AUSTIN — A cloud of spices fill the air where Nate Dominguez is coating a hunky piece of fried chicken, preparing to place it on a bun with cole slaw and slices of roasted jalapeño.
It’s his special take on the Nashville classic hot chicken sandwich.
“I found the perfect way to blend spice and sweetness at the same time. It leaves you craving every single bite,” Dominguez said.
It’s a taste unique to Hawt Chicken in North Austin.
Six months ago, the restaurant was just a dream. Adam Oliver, a Navy veteran, had the original idea to open a hot chicken restaurant. At 51, Oliver had a long career in high growth companies in California, but cancer made him step back and look at life differently.
Oliver said he wanted to do something he loved that would get him out of bed every day and after some thought, it turned out to be food. One of his favorites is the Nashville hot chicken sandwich.
“I actually visited Nashville and I’ve kinda been obsessed with it ever since,” Oliver said.
Oliver tried and tried again to recreate his obsession but just couldn’t get the recipe for a hot chicken sandwich right. He was on the verge of giving up.
That’s when he went to Craigslist looking for a professional.
“Nate has a sushi background which is what got my attention. Sushi is an art. It takes commitment. You don’t just fall into it,” Oliver said of his first interaction with Nate Dominguez.
At 26, Dominguez was a top chef at Catalina Island in California and already had experience running different restaurants. Oliver put the ingredients in front of Dominguez and the Hawt Chicken specialty was born.
The duo recruited another culinary expert, Brian Pearce. The 34-year-old is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps Special Forces who spent three tours in Afghanistan.
Oliver admits they didn’t have a lot of extra money to work with and a glaring problem was the cost of opening a restaurant in LA which could reach upwards of $1 million.
He started reaching out to potential partners and one was Kitchen United, a familiar company because the original opened just down the street from where he lived in Pasadena.
Kitchen United provides separate, private kitchens for companies in one building and focuses on delivery and take-out only.
Oliver says he caught wind of a new location opening in Austin, so his team packed their bags and headed to Central Texas.
Oliver says it cost less than $10,000 to open in the shared kitchen concept, a roughly 95 percent savings.
The Texas Restaurant Association told Spectrum News there are too many variables to estimate the cost of opening a stand-alone restaurant in Austin. While in some areas it may rival the cost of opening in LA, on average opening a restaurant will usually cost more than six figures. A survey done by restaurantowner.com showed the median cost to be around $375,500.
Oliver says it would have taken the permitting process around a year in LA, but the process was done in Austin with the shared kitchen in about 10 days.
The kitchen allows restaurant owners to provide restaurant quality, fresh food. Although the space, not including the walk in, is under 200 square feet, other restaurants have had no trouble providing their favorite dishes.
Of course, it goes without saying, Oliver and Dominguez opened their restaurant during a risky time considering the pandemic has forced restaurant owners to pivot and offer new options. Fortunately, the model of delivery and pick-up set up HAWT Chicken for immediate success.
“We were slightly ahead of the curve,” Oliver said. “It’s been very rewarding, but obviously there’s still a risk. We just hope we can continue. So far it’s been great.”
So Austin is where their footprint begins, but thanks to the early success, Oliver is planning to expand the menu, offering four or five concepts and eventually expand the brand to 20 locations around the U.S.