Slim Chickens opens in Rio Rancho Wednesday

RIO RANCHO, N.M. — Slim Chickens is opening up its doors Wednesday in Rio Rancho.

“Our chicken tenders, for example, I’ve never had better in my life,” said Dennis Ekstrom, the owner of Slim Chickens. “I fell in love with the food before I fell in love with the brand.”

With the popularity of fast-food chains like Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A creating a so-called chicken tender war, Ekstrom shared his love for competition.

“As the chicken war goes, we will prevail,” Ekstrom said. “Our chicken strips are unmatched.”

Slim Chickens hired nearly 100 employees for just the Rio Rancho location.

There’s another location in the Northeast Heights opening in 30 days at Montgomery and Wyoming.

The restaurant was originally expected to open in mid-July.

“There’s a lot of things that still are in the hangover from COVID,” Ekstrom said. “Like power transformers – took forever with PNM to get a hold of those and get them installed. That set us back a few months just by itself.”

Despite the challenges, you can get your hands on the crispy chicken starting at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“We’re going to make a big splash in Rio Rancho and also Albuquerque,” Ekstrom said.

The Rio Rancho location will be located on Wellspring Avenue, off of Unser.