Hattie B's Hot Chicken is opening in Knoxville on Aug. 12, and it truly feels like a homecoming.
Opening a Knoxville restaurant was always the goal for Hattie B's co-founder Nick Bishop Jr. and executive chef Brian Morris. The world-famous Nashville chain landed on a ground-floor spot inside the Hub Knoxville student apartment building at 2001 Cumberland Ave.
"Knoxville was a place from the very beginning we wanted to make our way to," Bishop told Knox News. "It was always on the map with a pin in it."
Knoxville is the 20th location of Hattie B's, which Bishop started with his father in 2012. Since the first location opened in Nashville, the brand has grown into a flock of restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. In November,
Hattie B's was named a "Recommended" restaurant in the Michelin Guide's debut American South list.
More Knoxville locations are coming, Bishop told Knox News, but "the Strip was always the place we wanted to start first."
Hattie B's will span 3,300 square feet, with 64 dining room seats and 33 more seats on the covered patio. Its menu offers everything from bone-in chicken to tenders to sandwiches, with spice levels ranging from mild to "shut the cluck up."
Knoxville ties to a Nashville original restaurant
Volunteer orange has seeped its way into the red-hot company. Morris attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1998, met his wife when he was a Volunteer and started his culinary career on the Strip.
"It's taken us to a cool place. Right back on Rocky Top," Morris told Knox News.
While attending UT, Morris worked at Copper Cellar on the Strip, which closed in 2023 after 48 years to make way for new student apartments. He worked his way up from line cook to sous chef from 1998-2000 before leaving for culinary school in New York City.
It's only fitting the new Hattie B's will bring him right back home, he said.
"We knew we will have made it when we made it to Knoxville," Morris said. "To be back on the same block 30 years later is surreal. It's super nostalgic."
Hattie B's launched a new sauce for the first time in 10 years just ahead of the Knoxville opening. HattieQ, a sweet and creamy barbecue sauce, will be available alongside a few limited items the Knoxville restaurant when it opens.
Hattie B's will be open 10:45 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays and 10:45 a.m.-1 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.
"It's taken longer than we liked, but we are excited to show up the right way," Bishop said.
Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com; Instagram: @knoxeat65. Sign up for Joanna's Eat65 email newsletter to get the latest drink and dining news, as well as restaurant recommendations, at knoxnews.com/newsletters.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Hattie B's Hot Chicken opens soon on the Strip with 'super nostalgic' ties
