Abner White Addresses Recent Rumblings

Abner White, founder of Abner’s Famous Chicken Tenders, shared the following letter with HottyToddy.com on April 21, to clarify recent rumblings about a bankruptcy filing made by a company that owns two Abner’s restaurants. Here’s what’s going on, in White’s words:

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Last week, Abner’s Famous Chicken Tenders received front page coverage in the Daily Mississippian. Normally, we would be elated, but the story communicated erroneous facts related to a bankruptcy that is affecting just one of our companies, and not our entire chain as reported. As a result, numerous other regional publications in the state simply picked up the inaccurate story without contacting me for the correct information, further spreading completely false information about our company. I’m writing this letter to set the record straight.

First and foremost, each Abner’s location is under separate ownership. Abner’s Inc., although it sounds all encompassing, owns only two restaurants in Oxford, MS. Abner’s Inc. is this company that filed for Chapter 11 protection due to difficulty in working out a deal with a bank. Chapter 11 protection simply allows us time to restructure debt and work through issues with this creditor. Abner’s of Starkville Inc, Abner’s of Tupelo LLC, Abner’s of Cordova LLC, and Abner’s of Brandon LLC are not involved in the bankruptcy in any way. However, the headline read “Abner’s files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection” and went on to name every Abner’s location.

Secondly, as a proud and long-time member of the Ole Miss family, it is important that I express my concern over this reporting that could have an everlasting and negative impact on my business. Abner’s was founded in Oxford in 1993, following my graduation from Ole Miss and we have proudly gone on to become a popular brand in Mississippi. North Mississippi is our home! I believe that local editorial staffs should have taken greater care to more thoroughly understand the facts before running such a high profile story. The publicity my company has received as a result of the articles that have run misrepresenting the facts could potentially shut the doors of all of my businesses.  While a small clarification did run the next day, the damage had been done.

Above all else, my main goal with this letter remains to inform the public of the truth and to alleviate any confusion in this matter. The Abner’s chain of restaurants has not declared bankruptcy. None of our stores are closing. None of our employees are in danger of losing their jobs. We are here to stay in Oxford and at every other Abner’s location.

If you haven’t been to an Abner’s lately, we would love to see you again! I can say with confidence that your experience will be good with friendly service and fresh food. Our general managers are excellent and are working to build top-notch Abner’s teams that are courteous, caring and that take great pride in their work. We are taking steps every day to get back to the basics and get better at everything we do. We hope to see you again soon and your comments are always welcome at abnerschicken.com.

Abner White

Abner’s Famous Chicken Tenders

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