KIRKWOOD, Mo. — Heaterz Hot Chicken, a quick service restaurant specializing in Nashville hot chicken, is holding a grand opening Sunday for its third location in the St. Louis region.
The new restaurant, which had a soft opening Oct. 21, is located at 129 W. Jefferson Ave. in Kirkwood, adjacent to PJ’s Tavern. The menu will be the same as Heaterz other locations: fried chicken, served plain or Nashville hot style — a spicy sauce-soaked version served with pickles. The menu also offers shrimp, livers and gizzards, and sides including street corn, collard greens, fries and spicy cheese curds.
Dan King, the chain's owner, is a nurse by trade. He spent years in the profession and, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, was initially looking to buy a health clinic.
“I was going through a business broker, and I kept reading about this other business listing, and it sounded like Alton Sports Tap,” King said. “I grew up there. I always loved that restaurant.”
With friends already a part of the culinary field and with an exciting opportunity in front of him, King said he decided to take the jump. He purchased the sports bar, at 3812 College Ave. in Alton, in March 2021.
“People ask me, ‘Well, how did you know how to start a restaurant?’” he said. “You know what I tell them? ‘I didn’t.’ It was just, every day, asking myself, ‘What can I accomplish today? What did I learn today that I can accomplish tomorrow?’”
Things worked out, and almost exactly a year later, King opened the first Heaterz location, also in his hometown of Alton, at 1500 Main St.
“There’s a lot of similarities between health care and hospitality,” he said. “It’s taking care of people, it’s being genuine, it’s finding a way to connect to people. I just thought a lot of that translates.”
In addition to its locations in Alton and now Kirkwood, Heaterz Hot Chicken’s second brick-and-mortar location opened in September at 127 N. Belt East in Swansea.
All the locations are company-owned, King said, with the company having purchased real estate for its first two locations. King is partnering with lifelong friend Adam Hartig, the owner of PJ’s Tavern, on the Heaterz in Kirkwood, he said. An entity affiliated with Hartig owns the property, according to county records.
Heaterz keeps its opening costs lower by moving into spaces previously occupied by quick service restaurants, King said, as these locations are already fitted with the many of a restaurant's necessities and need a makeover rather than a large-scale renovation. The Kirkwood location is taking over the western end of Jefferson Banquets, event space that's run by PJ's Tavern.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
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