Poppycox and its Nashville hot chicken is not new to the Charlotte area, but the brand is preparing to take a big step forward.
Poppycox has leased a brick-and-mortar space at Optimist Hall, with plans to open this fall, owner Michael Kocak confirmed in a phone call with What Now Charlotte.
Kocak launched Poppycox as a pop-up in 2022, introducing his Nashville hot chicken to Charlotte. After gaining popularity, he decided to open up a food truck, which has been operating since the end of 2022.
“We’ve been building a name and everything,” Kocak said. “Then this opportunity with Optimist Hall came to us this year, and we just couldn’t say no.”
For customers familiar with the food truck, Poppycox’s menu will look familiar when it opens at Optimist Hall. It will feature Poppycox’s usual offerings, including chicken sandwiches, tenders and crazi fries, with varying levels of spice offered for the chicken. Kocak hopes to expand the menu by the end of the year to include more chicken options, including leg quarters, breast quarters and wings. He might add some more options for sides, as well.
For Kocak and his family, this brick-and-mortar is just the beginning of the planned growth for Poppycox. He hopes to continue to build brand recognition and search for opportunities to expand in Charlotte and beyond.
“I would like it to grow as much as it can, whether that means more brick-and-mortars that my family and I own or that there’s an angel investor that brings up some franchising opportunities,” Kocak said. “But we definitely want growth and to get Poppycox known in North Carolina as a whole rather than just Charlotte.”
