Nikki Lansford  - Restaurants

Gus’s Fried Chicken now serving Southern-style food at new Overland Park location

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken has opened a second location in Overland Park. The restaurant serves southern-style fried chicken along with traditional sides, such as baked beans and fried okra. Local franchisees Steve and Julie Zanone, above, plan to open two more locations in the area in 2022. Image via Gus's Fried Chicken KC Instagram.

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, a Memphis-based chain, has opened its second Kansas City-area location, this time in Overland Park.

In 2016, Gus’s entered the metro market, opening up a franchise on 47th Street in Kansas City, Kan., on the border with Johnson County.

Steve and Julia Zanone, franchisees of that KCK location and the new Overland Park restaurant, opened up their franchise at 7932 W. 151st St. in October.

The Zanones are originally from Memphis and say, after living in the Kansas City area for more than 20 years, they were starting to miss the taste of home.

So, a few years ago, they landed on the idea of opening a local franchise of one of their hometown’s landmark dining spots.

“We opened Gus’s Fried Chicken in KCK because we absolutely love the chicken and want to share it with folks here in the Midwest,” Steve Zanone said.

Due to the great success of their first local Gus’s, the couple were able to branch out with their new location to the Overland Park area.

A three-piece chicken plate with mac and cheese and greens on the side. Image via Gus’s Fried Chicken KC Instagram.

Best known for their Southern-style fried chicken, the restaurant serves classics of southern cuisine, including fried okra and fried green tomatoes.

Their cayenne-seasoned chicken is said to pair well with any of the restaurant’s traditional sides, including baked beans, mac and cheese and cole slaw.

Plans for expansion are not stopping with the new Overland Park restaurant.

The Zanones intend to follow up the addition with other new locations in Lee Summit and in the Northland, set to open sometime in 2022.

“It’s been an exciting journey… and along the way we’ve built a strong Gus’s family,” Zanone said.

The first Gus’s opened in Memphis in 1984, and it now has more than 30 locations across the country.

Hi! I'm Nikki, and I cover the city of Overland Park.

I grew up in southern Overland Park and graduated from Olathe East before going on to earn a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. At Mizzou, I worked as a reporter and editor at the Columbia Missourian. Prior to joining the Post, I had also done work for the Northeast News, PolitiFact Missouri and Kaiser Health News.

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