Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken is bringing the heat to the Greater Houston region. The Dallas-Fort Worth-born small food chain is planned for a Braeburn neighborhood opening. According to the Houston Business Journal, the new Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken is expected to open at 9301 Southwest Freeway, Suite 270, in the Merlyn Plaza.
Construction is expected to start this summer and is slated to wrap up by the end of the year, according to a state filing. If all goes with the 2,100 square foot build-out, which is estimated to cost $240,000, and permitting, the new southwest Houston Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken should open by the end of this year.
What Now Houston reached out to the company owner and founder, Sal Afridi, to find out more details about the exciting expansion. Unfortauntely What Now did not hear back by the time of this publication.
“Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken is a hot chicken & waffles concept,” as the brand’s Facebook page reads.
Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken was founded in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the COVID-19 pandemic by Afridi. Afridi and his team spent six months developing their proprietary spices, testing various recipes before opening their flagship restaurant in Plano, Texas. The restaurant gained a following for its massive, inch-thick halal chicken sandwiches, tenders, and chicken & waffles.
There are now two Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken locations. But, Sal’s is not only expanding to southwest Houston. The brand is also slated to open in Rosenberg, meeting the demand for its halal-style hot chicken.
Authentic Nashville hot chicken traces its roots back to the 1930s in Nashville, Tennessee. According to local legend, Thornton Prince—a well-known womanizer—was served fried chicken heavily doused in cayenne pepper and spices by his furious girlfriend as punishment for coming home late.
Well, thank goodness for marital strife, I suppose, because now we have delicious eats like Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken.
Try it out for yourself when the new Sal’s Nashville Hot Chicken opens in the Merlyn Plaza at 9301 Southwest Freeway, Suite 270, towards the end of this year.
