Founded by father-son duo Mike and Anthony Sarago and Chef Frederic Gilmore only three years ago, HCK Hot Chicken is a new hot chicken restaurant whose growth is picking up steam through franchising. There’s already one location open in Sarasota, and another (the chain’s eighth) opens in Tampa on December 9 at 3343 West Shore Blvd.
Behind Tampa’s first HCK (which means Hot Chicken Kitchen) location are brothers and franchisees Hunter and Rolston Boon. The two brothers are contracted for fifteen locations in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, and Hunter Boon says they are currently searching for more locations in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
The story behind the Boons’ relationship with HCK Hot Chicken is one of pure serendipity. Hunter says he walked into the Sarasota location practically at random and was immediately sold on the concept.
“I said wow, the food is great, and the owner told me, ‘Well, we’ve been open a month, and this is only store number five,’” Boon told What Now on Friday. “I liked the sound of that. On a Sunday I had the first meal there, and I had the second that Wednesday.”
That was in November. By that December, the franchise contract was signed. What sold the brothers on HCK Hot Chicken so quickly, Boon says, is the tastiness of its food, the streamlined simplicity of its menu, and its growth potential as a new concept.
The menu keeps it simple, with HCK’s hot chicken coming in forms like the Nashville Style Chicken Sandwich, Loaded Fries, Chicken & Waffles, the Country Chicken Salad—along with Classic Bone-In Wings. It’s delicious, and (see above) quite photogenic too.
You can follow @hckhotchicken on Instagram to keep up with this growing chicken brand as it expands its premise in the Greater Tampa area.
