Chicken Guy in Livonia, the first metro Detroit location for Guy Fieri's chain, to close

In March, the first Chicken Guy restaurant in metro Detroit celebrated its first anniversary by handing out free milkshakes with all purchases.

Now, that location in Livonia will shutter at the end of business Sunday, the Free Press has learned.

Chicken Guy is the fast-casual chain of chicken restaurants from Food Network star Guy Fieri. The Livonia location is operated by Tomey Group, operators of more than 50 Jimmy John's locations in southeast Michigan.

“We have made the difficult decision to close Chicken Guy! Livonia on June 30th," Tomey Group said in an email to the Free Press. "The decision is driven by unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. We are incredibly grateful for the patronage we have received from our loyal customers and the local community, and for our team members and partners who have supported us through this journey. We are dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition for our team members and have offered opportunities within our other businesses.”

Chicken Guy's menu highlight was its chicken tenders – fried or grilled – with a choice of specialty, scratch made sauces, plus chicken sandwiches, sides of fries, mac and cheese, cole slaw and fried pickle chips.

Livonia was the first of many Chicken Guy locations planned by the Farmington Hills-based group. Ahead of the Livonia location opening, Anthony Tomey, the CEO of Tomey Group, said 20 Chicken Guy locations were planned for metro Detroit over the next 10 years.

Located at 30130 Plymouth Rd., the Livonia Chicken Guy was less than a half mile from a Chick-Fil-A restaurant, which opened a few months ahead of Chicken Guy. Also, nearby and less than two miles west of Chicken Guy, is Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, which also opened in 2023.

Another Chicken Guy location is located at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant.

Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on X (formerly Twitter.) Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press.