Hot Birds' chicken sandwiches are flying off the shelves on Magnolia Avenue

Knoxville: Come for the religion, stay for the Hot Birds.

That’s been the plan for Amin Islam.

Islam grew up in Queens, N.Y., and was best buddies with Ashraf Ali. They were both children of immigrants whose lives were focused on their Muslim faith.

After Islam got his degree in business and politics from Stony Brook University, he went to work remotely in the tech field. Ali did likewise − until 2019.

“We decided to take a year away from work and learn more about our faith,” Islam said.

It’s not that they had intentions to become leaders in their religion, they just wanted to be more informed. They attended Tayseer Seminary in West Knoxville.

“We had never planned on staying here,” Islam said. “But we found Knoxville was a great place. We made friends and got involved in the community.”

Loving to cook

After a year away, Islam got back into the tech workforce remotely. He was working for a company in California. In the tenuous business, Islam got caught up in tech layoffs. By last summer, he was without a job.

“I had a passion for real estate and cooking,” Islam said. “I got my real estate license, but the way housing has been in Knoxville, that wasn’t going to work.”

So ... cooking it was.

When Islam was young, he spent a lot of time in his parents’ kitchen learning how to cook. When his parents bought a house in 2012, his contribution was a Weber grill.

“I would barbecue everything,” he said. “Any meat you could think of, I’d barbecue it.”

Ali continued his work in graphic design while Islam went all in on cooking.

“I had three pop-ups (food sales) this summer,” he said. “Two were in my friend’s backyard and one was at the International Food Festival (at World’s Fair Park).”

At the festival, he sold out of all 275 chicken sandwiches that were made. That gave him a burst of confidence.

“I got some very positive responses from people who bought the sandwiches,” he said.

That was the motivation that sent him to open Hot Birds.

High quality is key

Hot Birds is a cautious approach to food preparation. Islam operates out of a commercial kitchen at 2004 E. Magnolia in East Knoxville. Orders are taken online and the food is picked up at the location.

Nov. 11 was his first day of operation.

“It was crazy,” Islam said. “We sold out of the 200 sandwiches we had.”

For now, the menu is very limited. Chicken sandwiches only. There are three varieties of coatings that have a special blend of spices. Some are hot. Some are hotter.

“We don’t have any bone-in options yet,” he said.

There are fries, cole slaw and mac & cheese to add to the combo plates. Sandwiches are $9, combo plates are $12.

“Our dedication is to very, very high-quality food,” Islam said. “We won’t cut any corners. Everything is high-quality ingredients.”

Hours are 5-9 p.m. Friday and 12-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

To order, go to www.gethotbirds.com.

Islam’s long-range plan is to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant either downtown or in West Knoxville.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Hot Birds chicken sandwiches rock Magnolia Avenue in Knoxville