RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After almost three years in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom, Hot Chick has officially closed, the restaurant’s website says.
The self-proclaimed “Fried Chicken Joint” opened in January 2019, with an open kitchen-style interior and a menu catering to all of your fried chicken needs. From chicken tacos, to chicken and waffles, buffalo chicken mac and cheese and the tried and true fried chicken sandwich, Hot Chick seemed to have it all, yet, it silently shuttered its doors before the first day of the new year.
The restaurant notified the public of the closing of the 17th Street brick-and-mortar on the front page of its website, where a message was posted quietly, and without fanfare after its closing.
DEAR FRIENDS,
THOUGH WE HAVE CLOSED OUR DOORS FOR BUSINESS ON 17TH STREET, HOT CHICK WILL BE REBORN INSIDE OF THE EAT RESTAURANT PARTNERS SCOTTS ADDITION FOOD HALL IN LATE 2023.
WE WANT TO THANK ALL OUR BELOVED GUESTS FOR THE LOVE AND SUPPORT OVER THE PAST 5 YEARS. SEE YOU ALL SOON!
Notice of closing on Hot Chick website
8News stopped by the restaurant Monday, Jan. 2 to find no notice of closing on the door, and a Google search of the restaurant still shows normal hours for the now-shuttered Hot Chick.
Hot Chick’s final hours coincided with that of a more publicly mourned Richmond restaurant, one owned by the same restaurant group. The popular Asian street food restaurant located across town, EAT Restaurant Partners’ Foo Dog, provided a two-week notice before closing on its last night of service on Dec. 31, 2022.
As the second EAT Restaurant Group-owned eatery to close in the final days of 2022, the sudden ending of Hot Chick brings forth the question – is the food hall concept the way of the future? Well, it is for these two restaurants.
According to the closure notices given by EAT, both Hot Chick and Food Dog are expected to make appearances in the restaurant group’s planned Scotts Addition food hall in late 2023.
