Now Bojangles wants EV drivers to fast charge while they eat

This one's about electric vehicle charging, not home energy upgrades, but it's worth knowing about if you drive an EV. Bojangles, the fried chicken chain, opened its first DC fast charger (a quick-charging station that can refill an EV battery much faster than a home charger) at a restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, this past May. The project was built with EV charging company XLR8 America and an installation firm called Energy and Environmental Design Services.

The Savannah location is just the start. Bojangles plans to roll out chargers nationally, though the company hasn't said exactly how many locations or on what timeline. A second site is expected to open in Charlotte later this year, and reporting elsewhere has said the company plans to add 85 chargers by early 2027.

The idea behind pairing fast food with fast charging is simple: EV drivers on road trips typically stop for 20 to 40 minutes anyway, which is about how long a fast charge takes. That makes restaurant parking lots a natural fit, giving Bojangles a way to draw in customers and keep them around while their car charges.

For homeowners, this doesn't change anything about upgrades or rebates for your house, but it does add to the growing list of places where you can charge an EV on the road, alongside grocery stores, retailers, and travel stops that have been adding chargers as well.