Chicago's Fried Chicken Revolution
Chicago has more fried chicken restaurants than you think.
Fried chicken chains are suddenly everywhere. Wicker Park is a prime example. Popeye’s opened in 2019 in the Polish Triangle. Recently, Mad Chicken opened across the triangle, and Chick-fil-A set up shop around the corner. Harold’s Chicken Shack and Wingstop already had locations on Milwaukee Ave. Hattie B’s announced it is going into the Urban Belly space by the Damen L stop.
This isn’t just happening in Wicker Park. More fried chicken spots are opening up across the city. Chicago has a mix of big national and international fried chicken chains, small local chains, and individual local restaurants. Together, they are taking over Chicago.1
Hattie B’s
The National Chains
Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane’s are the trendy fried chicken restaurants that have been opening in more and more Chicago neighborhoods. Chick-fil-A’s 14 Chicago locations and Raising Cane’s 6 Chicago locations are nothing compared to Popeye’s and Wingstop. Popeye’s has 34 shops in the city, while Wingstop has a shocking 35 Chicago restaurants.
These fried chicken restaurants join other chains with a smaller presence in Chicago. Church’s Texas Chicken has 10 locations on Chicago’s South and West Sides. Buffalo Wild Wings has 8 locations.
Are the new fried chicken restaurants driving KFC out? The chain, known as Kentucky Fried Chicken until it officially changed its name to KFC in 1991, had 21 Chicago locations, but several have closed recently, bringing the current total to 17.
How quickly are fried chicken chains expanding in Chicago?
In April 2025, Chick-fil-A announced plans to open 15 more restaurants in Chicago and the suburbs by 2027. That’s a rapid expansion for a restaurant that first came to Chicago in 2010. Raising Cane’s came to Chicago in 2018, and the brand announced a goal of opening 100 stores a year in 2022 and 2023.2 A total of 118 Raising Cane’s opened in 2024.3 Last year, Axios reported that Raising Cane’s already had 31 Chicago-area locations and was planning a huge expansion here.4
Popeye’s has been in Chicago for over 45 years and has been steadily opening more locations. The restaurant has been growing since releasing its popular fried chicken sandwich in 2019. In 2021, 208 new restaurants opened in the U.S. and Canada, and even more openings were planned for 2022.5
Wingstop first opened in Chicago in 2002. By 2012, there were 18 locations, and an announcement that 26 more restaurants would be opening in the area.
The abundance of fried chicken restaurants poses some questions: Do we want these chains? And how many fried chicken restaurants are enough?
The Louisiana-based Raising Cane’s opened at 3700 N Clark Street in 2021. Chick-fil-A opened at 3500 N Clark Street in 2023. The Nashville-based Hattie B’s opened at 3649 N Clark Street in 2026. That’s three fried chicken spots in four blocks. Are tourists and sports fans heading to Wrigleyville and eating fried chicken from chain restaurants without Chicago ties? Are the drunken twenty-somethings keeping them in business? Or is the market too crowded? Time will tell.
Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s, Popeye’s, Wingstop, Church’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and KFC have a total of 124 Chicago locations. For comparison, there are 105 McDonald’s and 45 Burger Kings; burgers are still more popular, but fried chicken isn’t far behind.
But, the chains pose another problem: they can afford astronomical rents.
Last year, Raising Cane’s opened up in the West Loop in the space previously occupied by Little Goat. Block Club reported that the chain paid a record-breaking amount of $100 per square foot for the lease, resulting in fear that chains would drive up rents in the neighborhood and price out local businesses.6
Smaller Chains Are Getting In On The Action
Mad Chicken dipped a toe into the Chicago market when it opened its first Chicago restaurant earlier this year. The chain has 21 other locations, mostly in the Midwest and Florida. CM Chicken, based in South Korea, has 4 Chicago shops. Guatemala-based Pollo Campero has four locations here. bb.q Chicken, another Korean import, has 3 Chicago shops, plus several in the suburbs. Filipino chain Jollibee opened its first Chicago location in 2020 and currently operates two restaurants in the city. Byrd’s Hot Chicken, Bad Mutha Clucka, and Dave’s Hot Chicken each have two Chicago locations. Noori, Crimson Coward, Nashville Hot Chicken, CityBird Tenders, and Daisy Dukes each have one Chicago location.
Immediately after opening its first Chicago location, Hattie B’s announced that two more locations would open in Wicker Park and River North.
Harold’s Chicken Shack
Even with national chains crowding the fried chicken market, local fried chicken restaurants keep opening. But one local legend was already dominating.
Of course, the most iconic local fried chicken chain is Harold’s Chicken Shack, with 14 locations in the city and franchises in other states. Harold’s opened in 1950 and has been a staple in Black Chicago communities. Harold’s was founded by Harold Pierce in 1988, with just $800, a single fryer, and his own recipe.7
In 2019, Chicago Magazine ranked all 20 locations that existed at the time. Harold’s Chicken #88 got top ranking,8, but some consider the Hyde Park location on 53rd Street to be THE Harold’s. There are fake Harold’s locations, too. The numbers and the name “Harold’s Chicken Shack” are signs of a true Harold’s, although the numbering system is a mystery.
The majority of Harold’s locations are in South Chicago neighborhoods.
Chicago-based Chains
JJ Fish & Chicken is a Chicago-based chain founded in 1982 with 14 locations on the South and West Sides. There are over 130 locations in Wisconsin and Illinois; it’s also popular in Georgia.
Shark’s Fish and Chicken has 9 locations in the city. The company’s founder is originally from Chicago. Hot Chi Chicken has four Chicago locations serving spicy fried chicken. The Budlong Southern Chicken, which was “born in Chicago and inspired by Nashville,” has four. Uncle Remus Saucy Fried Chicken has a trio of Chicago locations. Cleo’s, a Southern fried chicken and catfish spot, has 3 restaurants. Roost Chicken & Biscuits has two locations and a food truck. Lucy’s Fried Chicken and Smashburgers has two locations. Fry Chicken’ Fries has locations in Chicago and Niles.
Fry the Coop, based in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, specializes in Nashville hot chicken and has three Chicago locations. The company got its start in 2017, opened its first Chicago location in 2019, had 10 locations by 2025, and plans to open 75 in the next decade.9
There is no shortage of local independent fried chicken restaurants.
Chicago has some more gourmet fried chicken restaurants, like Honey Butter Fried Chicken, Parson’s Chicken & Fish, and GG’s Chicken Shop. Both Parson’s and GG’s are owned by prominent Chicago-based restaurant groups. Honey Butter got its start as a popular supper club known for its fried chicken and evolved into a mini-chain with three locations.
Chef Art Smith, who worked as Oprah’s personal chef, is known for his fried chicken. He currently has two Chicago restaurants: Blue Door and Reunion. Fried chicken has a prominent place on their menus, but these restaurants aren’t fried chicken joints. The same goes for Big Jones, Bavette’s, Frontier, Ina Mae’s, and Lilac Tiger. These are all full-fledged dine-in restaurants that feature fried chicken as one of many menu items.
Chicken Caesar wraps, often made with fried chicken, have become a major trend. Buttermilk Fry, which operates out of Little Victories in Wicker Park, is a sensation thanks to its perfectly juicy and crispy fried chicken. But, Buttermilk Fry is an outlier. Most of the other popular spots for chicken Caesar wraps are restaurants with a variety of menu items. Buttermilk Fry has a tiny fried-chicken-centric menu, which is why it’s included here.
Fried chicken is so popular that even the small local spots tend to have more than one location. Some of the more well-known single-location fried chicken restaurants include Crisp, Red Light Chicken, and Bonchon. Crisp, which specializes in Korean Fried Chicken, is in Lakeview. Red Light Chicken in Lincoln Park has a small menu of fried chicken nuggets and sandwiches. Korean Fried Chicken spot Bonchon recently closed its Wicker Park location, but its Chinatown location remains open.
Why Fried Chicken?
Fried chicken is one of those foods that is better at restaurants. It’s cumbersome and messy to make at home. The best fried chicken places have special seasonings and sauces that are hard to replicate at home. The chicken might be brined. Most restaurants use a deep fryer to prepare fried foods, the best tool for the job, and not something most people have at home.
Considering the fact that fried chicken is one of the more affordable takeout foods, it isn’t even worth the effort of making it at home. The cost of an order of three-piece tenders ranges from $7.99 at Popeye’s to $11 at GG’s Chicken Shop and $11.45 at Chick-fil-A. It makes more sense to let someone else do the cooking.
Is Fried Chicken Here To Stay?
Chicago has over 200 fried chicken restaurants across 77 neighborhoods. Is this sustainable? Do we love fried chicken this much? Or is this a trend destined for failure?
My prediction? Fried chicken chains will go the way of the cupcake chains. The trend is reaching its peak, but there isn’t enough demand to keep so many restaurants, specializing in the same food, in business. Legacy restaurants will survive. Chicagoans are very loyal to their longtime fried chicken joints.
While this discussion is focused on restaurants that truly specialize in fried chicken, and in many cases have menus that don’t offer much else, most fast food restaurants have chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and/or chicken tenders on their menus. This wasn’t always the case.
In 2019, Popeye’s introduced a fried chicken sandwich that had a massive impact on the fast food industry. It was immediately a hit with customers. In response, Chick-fil-A shared the above tweet, claiming that their chicken sandwich was the original. The Twitter interaction received significant attention, prompting media outlets to write articles, and resulted in a 38% increase in foot traffic at Popeye’s.10
This sparked the Chicken Sandwich Wars. Suddenly, everyone was coming out with a fried chicken sandwich and fighting for market dominance. By January 2021, just 18 months after Popeye’s chicken sandwich’s debut, 20 other fast food chains had added chicken sandwiches to their own menus.11 Today, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Arby’s, and Shake Shack all offer Popeye’s-inspired chicken sandwiches.
The impact of the fried chicken craze is that it has become an essential item on nearly all fast-food menus. Fried chicken is here to stay. Even if the 200+ fried chicken restaurants in Chicago may be a passing trend.
I’m being strict about talking about the number of locations within city limits.
This includes several locations outside of Chicago.
Interesting to review this from such a cool macro level!