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Derek Gaspard has been considering opening a restaurant in Texas for years.

The close proximity to his headquarters in Louisiana made Orange a natural fit during his team’s selection process.

Then came the good news shared recently with the community.

The City of Orange announced Insane Chicken is coming to 1602 W. Hart Avenue.

The business model features drive-thru services for fast food items and offerings featuring sausage creations from Insane Sausage.

Gaspard is the owner and founder of Insane Sausages and Insane Chicken.

He hopes to have the Orange restaurant operational by the end of April 2024.

According to Gaspard, the City of Orange was instrumental in helping establish Texas roots.

“From the first interaction, all the way through the approval was a very smooth and easy process,” he said. “Everyone has made us feel very welcome into the Texas market. Mayor (Larry) Spears, the great staff and board at the EDC and even the customers who have seen our truck driving in Orange have shown us a strong desire to have our concepts over in their area.”

Having owned and operated businesses in several locations, Gaspard says the city’s economic development corporation is a great benefit that really focuses attention on strategic growth.

“I wish all areas had a similar program as that one,” he said.

The goal of Insane Chicken is for customers to think it’s not just another chicken place.

The flagship products are massive chicken sandwiches that start with nearly a ½-pound of well-seasoned chicken breast fried to crispy perfection while maintaining a juicy interior that is usually lost when frying a breast.

Customers decide on the bread they like and which of 10 sauce options they prefer.

“We will have other dipping-type chicken offerings, but our core focus is revolutionizing the way people view a chicken sandwich,” Gaspard said. “As an added bonus, the customers shopping that location will have access to Insane Sausages packaged items, as well.”

Insane Sausages is a restaurant/meat market that has operated for nearly 5 years in Vinton, Louisiana.

It rotates a menu every weekend and offers a different “Weekend Special” each week.

“The chicken sandwich was always our most popular rotating special, and our customers would always ask about being able to keep it on the menu at all times,” Gaspard said. “Even though that wasn’t feasible for our current business model, from that moment, we always had the idea of creating a stand-alone chicken place that would offer the chicken sandwich as an everyday menu item. After having conversations with the (Orange) EDC members, the idea has come to fruition.”