Its Boise restaurant closed. Now Meridian, too. Is this new local chicken chain cooked?
Opening a restaurant isn’t for the faint of heart.
But creating a local brand with intent to grow it? That takes vision. And a sober understanding that the plan might wind up cooked.
Or, in the case of Clucks Nashville Hot Chicken, deep-fried.
After debuting in Meridian in fall of 2021, then expanding to downtown Boise in 2022, the fledgling Idaho chain has vanished from sight.
The latest development? Clucks’ original and final location at 3223 E. Louise Drive in Meridian — near Buffalo Wild Wings in the Portico at Meridian Center — has closed. The space is available for sublease.
That follows the demise of the Boise expansion restaurant at 345 S. 8th St. in the BoDo district. It went dark this summer. Those were the only two Clucks stores opened, despite grander plans.
Are these setbacks temporary? Or does this spell the end for Clucks? An email to a Clucks partner Wednesday was not immediately returned. When the brand launched, he said Clucks hoped to multiply to six locations by the end of 2023.
Not to ruffle any fast-food feathers, but the turn of events might suggest that the flock of chicken chains opening in the Boise area needs to mellow out a bit. Especially in Meridian?
Forget Dave’s Hot Chicken — maybe someone should open a Dave’s Not Chicken, as I recently wrote. Besides Clucks and Dave’s, other recent poultry newcomers to Meridian include Slim Chickens and Houston TX Hot Chicken.
Last year, Big Chicken said it planned to move into the Treasure Valley at locations to be determined. That’s the brand founded by Shaquille O’Neal. My attempts to nail down an update have been unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, national chain Raising Cane’s told CBS2 last year that it was targeting 2024 to move into the Boise area.
We shall see.
In the meantime, if we must have more chain chicken, can we put it inside a tortilla? May I puh-leeze get one of my nostalgic childhood favorites, Taco John’s, back to within 100 miles of Boise?
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 12:03 PM.