BB’s Crispy Chicken

Ashley Christensen and Michael Olander, Jr., during one of many chicken sandwich taste tests The name, says Christensen, started out as a nickname that Michael Olander, Jr. [CEO, MDOH] and I used to refer to this project when it was still just an idea. We were sitting in Beasleys Chicken + Honey, my full-service restaurant dedicated to fried chicken, and joked that this new venture would be like a baby Beasleys, so we started referring to it as BBs. After trying out many other options for names, we couldnt shake this oneit resonated with everyone in our group. I love that it nods to my fried chicken origin story, while also being a distinct, standalone identityone that encapsulates the approachable, fun, community-driven feel that were aiming for with this project. Ashley Christensen is a chef and restaurateur based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She owns and operates AC Restaurants, which includes Pooles Diner , Beasleys Chicken + Honey , Fox Liquor Bar , Death & Taxes , Pooleside Pies , and AC Events . She most recently won the 2019 James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef. She has also been awarded Chef of the Year by Eater in 2017 and Best Chef: Southeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2014. MDO Holdings is a Raleigh-based investment and management firm that strives to fuel creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit to help create healthier and stronger communities. They take a collaborative approach across all business lines, believing that the exchange of resources and ideas will spark concepts and synergies that help everyone grow in ways they traditionally would not. These cross-industry relationships also encourage the organization and their partner companies to constantly innovate and adapt, helping to shape their surrounding industries and markets.