Babe’s Chicken Dinner House: Family-Style Fried Chicken and Every North Texas Location

Some restaurants hand you a long menu. Babe’s Chicken Dinner House hands you a short one and then keeps the bowls of sides coming. For more than 30 years, this North Texas favorite has served Sunday-dinner-style fried chicken, family-style, in old buildings full of character. Here’s what to expect and where you’ll find every current location.

Where it all started: downtown Roanoke

The very first Babe’s opened on April 22, 1993, in historic downtown Roanoke, according to the Roanoke location page. The building itself dates to 1908 and has housed a hardware store, a grocery and a plant shop over the years. That pattern of setting up shop in old, storied buildings has carried through to many of the newer locations, and each one has a bit of local history to tell.

Roanoke sits in Denton County, about 30 minutes north of Fort Worth and around 40 minutes northwest of Dallas, depending on traffic. It’s a fun first visit if you want to see where the whole thing began.

How family-style dinner works

The idea at Babe’s is simple. You pick your main dish, and the table shares big helpings of the sides. According to the current Arlington menu, every entree comes with house salad, mashed potatoes, cream gravy, green beans, Grandma’s corn and buttermilk biscuits, all passed around the table the old-fashioned way.

The main dishes are a short, focused list:

• Fried chicken
• Hickory smoked chicken
• Chicken fried steak
• Fried chicken tenders
• Fried catfish
• A vegetable plate for those skipping the meat

At the Arlington location, most entrees were listed at $19.99 as of October 2026, with catfish slightly higher. Kids’ meals are available for ages 6 to 10, and the menu says children 5 and under share for free. Prices and menus can vary by location, so check your nearest restaurant’s page.

Don’t skip dessert

Babe’s desserts are baked from scratch daily. The menu lists chocolate meringue pie, coconut meringue pie, peach cobbler, banana pudding and Momma Jo’s strawberry shortcake by the slice. If you’re heading to a holiday gathering or church supper, you can reserve a whole pie or pan; the restaurant asks for at least 24 hours’ notice.

Current Babe’s Chicken locations in North Texas

As of early October 2026, the official Babe’s Chicken website lists 10 locations, all in North Texas:

• Arlington: 230 N. Center St., Arlington 76011
• Burleson: 120 S. Main St., Burleson 76028
• Carrollton: 1006 W. Main St., Carrollton 75006
• Cedar Hill: 200 S. Main St., Cedar Hill 75104
• Frisco: 6475 Page St., Frisco 75034
• Garland: 1456 Beltline Rd., Suite 171, Garland 75044
• Granbury: 114 W. Pearl St., Granbury 76048
• North Richland Hills: 6700 NE Loop 820, North Richland Hills 76180
• Roanoke (the original): 104 N. Oak St., Roanoke 76262
• Sanger: 202 N. 4th St., Sanger 76266

Several of these sit on or near historic main streets, so a Babe’s dinner pairs nicely with an afternoon of window shopping. The Granbury location is a short walk from the town’s historic square, and the Carrollton, Burleson and Cedar Hill restaurants sit on their towns’ Main Streets.

A little history with your biscuits

Part of the fun at Babe’s is the decor. The Arlington restaurant, which opened in November 2010 beside the historic Arlington Music Hall, is a good example. Its website says the patio walls are built of petrified wood, the dining room features a vintage neon cowboy sign that once hung over a Panhandle cafe in Dumas, and the water tower out front stands on legs made from old Texas Stadium light towers. Ask your server about the restaurant’s history and you’ll likely get a story or two.

Tips for your visit

• Go hungry. The sides are refilled family-style, so pace yourself.
• Plan around the rush. Weekend evenings and Sunday lunch after church are busy times at most family restaurants, so arrive early or expect a wait.
• Check hours by location. Hours aren’t posted on the location pages, so call your nearest Babe’s before you go.
• Big group? The contact form on the website includes an option for large parties.

Hours, dates and prices can change. Check the official website before you head out.

There’s something about passing a bowl of mashed potatoes down the table that makes any meal feel like a family dinner. Whether you start at the original in Roanoke or the location closest to home, y’all bring an appetite and enjoy a true North Texas comfort food tradition.

Featured photo: Renelibrary via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.