Howlin’ Willy’s Hot Chicken Coming to East Cobb

A hot chicken restaurant from the founder of Willy’s Mexicana Grill is opening soon in East Cobb.

Howlin’ Willy’s Hot Chicken serves fresh, hand-battered and cooked-to-order hot chicken tenders and wings. There are five heat levels guests can choose from: Not Hot, Kinda Hot, Sweet Heat, Willy Hot and Howlin’.

“Other hot chicken restaurants have a tendency to keep adding more cayenne to deliver on the heat, but our culinary whiz Darin Schaffer and I wanted to bring out more flavors, and we did this by adding various chili peppers to our dry rub seasonings for each heat level,” founder Willy Bitter said.

In addition to tenders and wings, the menu features a classic chicken sandwich and a chicken tender salad, along with sides including “ultimate fries” (fries covered in bacon bits and melted cheese), crinkle-cut fries, mac and cheese that is made-in-house twice a day, baked beans and coleslaw. Guests can also choose from various dipping sauces and dressings, or finish their meal with something sweet, including fried apple pies, fresh-baked cookies and milkshakes.

The new East Cobb location will offer catering services, with options like a tenders bar and a make-your-own-sandwich bar.

Fans can join the Willy Good Rewards program and receive a free order of “ultimate fries” from Howlin’ Willy’s or a medium cheese dip or guac from Willy’s Mexicana Grill.

Bitter founded Howlin’ Willy’s Hot Chicken after a trip to Nashville, where he fell in love with the city’s hot chicken offerings. The first Howlin’ Willy’s opened as an outpost inside the Willy’s Mexicana Grill Piedmont Park location, and two more soon followed in Hapeville and North Druid Hills.

The new location will be opening at 4250 Roswell Road in early April.

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