FRIED CHICKEN BOOM: Six major chicken chain openings in 18 months — and now Wingers picks Swansea for its biggest ever UK restaurant
Wingers — the fast-growing American-style buttermilk chicken brand — has confirmed its first ever Welsh location will open at Parc Fforestfach in Swansea this summer, and that the Swansea unit will be the company’s largest restaurant in the UK.
The arrival is the latest chapter in what has become a remarkable run of fried chicken openings in and around Swansea — a sector that has expanded faster than almost any other part of the local hospitality scene over the past 18 months.
Wingers — biggest in the UK, first in Wales
The new Wingers restaurant will occupy a 2,040 sq ft unit at Parc Fforestfach on a 15-year lease, with the company investing more than £300,000 in the fit-out and creating up to 20 local jobs.
Anthony Round, Franchise Development at Wingers, said the company was “very excited” to be opening at the park, describing the location as a perfect fit.
An opening date and promotional launch event are still to be announced.
Nando’s confirmed at last
Alongside Wingers, the long-anticipated Parc Fforestfach Nando’s has now been confirmed for a summer opening too. Nando’s was first reported by Swansea Bay News to be eyeing the site in October last year, when planning documents revealed the chain was lined up to take over the existing Card Factory unit.
The new Nando’s will occupy a 3,945 sq ft restaurant unit, with earlier planning documents suggesting around 40 jobs would be created.
The chain has been steadily expanding its south-west Wales footprint. Earlier this month, the Llanelli branch was ranked the second-best Nando’s in Wales based on Tripadvisor reviews.
Six chicken arrivals in 18 months
The Wingers and Nando’s confirmations cap an extraordinary run of fried chicken brand expansions across south-west Wales.
The boom began on Wind Street in February 2025 with American wing specialist Wingstop, which confirmed its Swansea opening earlier that year and launched on what is the city’s most concentrated nightlife strip.
Four months later, Wind Street picked up a second chicken chain — American fast-casual brand Slim Chickens opened on 26 June 2025, bringing southern-fried tenders to what the brand itself described as the city’s favourite party street.
Then came the largest single Swansea opening of all. American chicken giant Popeyes launched on Oxford Street on 3 October 2025 in the former Topshop building, drawing 18-hour overnight queues on opening day — one of the most extraordinary opening day responses to any food retailer in the city in living memory.
The Popeyes craze then spread to Llanelli, where the chain took over the former Pizza Hut at Parc Trostre following that brand’s collapse into administration — and opened to 14-hour overnight queues of its own, confirming this wasn’t simply a Swansea phenomenon.
That makes six major fried chicken arrivals or expansions in 18 months: Wingstop (Wind Street, February 2025), Slim Chickens (Wind Street, June 2025), Popeyes (Oxford Street, October 2025), Popeyes (Llanelli Parc Trostre), Nando’s (Parc Fforestfach, summer 2026), and Wingers (Parc Fforestfach, summer 2026).
Crowds queue outside Popeyes Llanelli on opening morning, with fans holding giveaway T‑shirts despite the rain. (Image: Popeyes UK)
City centre v retail park
There’s a geography to the boom worth noting. Three of the city centre arrivals — Wingstop, Slim Chickens and Popeyes — sit within a few hundred metres of each other on or around Wind Street and Oxford Street, the heart of Swansea’s evening economy.
The Parc Fforestfach openings serve a different audience: car-borne family trade rather than late-night party crowd, lunch and dinner rather than post-pub.
The pattern reflects a wider trend confirmed by Swansea BID at the end of 2025: new business openings outpaced closures in Swansea city centre over the year, with the city centre reporting renewed business confidence.
Wider Parc Fforestfach line-up
The Wingers and Nando’s arrivals add to a steadily growing mix of leisure, food and retail operators at the retail park. In March, planning permission was sought for a 24-hour Anytime Fitness gym at the site, taking over the large unit previously occupied by Homesense and, before that, Borders.
Children’s indoor activity centre Zuno Play and pet retailer Jollyes are also among the recent or pending additions to the park’s line-up.
Google Street View of Unit 3 at Parc Fforestfach Retail Park in Swansea — currently occupied by Card Factory but now the subject of a planning application naming Nando’s as the intended operator.
The owners’ view
Adam Martin, Director and Head of the Bristol Office at LCP UK — part of M Core, the owners and managers of the retail park (which the company has rebranded as M Parc Fforestfach) — said the lettings reflected a strategy of attracting well-loved, high-quality brands to strengthen the park’s appeal.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
18-hour queues as Popeyes opens in Swansea
The Oxford Street opening that turned into a regional event.
Fried chicken frenzy as Popeyes lands in Llanelli with 14-hour queue
The Llanelli opening that confirmed the boom wasn’t just a Swansea phenomenon.
Slim Chickens to open new Swansea restaurant on Wind Street
The second American fried chicken arrival on Wind Street in four months.
Nando’s eyes new restaurant at Parc Fforestfach retail park
Our October 2025 report when planning documents first revealed Nando’s plans.
#Fforestfach #NandoS #ParcFforestfach #Popeyes #SlimChickens #Wingers #Wingstop
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