Despite the drizzle, Kyle Borrelli got in line at 7:30 a.m. in front of the new Haven Hot Chicken restaurant in Storrs, 2.5 hours ahead of the scheduled ribbon cutting.
“I was the first one in line at the grand opening at my home town in North Haven,” said Borrelli, noting that he and his friends became fans of Haven Hot Chicken at its first location in New Haven.
“We love the food,” he said. “It’s just a very delicious chicken. Their sauces are great.”
Borrelli said that the restaurant’s sauces range from very hot to very mild.
“You can go with anyone, because there are so many levels [of spiciness],” he said.
Borrelli’s favorite sauce?
“The Rob Sauce,” he said. “It’s just very flavorful.”
By a few minutes after the ribbon cutting, the new restaurant was packed, with a line snaking through the entire restaurant, with folks waiting for one of 500 free chicken sliders to be given away.
Rosangela had come all the way from Bridgeport because her son, a student at UConn, is an employee of the new restaurant.
“I came here because my son’s working,” she said, as she waited in the long line with the rest of the crowd.
Mansfield resident Betsy McCoach was headed to the grocery store when she noticed the long line.
“I knew it was opening today and I just happened to be going to Price Chopper,” she said. “This is a huge line.”
Haven Hot Chicken began as a series of pop-ups in New Haven. When the fourth pop-up ran out of food, “That’s when we realized we were onto something,” said Etkin Tekin, one of the business’ five owners.
The restaurant opened its first brick-and-mortar in New Haven in October of 2020, in the midst of COVID restrictions. The owners not only managed to make it work despite the challenges, but they opened up another location not long after, in North Haven.
The Storrs location is the fifth Haven Hot Chicken in the state, with others located in Orange and Norwalk. There are locations in Middletown and Newington in the works, scheduled to open the first quarter of 2024.
Asked why the owners chose Storrs as their fifth location, Tekin said it was only natural.
“There’s not a bigger brand then UConn in Connecticut,” he said. “Part of the storyline has to be serving up the bright future of the state.”
The brand is devoted to sustainability, using eco-friendly packaging made in the United States.
“And we believe in sustaining our community,” said Tekin.
The Great Banana Pudding Drive donates $1 to Connecticut Food Share for every banana pudding sold. Tekin said the company has donated $23,000 this year.
With a goal of opening 25 locations by the end of 2025, “We believe in having them company-owned, because we have a commitment to quality,” said Tekin.
Samples handed out at the Storrs grand opening were delicious, with a crispy, slightly spicy outside, and a juicy, tender inside.
Although chicken is the feature at Haven Hot Chicken, it is not the only dish offered. There is an oven-roasted, double-fried cauliflower steak sandwich available, for example, called the Not Chicken Sandwich. Chicken and Waffles features chicken tenders over a pair of waffles, drizzled with maple syrup and dusted with powdered sugar. Sides available are the above-mentioned banana pudding, creamy vinegar slaw, French fries, garlic-dill pickles, and mac and cheese.
Stop in at the newest Haven Hot Chicken Storrs location, at 1206 Storrs Road, to check out the full menu.
