foodie’s paradise’
After deciding that the City of Trees was for the birds, The Chicken Shanty has relocated in the Treasure Valley.
Now Boise’s loss is Meridian’s gain.
The Northwest chain has taken over the former Sweeto Burrito space at 3110 W. Quintale Drive. It’s in a strip mall near the intersection of 10 Mile and McMillan roads. The grand opening is Monday, May 20.
The Chicken Shanty specializes in “premium hand-crafted chicken.” Or, as it bragged on Facebook, “no hormone, no antibiotic, no steroid, all-natural chicken. A foodie’s paradise!”
“We do everything from scratch,” founder Tyson Miltenberger told the Idaho Statesman last summer, shortly before the now-defunct Overland Road drive-thru debuted. “It’s casual fast food, but ... we use premium ingredients.”
The Chicken Shanty sells fried chicken strips, wraps, sandwiches (including the trendy Nashville hot style, of course) and wings, too. Exploring taste-bud possibilities, there are even coconut chicken strips. Like variety? Order the Shantastic Basket, which includes three chicken tenders: hot, coconut and original. It comes with fries, cole slaw, two sauces and a drink for $14.99. (Expect to pay around $14 to $15 for most baskets.)
Unlike The Chicken Shanty’s former Boise location, the Meridian restaurant includes indoor dining, not just drive-thru service. There’s also limited outdoor seating at shaded picnic tables.
The short-lived Boise store, opened last July, shuttered after several months because Boise city requirements “became too much,” Miltenberger said. “We were having a really hard time with the city letting us have a drive-thru.”
Nearly six months later, he’s “super excited” about the new Meridian store, he added in a recent text message. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Chicken Shanty brand debuted four years ago in Oregon. Its only other Idaho restaurant is in Coeur d’Alene.
