One new entrant to the competitive chicken space is Howling Hot Chicken, a new fast-casual fried chicken spot in Bridgeport, Conn. Developed by the team behind Italian restaurant Spazzi and ice cream concept Milkcraft, Howling Hot Chicken serves up flavored fried chicken made-to-order with a customizable spice level that runs all the way up to Reaper, which requires a signed waiver before purchase. Traditional Southern sides like creamy mac and cheese and house-made slaw round out the menu.

While Howling Hot Chicken is opening its doors for the first time, other chicken spots are changing existing concepts with the times. Lil’ Sweet Chick, for instance, from the team behind casual-dining spot Sweet Chick in Brooklyn, is the new fast-casual redesign of that casual-dining spot.

Sweet Chick originally opened in 2013 and became known for its chicken and waffles, eventually expanding to five locations, four in the New York City area and one in Los Angeles — two markets that have had some of the more restrictive COVID-19 regulations for restaurants.

After months of shutdowns and concerns around staffing and safety, the owners knew they had to think of a new approach. New York native and restaurateur John Seymour took a step back and moved into the fast-casual arena, effectively closing all dine-in options and converting to takeout and delivery.

“Shifting from a multiunit full-service restaurant to a fast-casual concept has been internally challenging from an operations standpoint, [as has] communicating to our customer base that although our offerings and in-restaurant experience may have changed, we are still the same brand that customers have come to love,” Seymour said.

Describing the brand as “new American comfort,” Lil’ Sweet Chick introduced an all-day menu, a first for the brand. The breakfast menu has, of course, chicken and Belgian waffles along with a variety of chicken and biscuit options. The lunch and dinner menu remains similar to the original with chicken sandwiches and chicken and waffles as well as the classics from the former casual-dining spot: lil’ shrimp and grits and a bucket of fried chicken.

All five units — including the two opened in collaboration with rapper Nas in Los Angeles and Long Island City, Queens — have been converted to the new fast-casual format.

“I have big plans for the brand this year and am considering franchising nationally, as long as I can attract the right partners who share our vision,” Seymour said.

A popular nighttime spot in Miami also made the move into the limited service segment with its spinoff Bodega Taqueria.

The quick-service-style outpost of Miami’s popular nightlife spot and taco brand, Bodega Taqueria y Tequila — known for the bar in front and party in the back pre-COVID — builds on the nightlife brand’s taco portion with a robust menu and colorful atmosphere. The counter-service concept positions itself as falling between a quick-service and fast-casual experience.

Bodega Taqueria — which has three locations planned for 2021 — loses the speakeasy that its parent brand had but brings the entertainment in other ways. Jared Galbut, co-founder of parent company Menin Hospitality described the aesthetic as “garage chic” seeing as how each location will sell tacos out of an Airstream trailer while the interior is adorned in graffiti and guests sit on picnic tables. This look is a nod to the original Bodega Taqueria y Tequila which is well-known among the locals for the Airstream sticking out of its kitchen.

Restaurant groups like Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) and Tao Hospitality Group have also stepped up to the plate with inventive virtual concepts using existing restaurant kitchens.

Before the pandemic began, LEYE was branching out into virtual restaurants through a partnership with Grubhub where original, virtual concepts were created for delivery-only service throughout Chicago. With this infrastructure already in place, the group was primed and ready to adapt to the challenges COVID brought to the restaurant industry.

During the pandemic, LEYE introduced nine virtual brands ranging from a virtual bar from the team behind Three Dots and a Dash to a fast-casual version of its popular Summer House Santa Monica. Some of the new concepts and menu items, however, weren’t new at all but old favorites brought back from old menus long removed for one reason or another.

“We found [success when] we’ve brought back either items or concepts from the Lettuce vault. [LEYE has a] history of being around for 50 years, [and we learned] that people have a lot of built-in affinity for some restaurants that may not be open anymore,” LEYE president RJ Melman said.

The most recent iteration was a soup-only restaurant operating out of the Summer House kitchen called Coastal Soups. Some of the soups are former “classics” on the Summer House Santa Monica menu that were taken off the menu at one point or another but have seen a boom since the introduction of Coastal Soups. Cold soups with warm-weather flavor profiles could be added later to give the concept appeal year-round.

Coastal Soups has been such a success for the company in the short time that Melman said he “could see a brick-and-mortar Coastal Soups in the future. … We are fairly flexible.”

In New York City, Tao Hospitality Group, known for its nightclub ventures and rooftop bars in trendy New York neighborhoods, has opened new virtual limited-service Luchini Italian. The brand’s menu conjures up images of family-style meals or restaurants with red-and-white checked tablecloths, a far cry from the decadence of other Tao concepts like LAVO — despite the fact that Luchini Italian produces its meals in LAVO’s kitchen. 

This Italian virtual restaurant has plenty of fast-casual sandwich options in the traditional hero style with favorite flavor combos like eggplant rollatini and a Cubano, while also boasting a large pizza menu including thin crust and the restaurant’s own consigliere pizza. The consigliere boasts a thicker crust and is rectangular  — almost like a Sicilian slice mixed with a grandma pie.

The classic Italian menu was developed by chef Ralph Scamardella, a son of Italian immigrants, who serves as partner and chef of Tao Group Hospitality and was behind the menus at LAVO Italian Restaurant (in New York and Las Vegas), TAO Beach in Las Vegas, TAO Downtown in Chelsea, Bodega Negra at Dream Downtown, The Rickey and Fishbowl at Dream Midtown.