Layne's Chicken Fingers in Brownwood, TX

A 2,467 sq ft renovation at 207 E. Commerce Street in Brownwood is converting an existing Popeyes restaurant into a Layne's Chicken Fingers location. The project involves both exterior and interior work on a wood-constructed building that features a fire-suppression system integrated into the exhaust hood. This specific filing identifies the business name as Layne's Chicken Fingers, marking a distinct rebrand of the established dining space.

Project Scope and Costs

The estimated cost for this renovation and alteration is $500,000, which calculates to $203 per square foot. This figure is above the median estimated cost of $300,000 for similar renovation filings in Brown County. The scheduled construction window of 62 days is shorter than the county median of 112 days for comparable projects. The work is privately funded on private land for private use, with QSR 30 Land III LLC listed as the owner of record.

SC Architecture is the design firm of record for this project. The firm has other TDLR-registered projects in the state, including a Layne's Chicken Restaurant in Graham and a gas convenience store in Diboll. Robert T Pierce is the registered accessibility specialist associated with this specific Brownwood renovation. The site is located inside a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, specifically zone AE, which is designated as a floodway.

Timeline and Status

TDLR completed plan review in April 2026, and construction was scheduled to begin in July 2026 with a completion date of September 2026. Although the scheduled completion date has passed, TDLR has not yet recorded a final inspection. Therefore, the current state of the site is not confirmed in the public record. The registration status is listed as Review Complete, indicating that the preliminary architectural and accessibility plans have been processed, but final construction verification is pending in the official logs.

Local third-party sources have noted the upcoming changes to the restaurant at this Commerce Street address. A Facebook post by BTxRGV described the project as a remodel of an existing restaurant building to transform the location into a new Layne's Chicken Fingers outlet. These external observations align with the scope of work described in the official filing, which details the transition from a Popeyes to a Layne's Chicken Fingers concept.

For context on the local area, U.S. Census estimates for ZIP code 76801 indicate a population of about 25,152 and a median household income of $51,712. The area has 12,145 housing units, with housing mostly owner-occupied. The median owner-occupied home value in this ZIP code is estimated at $138,200. These demographic figures provide a baseline for the community in which this commercial renovation is taking place, though they do not reflect the specific construction status of the restaurant project itself.