To serve fresh chicken tenders in a variety of forms, in a fun atmosphere for customers and employees. Our concept is a popular place to meet friends and enjoy good, affordable food. Perfect for the business lunch crowd, families or young professionals after work. We hope to expand throughout Middle Tennessee, and the Southeast.
Our History
Otter's Chicken Tenders ("Otter's") opened its first location in September, 2003, near Music Row on Demonbreun St. in Nashville, Tennessee. Otter's is a friendly, fast-casual dining restaurant which specializes in fresh and never frozen, fried, grilled and buffalo chicken tenders. Otter's is a sports theme restaurant focused on regional sports teams. Otter’s is a great place to watch your favorite team on a big screen and enjoy fresh food with friends or family.
Otter's was founded by Talbott Ottinger, but by no means did he accomplish its opening by himself. Talbott was able to convince his life long friend Charlie Fitzgerald and eventually, his brother, Stuart, to be a part of the concept. The group realized that they would need another person to help shoulder the load and the intense hours involved with opening a restaurant, so Stuart turned to his college roommate Steve Logan to see if he was interested in joining them. After selling the idea to Steve, he agreed that it could be successful and wanted to be a part of the venture.
The group brainstormed and decided that they could come up with their own concept, and even make it better than other chicken tender concepts. With inspiration from their favorite Animal House character, Otter Stratton, and an obvious tie to Talbott and Stuart's last name, Otter's Chicken Tenders was hatched.
All four of them set out to build something from scratch and tried to follow the old restaurant motto…KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). The menu and concept are simple and consist of fresh, never frozen, fried or grilled chicken tenders served with one of Otter's signature dipping sauces, fries, cole slaw and Texas Toast. Wraps, sandwiches and salads are also available, as well as trays of chicken tenders for tailgating and catering events. Buckets of beer are also sold to wash down chicken or to enjoy a game on one of Otter's televisions.
In November of 2004, Joey Coppage was brought aboard and serves as Chief Operations Officer of OCT. Joey brings 20 years of operations experience gained through his employment as a Chick-fil-A Operator, Operator Consultant, and National Marketing Award winner. Under Joey’s guidance Otter’s has seen increased profits and brand awareness through implementation of restaurant procedures and break-even analysis as well as being a key player in new franchise development of which he is a principal owner.
Otter’s is currently looking to expand throughout Tennessee and the Southeast through franchising. With numerous requests and interest in franchises, Otter’s hopes to soon be in a town near you.
