KYN: “Chicken and Whaat?!” Opens Up Shop

DULUTH, Minn.– Despite this restaurant’s name being a big question there’s no doubt about it,

“Chicken and Whaaat?!” is attracting chicken lovers in West Duluth.

“My wife has been eagerly anticipating the opening here for a long time so yeah, we had it on the calendar,” said customer Jack Beahler.

What used to be Charley’s Cheesesteaks on North Central Ave, has now transformed into all things chicken.

And from the sounds of it, the excitement around this restaurant is fitting for its name.

“For the last two weeks I feel like I’m in the dream world. And now that it’s here, I still have a lot of things rattling around in my brain,” said ‘Chicken and Whaaat?!’ General Manager Nick Schutz.

The restaurant is focusing on you guessed it, chicken. And right now, they’re keeping things simple.

They’re offering six sandwiches on the menu, and a variety of different chicken tender meal options.

“We just opened. What you see today, is probably going to be different two weeks from now. But the feel, the vibe, the service, that’s going to be a constant,” said Schutz.

And you might be wondering, what about the “whaaat?!”

“The ‘whaaat?!’, is one of our signature sauces. We’re a little bit different than the rest of the chain restaurants. We have several different sauces, all of them are made in house,” explained Schutz.

The goal for this chicken joint, to change the uncertainty the building has been known for.

“You know, there’s a lot of skepticism built into this spot, as there are in a lot of other spots in Duluth. Some call it a ‘cursed location’.  But, with the support of the Hansen family and the Duluth Grill, and the staff that we’ve built, and this whole concept. I think this chicken is going to fly,” said Schutz.

And from the customers perspective, first impressions are already looking good.

“I got a hot honey chicken sandwich. Delicious, very good! Yeah, it seems great. Like I said, we’re new to the area, but we’ll definitely be back here,” said Beahler.

“We’ve got a very diverse group of people. Who have literally just met each other, and are working very closely, very successfully. Yeah, it’s going to be awesome,” said Schutz.

“Chicken and Whaaat?!” is open 7 days a week, and they’re open later for that late night chicken fix.