Fort Worth couple bringing Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant to North Texas

Brayden Garcia
·2 min read
2

A new chicken restaurant is coming in hot to north Fort Worth.

HCK Hot Chicken is hosting its grand opening at 6600 North Freeway suite 128 at 11 a.m. Saturday. The restaurant serves Nashville-style hot fried chicken sandwiches, tenders and wings.

Fort Worth is HCK’s first venture into Texas, with three restaurants already established in Virginia. The other two locations are in Florida and New Jersey, with several others on the way.

Husband and wife duo — Carla and Billy Zenn — are bringing the restaurant to Fort Worth.

“We love Fort Worth, we raised our girls here, we’ve grown up here,” Carla Zenn said. “It is an east coast-based company and when we were able to test the food, we thought we really need to bring it back to our friends and family.”

The Zenn’s aren’t new to the food industry, having both worked at Sonic and Burger King while growing up. But this is their first venture in restaurant ownership.

After several years in different careers, the duo decided it was time for a new adventure. They spoke with a franchise consultant who gave them several potential businesses to partner with, zeroing in on HCK after visiting the company in Virginia.

Besides the cuisine, the Zenn’s liked HCK’s motto of “unity through food,” where the company donates a percentage of sales to area nonprofits. From there it was simple.

“We kind of fell in love with them,” Carla Zenn said. “That’s what made us to go ahead and move forward with the restaurant.”

While the fried chicken sandwich is the star of the show, the menu has plenty to offer.

Billy Zenn recommends the loaded mac and cheese bowl, which is topped with fried chicken and various sauces. Another option is the chicken and waffles, where hot syrup and crunch meet.

“I don’t care where you try other different styles of chicken sandwiches, this has a distinct flavor and taste that just makes you want to come back,” Billy Zenn said.

To celebrate Saturday’s grand opening, the restaurant is offering $5 sandwiches per person all day long and coupons for a free sandwich with any purchase for future visits.

HCK Hot Chicken will open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.