Local food truck, Nay&Jays, is expanding their business to include a physical location in the Frontier Mall; more specifically, it is set to take the space of the former Chick Fil A inside Frontier Mall.
History of CFA and Nay&Jays
First, Chick Fil A. CFA is the original tenant of space 89 (formerly, space 71). Store #192, Cheyenne's CFA opened in the week of March 15th, 1981 as noted in an article from Wyoming State Tribune-Eagle, dated March 17, 18, 1981 (courtesy of Wyoming State Archives). At that time, CFA didn't franchise their operations, but even back then, they closed on Sundays, and CFA operators were only allowed to operate a single store.
 LEFT: Chick Fil A seen open on January 27th, 2020. RIGHT: CFA Curbside Delivery sign seen on July 8th, 2020. - Optopolis |
In 2020 and sometime after the mall temporarily closed during the pandemic, Chick Fil A attempted to have a make-shift drive thru/curbside pickup area in the mall parking lot as was observed by Optopolis, but that was seemingly to no avail. Although the exact closure date isn't currently known at Optopolis, the restaurant closed permanently between early July and late October of 2020. Since that time, the space has mostly been vacant aside from occasional use as storage by the mall and other entities.
As for Nay&Jays. Nay&Jays is a locally owned and operated food truck (trailer) that has set up at various locations around Cheyenne. Their food truck serves food like pizza puffs (similar to pizza pockets), fries, hotdogs, patty melts, and more--even flavored, shaved ice. They operated at numerous locations in the capitol city including on the 400 block of East 4th Street, at Family Dollar on Central Avenue, and in The Foodtruck Stop next to the Pershing Roundabout.
 Nay&Jay's food truck as seen in early January 2025 - Optopolis |
Local illustrator, Calista M. Art, designed Nay&Jay's trailer artwork as, "one of [Calista's] first commissions." The then-new food truck was in the early stages of opening as of June 2020. Although they were operating by July 8th, 2020, they held their official Grand Opening on August 1st, 2020 at Lions Park Amphitheater.
Nay&Jays "coming soon" to former CFA at Frontier Mall
Mid-afternoon on January 9th, 2025, Optopolis noticed a group of people inside the former Chick Fil A space which initially sparked Optopolis' intrigue of what might be happening at the space; the gate was open, and the overhead lights were illuminating the interior of the CFA space. The following day, Optopolis discovered a "coming soon" sign posted to the gate of the former CFA, which is located between La Mekicana and soon-to-be Twinkle Twinkle Little Store, just down the hall from Bomgaars (formerly JAX).
 A view of the former Chick Fil A seen on January 9th, 2025 - Optopolis |
Although Nay&Jays hasn't made an official announcement of this new leg of their journey, Optopolis was able to confirm with Nay&Jays that the new location is indeed set to open at Frontier Mall. CBL Leasing and Advertising Manager, Ashley Haefs, just-yesterday-also-shared that Nay&Jays is set to come to Frontier Mall.
According to their listing on Frontier Mall's website, the new Frontier Mall Nay&Jays is expected to serve food similar to what was previously available in their food truck. At this time, the opening date isn't yet known to Optopolis, and as of January 14th, the Chick Fil A space still appears to be mostly if not entirely void of any new furnishings.
 Nay & Jays' "coming soon" sign seen at the former CFA. This sign is also now posted in various locations throughout Frontier Mall on some of the small, self-standing advertising signs. - Optopolis |
Upon asking Nay&Jays, the, "food truck will continue to operate." So, no, the food truck leg of Nay&Jays is not going away at this time; it will continue business as usual. That being said, signs have been posted throughout Frontier Mall indicating that Nay&Jays is coming soon, "located next to Twinkle Twinkle Little Store."
Update 05-20 - Opening date announced (for realzies!)
According to recent social media posts from N&J, the new Nay&Jays location at Frontier Mall is officially set to open on Saturday, May 24th, 2025! The new restaurant will feature limited seating, including some of the furniture that was previously used by both Country Buffet and Chick Fil A.
In their latest Facebook post (seen below), Nay&Jays describes recent times as a, "long 2 months, but [Nay&Jays] got their Grand Opening." They tell people to, "save the date because your favorite midwestern cuisine is opening its doors!" Some of the various items available at this restaurant can be seen on the Nay&Jays website.
 Nay&Jays Facebook Post from May 20th, 2025 |
Nay&Jays originally planned on opening their storefront in mid-March, but due to unforseen circumstances which were, "beyond [Nay&Jays] control," the date was postponed to late-March. Before the new opening date arrived, Nay&Jays had to reschedule again, this time to mid-April with a non-specified opening date. But by mid-April, the opening date was delayed yet again, and this time, a date wasn't specified at all. Now, however, we know the current opening date is indeed set for May 20th.
Update 05-25 - N&J's celebrates their first day and Grand Opening
On Saturday, May 24th, 2025, N&J's celebrated their first day open! Around the 10-O'clock hour, N&J's staff could be observed hanging the Grand Opening banners on the front of the new restaurant. Shortly thereafter, their first customers purchased their meal.
As can happen with any business when first opening, N&J's restaurant experienced a small hickup--in this case, one of their cooking machines waved goodbye, figuratively speaking, but the restaurant was fairly quick to rig up a separate device to grill the beef and other ingredients and resumed preparing their customers' orders.
As can be seen on the menu (displayed in the photos above), pizza puffs are their main dish, but they also have Chicago-style hot dogs and philly cheese sandwhiches. They have multiple sides including french fries which are served with a Chicago-style fry sauce.
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Beverages include soft drinks, water, and Faygo soda. One can get items individually or as a meal, and you can get your food to-go. Fun fact: A poster seen inside of their restaurant indicates that the idea of the "Pizza Puff" originated from Iltaco Foods.
Now let us know your thoughts...
Who here has tried Nay&Jays' food truck? Do you like their food, and are you excited to see them expand to a grounded, brick-and-mortar storefront? What are your thoughts on this new expansion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Originally published: 01/15/2025 at 11:22 AM
Updated: 02/10/2025 at 7:41 PM to add an update on the status of the restaurant, see "Update 02-10" above.
Updated: 02/11/2025 at 2:20 PM MT to clarify that Marshaun is currently the sole owner of Nay&Jays. Added a link to their website which includes the menu.
Updated: 03/15/2025 at 9:14 PM MT to include new opening date info.
Updated: 03/20/2025 at 10:27 PM MT to include new opening date info (again).
Updated: 05/20/2025 at 12:53 PM MT to update article layout to match the current theme. Also added new opening date info and removed previous opening date info to avoid confusion. To see previous verison of this article, please visit the Wayback Machine.
Updated: 05/25/2025 at 5:29 PM MT to add Grand Opening details as well as embed a video of the event.