One of the biggest looming trends in Dallas is Nashville hot chicken, and here's a new one that's locally grown: Called Hot Chicks Chicken, it's going to feature the buzzy spicy hot fried chicken said to hail from Nashville, but with what it hopes will be a few twists to set it apart.

Hot Chicks comes from One Entertainment Group, who already operate a number of restaurants and bars around Dallas-Fort Worth including Landmark, The Yard, and Texas Republic. Founders Sam Sameni and Shaul Sultan have managed to roll with the punches dealt in 2020, keeping most of their concepts running and afloat despite the harrowing effects of the coronavirus.

But with the COVID-19 restrictions, they recognized the need to diversify, and both were fans of Nashville hot chicken, Sameni says.

"We know that Nashville hot chicken is about to get very big in Dallas-Fort Worth, but we feel like our approach will stand out," he says. "We start off with good fried chicken, which takes a dip in a hot spicy bath, and then you can customize it to the heat level you want. We'll have five spice levels, from no spice to hot as fuck."

They're also going to take a pretty strict approach to the way they prepare things.

"We're going to do everything fresh and house made, which you'd be surprised is not the norm in this cuisine," he says. "We'll be shredding the cabbage for our coleslaw and making the sauces ourselves. The chicken will never be frozen, always fresh. And we're going to make crinkle-cut French fries inhouse."

What? If there's one thing that's practically guaranteed about crinkle-cut fries, it's that they're always frozen. Even the crinkle-cut fries at Shake Shack are frozen. Especially the crinkle-cut fries at Shake Shack.

"Everyone thinks we're crazy, and there is not a machine that will cut the potatoes into crinkle-cut fries, you have to do it by hand," he says. "We tasted nine versions of frozen crinkle-cut fries, hoping we'd find one we prefer, but you can't compete with homemade."

Another thing they'll be doing that's unique at a Nashville hot chicken place: tacos.

"We wanted to stay true to Texas, so we're doing a taco with a chicken tender, at the spice level you like, with cole slaw and pickles on top," he says. "The taco on our menu is actually my fave food item. The tortilla gives it a balance. It's not as bready."

They'll get their buns daily from a local Dallas bakery, one that has devised a soft brioche roll that's perfect for the sandwich.

They'll also offer chicken tenders and loaded fries that are topped with, yes, chopped chicken.

They'll serve alcohol including boozy slushies and those include iced tea slushies and lemonade slushies, which he says makes a great complement to the chicken.

They're locking down locations in Dallas, Plano, and Fort Worth — Sameni doesn't want to jinx it by saying where — but they've started scheduling pop-ups to give people a sneak preview. The first is on September 21 at 11 am until the food runs out, at Texas Republic Bar & Kitchen in the West Seventh District in Fort Worth. You can sign up on their website to get added to their alert list.