Church’s Texas Chicken to open Thursday in Machesney Park

April 16, 2025|By Kevin Haas|In 815 News, Business, Top Stories, Machesney Park, Restaurants, Featured, Rock River Current
Church’s Texas Chicken opens Thursday, April 17, 2025, at 1586 W. Lane Road in Machesney Park. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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MACHESNEY PARK — Tis the season for chicken chains to open in the Rockford region.

A day after Raising Cane’s debuted in Rockford, Church’s Texas Chicken has set the date for its debut in Machesney Park.

The restaurant plans to open at 10 a.m. Thursday at 1586 W. Lane Road, according to the village and managers on site.

Church’s fills a space formerly occupied by KFC. The KFC in Machesney Park abruptly closed in August along with three others in the Rockford region tied to the franchise owner. Several others had closed the same day across the state.

Church’s Texas Chicken was founded in 1952 by George W. Church Sr. in San Antonio, Texas. It was initially called Church’s Chicken and officially rebranded as Church’s Texas Chicken in 2019. The company is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Related: Why camp out at Raising Cane’s? Here’s what some of the first Rockford customers said about the experience
Church’s specializes in hand-battered and double-breaded chicken that’s prepared fresh throughout the day in original and spicy varieties. It also offers tenders, sandwiches, freshly baked butter biscuits and homestyle sides including mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob and fried okra.

There are roughly 770 Church’s locations across the country, according to the company’s website.

Hours & location

Where: 1586 W. Lane Road, Machesney Park

Opening date: Thursday, April 17, 2025

Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas