Chicken sandwich shop no longer headed to former Dairy Barn in downtown Oswego

Craveworthy Brands has apparently dropped plans to put a chicken sandwich restaurant in the building that formerly housed the Dairy Barn ice cream shop in downtown Oswego.

As Oswego Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty told members of the village’s Economic Development Commission at its April 3 meeting, current plans are to open a restaurant featuring Craveworthy’s different brands.

The Budlong Southern Chicken had previously announced it was going to locate in the building. Craveworthy Brands, which is leasing the building, is the parent company of The Budlong along with Wing It On, Krafted Burger + Tap, Genghis Grill, BD’s Mongolian Grill, Flat Top Grill, Soom Soom, a five-unit Mediterranean fast casual restaurant and Dirty Dough cookie brand.

“The last thing I heard they were interested in doing a revolving menu, where they feature a lot of their different brands,” Leighty said. “But nothing’s been confirmed yet.”

Craveworthy has not filed any plans yet with the village yet regarding its use of the building. The company is headed by former Jimmy John’s CEO Gregg Majewski.

“I’ve seen the restaurant world from so many perspectives over the years, and it is clear to me that the industry requires a new way of thinking, given the new cost structure and commoditized experiences out there now,” Majewski had said in a news release. “That’s why we created Craveworthy.”

The Dairy Barn, located at 121 Main St., was an ice cream shop that closed its doors in 2022. The Dairy Barn was built on the site that previously housed the longtime ice cream shop Dairy Hut, which closed in August 2019.

The Scoop ice cream shop opened last year at 108 Main St., across the street from the Dairy Barn.

According to its website, The Budlong sells Nashville-inspired hot chicken sandwiches that are hand-battered and fried to order. It has locations in Oak Brook and Chicago as well as in Irving, Texas.