The “best damn chicken in Gem City” is growing beyond its Kettering store to two new locations in the region. This will create new dining options along with new jobs.
The newest locations, both slated to open their doors in 2023, will be in Dayton and Englewood.
Chicken Head’s, a fast casual concept kitchen specializing in premium, chef-crafted fried chicken sandwich, is expanding from its Ghost Kitchen facility on Dorothy Lane to two additional locations — one at 865 N. Main St. in Dayton, and one on Union Boulevard in Englewood. The Englewood location is slated to open by the end of January 2023, and the Dayton location will open as the restaurant’s flagship store sometime in spring of 2023.
For Anthony Head, owner and head chef at Chicken Head’s, keeping the new locations of his restaurant connected to Dayton was never a question.
“We really want to show some investment and be leaders in getting reinvestment going in that area of Dayton,” Head said. “Having done our research and read the investment perspectives, I decided to go all in — savings and everything.”
Dayton natives will recall 865 N. Main St. once housed Chicken Louie’s — by late spring 2023, the location will be what Head calls the crown jewel of Chicken Head’s. The basement level of the building will serve as the business’ production kitchen, while the first floor will be a traditional quick-service restaurant. There are five to six concepts going into the location — Head is doubling down on the Ghost Kitchen concept, and will be offering drive-through service, a pick-up window, and delivery.
Additionally, a goal of the Dayton location is to offer multiple restaurants under one roof. Head wanted to provide space for other entrepreneurs to market and sell their product, as it greatly reduces capital needed to get them to the next level.
“We often say it’s a tier two incubation kitchen — we don’t work with startups, you have to have an establish brand, but maybe you don’t have the capital to invest in larger-scale equipment,” Head said. “It’s really driving these businesses that want to take the next step.”
The renovations to the Dayton location total $1.2 million and will be done by Chris Shay of Global Restaurant Source. Currently, Head is utilizing multiple resources on the federal, state and local levels including the Dayton Recovery Plan to help fund the expansions, and is looking to work with CityWide Development to secure additional funding options, including the First Floor Fund.
In addition to the Englewood location serving the full Chicken Head’s menu, it is planned to serve as a satellite kitchen for popular food truck Slide Thru, which serves a variety of sandwich sliders and sides, as well as The Cookieologist, a bake-to-order cookie dealer. The Cookieologist currently provides fresh baked cookies at the Ghost Kitchen facility and is popular among customers. While nothing is set in stone, Head is looking to partner with a local brewery for the Englewood location.
The Englewood location will be run by Kali Muhammad II, CEO of Slide Thru, and Isiah Davis, owner of The Cookieologist. The Ghost Kitchen concept is planned to be expanded at this location, and Head plans to test new technology and methods in producing the Chicken Head’s products.
“This is the next step — setting up small, satellite stores with a small staff, putting out great food and really leveraging the other larger locations to produce that food,” Head said.
Chicken Head’s currently has five employees at their Ghost Kitchen facility at 1122 E. Dorothy Lane in Kettering, and with the Englewood and Dayton locations, will grow their workforce to anywhere from 16 to 24 employees to start, with the Dayton location planned to grow to 40 employees over time.
