McDonald's customers in Birmingham and central Alabama will be among the first in the country to taste the latest addition to the menu under the Golden Arches.

The fast-food restaurant chain officially launches its new buttermilk crispy chicken tenders in the Birmingham metro area today. McDonald's began test-marketing the new tenders in the Charlotte area in March.

"We are in the Atlanta region here in Birmingham, and this is the second test phase," Jason Black, a Birmingham-area McDonald's franchisee, told AL.com. "I fully expect this to go really well, and it will roll out nationally at some point toward the end of the year."

Black -- who operates McDonald's restaurants in Hoover, Helena, Bessemer, Montevallo and Centreville -- said he began serving the new tenders at his locations last week.

"The official launch is (Aug. 1), but the restaurants have been selling since Wednesday or Thursday and it's been going really well so far,'' he said. "All of my restaurants have been selling out of their allotment each day, so that's a good thing."

The tenders are a new take on the buttermilk crispy chicken recipe that McDonald's introduced in 2015 with its buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich.

"We had had tenders in the past, chicken fingers in the past, that just didn't meet expectations," Black said. "We had such success with the buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich that we thought we should try that with the tender recipe, and it seems to be working.

"It's a really good flavor and a good tender chicken," he added. "What we had before was not best in class, and I think what we've got now comes close to, if not being, best in class -- nice and crispy but it's a lighter breading and lots of chicken in each tender."

The tenders are made with 100 percent white meat, according to McDonald's, and are marinated and battered with buttermilk and a spice blend.

The tenders are available in quantities of four, six and 10 and at the average retail prices of $3.99, $5.99 and $9.49, respectively. They are also available with combo meals. For nutritional information, go here.

The tenders are served with a choice of six traditional sauces (hot mustard, sweet and sour, ranch, Buffalo, barbecue and habanero ranch) and two new ones (a spicy sriracha and a sweet and tangy signature sauce).

McDonald's will continue to serve its chicken McNuggets, which first appeared on the menu in the early 1980s.

"I hate to say never, but they're never going anywhere," Black said. "That's one of our No. 1 sellers."