Chick 'n' Sours to convert Islington restaurant to CHIK’N concept

The restaurant’s final service as Chick 'n' Sours will be on Sunday (1 March), and it will reopen as CHIK’N in four to six weeks according to Wolanksi.

“When it comes to fried chicken, the grab-and-go market in the Upper Street area is under-serviced, so it’s a perfect location for CHIK’N to thrive,” he tells BigHospitality​.

The Islington site was originally intended to open as CHIK’N when Wolanski and Clarke signed for it in 2018, but they subsequently opted to launch their third Chick 'n' Sours restaurant there instead. 

CHIK’N was created as a scalable, higher quality alternative to more mainstream fast-food chicken shops, and opened its first restaurant on Baker Street back in 2017. 

However, Wolanski and Clarke later admitted to struggling to get to grips with the concept​​ in those early days, which stalled their plans to roll it out.

Now, however, Wolanski says they are now ready to open more CHIK’N locations.

A second site launched on Wardour Street in May last year, and now former PizzaExpress operations manager Jon Green being brought on board as managing director to help oversee further expansion plans.

“Our plan is to be very measured and considered with CHIK'N, and take it one site at a time," Green tells us.

"This is a great brand, with a loyal fanbase that's growing all the time, and we will be listening to and working with those people to bring CHIK'N to a wider market this year, and in the years to come."

The closure of the Islington site leaves Chick 'n' Sours with three London locations in Haggerston, Seven Dials, and Spitalfields.