If you've driven down Botham Jean Boulevard in Dallas recently, you've likely spotted the crowd encircling a buzzy new restaurant with celebrity ties: Called Johnny's Chicken & Waffles, it was founded in 2020 by reality TV star Crystal Renay with her ex-husband, singer Ne-Yo and Karlie Redd (VH1’s Love n’ Hip Hop), and it made its Dallas debut on Memorial Day weekend.

The restaurant opened at 1326 Botham Jean Blvd. — in the former Monica's/Cedars Social location, across from the Dallas Police Department — and has been thriving despite limited media word of mouth.

Chicken & waffles originated in Harlem at a place called Wells Famous Home of Chicken and Waffles, and then became famous after Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles opened in southern California in 1975.

Johnny’s menu takes an innovative mix-and-match approach: You choose from a list of chicken options and selection of waffle flavors, so you can customize your chicken-and-waffle situation to order.

• Chicken comes in choice of whole wings, tenders, Buffalo wings, or a combo
• Waffles comes in choice of buttermilk, pecan, red velvet, or strawberry

Other signatures include mac & cheese which you can order with chicken tenders, fried shrimp, or fried lobster tail, for $29.95; and a full bar, with cocktails served in mason jars. They also have entrees like Cajun penne pasta, catfish & grits, and salads like a kale Caesar.

Renay began working on the concept in 2015.

"Food and cooking became a therapy for me when I was pregnant," she says. "I did not know how to cook but I started teaching myself and posting it on social media. People cheered me on, and I began to improve."

The signature dish is obviously similar to Roscoe's — "I take that as a compliment, I absolutely love Roscoe's," Renay says, who has appeared on shows like Good Day New York sharing her recipes, and who devised Johnny's creative menu, with four varieties of waffle flavors.

"We also do a waffle of the month in flavors like churro waffle and fruity pebble waffle, to rotate in something new so it always feels fresh," she says.

For sophisticated chicken fans, Johnny's does not only boneless tenders but also bone-in wings — "Bone-in chicken has the most flavor, we could not not-have those on our menu," she says.

Inspired by the Ne-Yo connection and Atlanta's buzzy music scene, they make music a decorative theme with platinum albums on the wall from area musicians. In Atlanta, that means OutKast, Ludacris, and Usher; in Dallas, that means Erykah Badu.

Renay says that Dallas was a no-brainer for the concept.

"I adore Dallas, I have quite a few friends here, and every time I visit, the energy and reception are great," she says. "When I think about opening a new location, having good energy and good people is at the top of our list. There are also similarities between Dallas and Atlanta - the culture is very similar."

Johnny's operations manager Randy Lamp says that, in choosing location, their goal was to be close to downtown Dallas, though not a requirement that they be inside the Central Business District.

"We looked at areas in and around downtown and Deep Ellum, before we came across the space on Botham Jean Boulevard," he says. "It was centrally located but not in an obvious place — similar to our College Park location in Atlanta, where it's not secluded by any means, but not in the thick of the downtown area. And the more we got to know the Southside area during the build-out, the more that Crystal and I felt it was perfect."

The location comes with parking, an expansive patio, and one-of-a-kind views of the downtown Dallas skyline.

"The parking lot is getting so crazy right now, and with the lines we've had, we've had to create a waiting area outside," Lamp says. "We feel grateful for all the support we've received from Dallas - we're very blessed."