Homegrown Nashville Hot Chicken Comes to City Heights

The Nashville Hot Chicken craze that has practically swathed the country in fiery fried chicken has yet to really take hold in San Diego but a new fast food restaurant taking flight in City Heights hopes to be a front-runner in launching the trend locally. FireBirds Chicken opens today in a 2,300-square-foot space on University Avenue that includes a patio.

Co-founder Abraham Kesablyan and his partner are both full-time students at UCSD who have spent the last year honing FireBirds’ menu into a pared-down lineup that centers around their Big Ol Sandwich, which features a boneless fried chicken breast, coleslaw, pickles, and cheese. It’s dressed with signature FireSauce that comes in mild, medium, hot, or “daredevil” spice levels. Other menu items include a duo of sliders made with fried chicken tenders on Hawaiian buns, a pair of tenders served with buttered toast, and FireFries — French fries topped with chicken and all the fixings.

The counter-service eatery is open daily at 11:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Kesablyan tells Eater that the partners are hoping to turn FireBirds into a chain, with plans to launch the next location within the next few months.