Dive Brief:

• Wing Zone launched a spinoff brand with a menu focused on Nashville-style hot chicken on Friday, the company said in a statement emailed to Restaurant Dive.
• Wing Zone Hot Chicken and Wings Restaurant, currently has one restaurant in Las Vegas, which opened on Friday. It features hot chicken tenders and hot chicken sandwiches, and emphasizes dry-rub wings on the rest of its menu.
• Hot chicken concepts have grown rapidly in the last several years. Brands like Dave’s Hot Chicken have leapt from a handful of units to national prominence, and smaller players like New England-based Haven Hot Chicken have rapidly built regional bases. 

Dive Insight:

Wing Zone Hot Chicken and Wings Restaurant is optimized for off-premise traffic, mirroring the development plans of major chains across segments. But Wing Zone didn’t respond to a request to clarify how this store model differs from its traditional restaurants, or if Wing Zone will eventually offer the concept’s Nashville-style hot chicken items, before press time. 

“Wing Zone Hot Chicken and Wings prioritizes dry rub offerings, which deliver a more quality product when not eaten immediately,” the company said. This focus on dry rub differentiates the hot chicken concept’s menu from Wing Zone’s offerings, which include a wider variety of sauces alongside dry rub wings. 

The hot chicken spinoff also features updated branding to cater to shifting consumer preferences, Ashley Morris, CEO of Wing Zone, said in a statement.

A Nashville-style concept could put Wing Zone, which has about 30 North American and 60 international locations, in a position to benefit from booming consumer demand for hot chicken. Hot chicken first emerged on the national scene before the COVID-19 pandemic, after a long period as a food specific to largely Black neighborhoods in Nashville, according to The New Yorker. Since then, chains have begun capitalizing on consumer interest, with KFC launching hot chicken products for a time in 2016, and Dave’s Hot Chicken riding a wave of social media interest to national franchising growth.