Crispy, spicy and hugely popular: Why chicken sandwiches are taking over America

"There had always been fried chicken sandwiches," said Kara Nielsen, vice president of trends and marketing for CCD Innovation, a food and beverage consultancy. But she traces the current interest in the item to the 2008 financial crisis.
"One of the things that surged out of that recession moment was an interest in comfort food, as well as a lot of people opening food trucks, creating food stalls," she said. "And so there were definitely a lot of fried chicken sandwiches coming out at that time. And it's never really stopped."