Chicken Guy! Is Finally Open & It’s Already Attracting Big Crowds! 

If you haven’t yet driven to, or by, the new Chicken Guy! restaurant, which finally opened on Jan. 7, on the north side of S.R. 56 (across from the Tampa Premium Outlets, at 25769 Sierra Center Blvd.), well, let’s just say you might be the only person in Wesley Chapel who hasn’t. 

The brightly colored eatery, founded in 2018 and co-owned by restaurateur Robert Earl (the founder of the Planet Hollywood and Earl of Sandwich chains) and Food Network star Guy Fieri, has been packed virtually all the time from the moment it opened, especially the drive-through, which has caused some backups onto 56 from the traffic circle adjacent to the restaurant. 

The Neighborhood News was on hand for both the Friends & Family event on Jan. 6 and the actual opening the next day, when (l.-r. in top photo) Marcelo Cardoza (the manager of culinary operations for Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich, LLC), franchise co-owners Suhail Rifae and Moe Khalil were joined by Jason Taliaferro (the senior VP of Chicken Guy!) to introduce the Wesley Chapel/Lutz community to Chicken Guy!’s always-fresh chicken. 

Fieri, the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Flavortown,” offers several varieties of chicken at the new fast-casual chain, including his seasonal limited menu items like the pepperoni chicken parm sandwich (right photo, shown with Guy fries and the chopped cheese & chicken eggrolls), as well as “Big Bite,” two-tender sandwiches like the BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado & tomato; above photo, shown with mac & cheese and a thick, hand-spun Oreo Flavortown shake); the CG Classic and Buffalo Mac ‘N’ Cheese Sandwich. 

All of the fried sandwiches and tenders come lightly seasoned, so you can add your favorite Fieri-created sauce from “The Boss of Sauce” list (below). 

The good news is that if you’re not a fried chicken lover, all of the sandwiches and tenders also are available grilled, instead of fried, and there are two salad options (including the chopped chicken Caesar with chopped grilled tenders below left). 

About the only menu items we haven’t yet sampled are the fried chicken dumplings (topped with smoked bacon, green onions & sesame seeds) and a few shake varieties. Go give it a try! 

For info, call (813) 344-3311 or visit ChickenGuy.com & tell GM Trevor McIntyre (below) I sent you! 

Chicken Guy! To Open Tomorrow!

Despite all of the delays we’ve been reporting, it’s now official — Chicken Guy! will finally open at 25769 Sierra Center Blvd., on the north side of S.R. 56 (across from the Tampa Premium Outlets) tomorrow — Tuesday, January 7, at 10 a.m.

The Neighborhood News was able to attend the Friends & Family event at the new “Cypress Creek” location of Chicken Guy! earlier today and we sampled quite a bit of the menu. My favorite items were the BLAT (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado & Tomato) sandwich, the mac & cheese side dish and the hand-spun Oreo milkshake. Charmaine loved the pepperoni chicken parm sandwich (with garlic parmesan sauce) and the seasoned French fries, while Jannah’s favorites were the chopped chicken Caesar salad (with grilled, instead of fried, chicken tenders) and house-made Caesar dressing and the chopped cheese & chicken eggrolls. In other words, we each already have a lot of favorites to come back for and enjoy again.

Everything at Chicken Guy! definitely tasted fresh and we appreciate that not everything on the menu is fried — and that it isn’t automatically spicy. The recipes “from the Mayor of Flavortown” himself, Food Network star and restaurateur Guy Fieri, aka “The Boss of Sauce,” features more than a dozen different sauces, so definitely feel free to try them all and pick your own favorite(s).

Although the online ordering system likely won’t be up until the Lutz/Wesley Chapel location opens tomorrow, visit ChickenGuy.com for more information and please tell Trevor, the general manager, that the Neighborhood News sent you!

Chicken Guy! & Shake Shack Openings Delayed Again!

In the Dec 10 issue of New Tampa Neighborhood News (see below), we said that both Shake Shack and Chicken Guy! Were expected to open by one day this weekend, but as of today, both restaurants have told us that the expected openings of both fast casual eateries is now not expected until one day next week, with exact opening dates not yet set by either one until they receive their Certificates of Occupancy from Pasco County, pending final inspections.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page and the December 24 Wesley Chapel and January 7, 2025, New Tampa issues of Neighborhood News for updated opening dates for these hotly anticipated eateries.

Chicken Guy! & Shake Shack Both Expected To Open On Or Around December 13-14!

The long-awaited opening of the Tampa Bay area’s first-ever Chicken Guy location was scheduled at our press time on or around Saturday, December 14 (please check our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page regularly for a more precise opening date). Chicken Guy (top photo), founded by celebrity chef Guy Fieri and restaurateur Robert Earl, currently has a dozen locations, going up quickly to 18, including our “Cypress Creek” location at 25769 Sierra Center Blvd.

 The “Mayor of Flavortown” menu features hot and “O.G.” mild crispy (or grilled) chicken tenders (and “Big Bite” sandwiches), plus salads, fries, American slaw, mac & cheese and shakes (sound familiar?), although it does also sometimes feature “Limited Time” offers — such as pepperoni chicken parm sandwiches and chopped cheese & chicken egg rolls, fried chicken dumplings and more. The “Boss of Sauce” also offers everything from Nashville hot honey to avocado crema and many more sauces created by the Chicken Guy himself!

For more info, visit ChickenGuy.com.

Now with an expected opening on or around Friday, December 13, less than a 1/4-mile from Chicken Guy, is the Wesley Chapel/Lutz location of Shake Shack, in the former slot occupied by Wendy’s, at 25600 Sierra Center Blvd. (photo left). In addition to its variety of burgers — from black truffle to avocado bacon — as well as 100% Vienna® beef hot dogs, Shake Shack also offers (surprise!) crispy chicken sandwiches and bites, crinkle cut fries and shakes (including limited time shakes like Christmas Cookie and Apple Cider Donut), but with the added bonus of vanilla or chocolate frozen custard, which also can be included in your root beer or Creamsicle® float.

For more info, call (813) 696-6752 or visit ShakeShack.com. — GN

How Much Chicken Is Too Much? Plus, Steak ‘N Shake Opening Delayed Again

First, of course, there was Chick-fil-A. Then Popeyes. And PDQ. And Chick’n Fun. And King of the Coop. And Zaxby’s. And Slim Chickens. And Chicken Boss. 

But now, Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy is expected to open sometime next month on the north side of S.R. 56. Raising Cane’s has started to go vertical on the south side of 56 (next to Rock & Brews). Hangry Joe’s is getting ready to open in the failed King of the Coop location on S.R. 54 in front of The Grove. 

And, for those of you who prefer Korean-style fried chicken over anything American-made, Sweet Krunch Korean Fried Chicken & Boba Tea will be open in the former location of FJ Express in the Shoppes at New Tampa at 1832 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (just south of S.R. 56) by the time this issue reaches your mailbox. 

(And, for the record, Chicken Boss closed and has been replaced by Indian Street Kitchen). 

Of course, when your restaurant boasts the name of the host of “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives,” expectations are likely to be higher than for most of the other newcomers, even though the closest existing Chicken Guy location to us — in Winter Park, FL, reportedly faced eviction last year for unpaid rent and another in Michigan closed. The good news is that the fast-food joint co-founded by the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Flavortown” has several new additions to its menu, including chopped salad, Buffalo mac & cheese and hot chicken tenders. 

At the end of the day, Chicken Guy, Raising Cane’s and Hangry Joe’s are all just (primarily) fried chicken chains, so although I will try them all, anyone who has a slightly different concept is much more likely than the others to get my business on an ongoing basis. That’s why I plan to be on-site when Sweet Krunch opens on Sept. 12 (which is after this issue goes to press but before it hits mailboxes). I want to see if the fourth Florida Sweet Krunch location — with its parmesan zucchini fries, Korean-style chicken, shrimp or Bulgogi beef teriyaki bowls, Korean-style fried rice and even Japchae (stir-fry Korean glass noodles) — can keep me interested. For more info, visit SweetKrunchFL.kwick-menu.com or the Ballantrae location at 17788 Aprile Dr., Land O’Lakes.

Steak N Shake Opening Delayed Again

If you’ve been hankerin’ to try the original smashed steakburgers and delicious hand-spun milk shakes at the new Steak N Shake, located at 5542 Post Oak Blvd.  (on Wesley Chapel Blvd., next to The Palms Car Wash), we’re sorry to say that as of today, it still isn’t open — but should be sooner than later.

Owner Todd Webb says the long-awaited new Steak N Shake was (finally) set to open on Sept. 23 (tomorrow), then again on Sept. 30, but still had its final inspection delayed as we went to press with our Oct 1 Wesley Chapel issue. For more info, visit SteakNShake.com or stop in at The Palms Car Wash.