Slim Chickens still possibility for Gluckstadt

GLUCKSTADT — Developers of a proposed chicken restaurant on Gluckstadt Road remain invested in the project after abandoning a site due to flood zone restrictions.

David Bagwell with Southern Partners LLC, still hopes to bring a Slim Chickens branded restaurant to Gluckstadt. He said they were nearing construction on a previous location when his engineer discovered that “a good portion of the property” was in a flood plain and the north part of the property was specially protected by FEMA. 

“We were in the pre-construction phase at the beginning of 2021,” Bagwell said. “We were preparing the site and taking soil samples and stuff like that.”

Bagwell said they considered making the site, located between Edward Jones Investments and the animal hospital on Gluckstadt Road, work but the process proved too lengthy and expensive.

Despite setbacks, Southern Partners has not abandoned the Gluckstadt area.

“We still have a very active interest in the area,” Bagwell said. “We think it is growing and two of us live out there so we see it as kind of a way to invest in our hometown.”

Bagwell said they have identified a possible site that he is not yet ready to disclose until a deal is finalized. He did say it is part of a larger development and is still in the “general vicinity” on Gluckstadt Road as the original location. He said it is on the west side of I-55 and closer to the interstate than the original site.

Bagwell said the restaurant will have to go back to county site review and architectural review boards but that he does not expect any problems on that end once a new site is finalized.

Bagwell and Southern Partners opened the Ridgeland Slim Chickens in 2018. Bagwell and his father, Ricky, have a background in Sonic Drive-Ins across the state and in Louisiana and Arkansas.

Slim Chickens’ website says this will be the fourth location in the state for the Arkansas-based brand with the others being in Ridgeland, Southaven and Starkville.