Helen’s Hot Chicken is expanding to Atlanta, Eater Atlanta Thursday first reported.
Owner Jeremy Mallard confirmed the news in a telephone interview with What Now Atlanta.
The Nashville-based chicken joint is opening in a 2,400-square-foot corner space in the 200 Edgewood student housing development downtown.
“We’re right there near Georgia State University and the Sweet Auburn Curb Market in the middle of it all,” Mallard said.
Slated to open late-December 2018, early-January 2019, Helen’s Hot Chicken downtown will be the company’s first location with a full bar.
Sticking with the company’s, “It’s Hella Hot” slogan, on the menu will be the “Hella Mango” signature margarita.
To capitalize on the bar component, there will also be a lounge area—something not seen at any of the other six Helen’s Hot Chicken locations.
A seafood plater, pictured below, is also being added to the menu as well as a variety of grits including traditional cheesy, and hot and sour.
The Atlanta location will also offer a “more modern feel” than its existing locations, taking advantage of new construction.
There will also be a “large patio” and Mallard is “considering live performances out there.”
Plans for the new restaurant are expected to be submitted to the City of Atlanta before the end of the week, he said.
Mallard, a resident of Atlanta in the 90s, is moving back to the City he once called home to open and run the new restaurant.
