Fried chicken news
Houston's Clutch City Cluckers brings tender chicken sandwiches to Frisco
Clutch City Cluckers chicken sandwich
There’s a new hot chicken sandwich on the horizon for Dallas-Fort Worth: Clutch City Cluckers, a fried chicken sandwich concept from Houston, is making its Dallas-area debut in Frisco at 15801 Rolater Rd. #206, in a new shopping center at Custer Road.
Clutch City serves Nashville-inspired hot chicken sandwiches made with fried chicken tenders, using Halal chicken, meaning they’re permissible or kosher to Muslim diners.
UPDATE 5-13-2025: According to owner Ahmad Kilani, the Frisco restaurant will celebrate a grand opening event on the weekend of May 24-25, 2025.
Kilani founded Clutch City in Houston in 2021, launching as a food truck during the height of the pandemic, in response to a heightened demand for both food trucks and hot chicken.
“There was a lot of demand for hot chicken, but there was no supply for it,” Kilani says. “That’s part of why we got started.”
The company has nine Clutch City food trucks: seven in the Houston area, plus one in San Antonio and another in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; plus two brick-and-mortar restaurants in Humble and overseas in Jordan, Kilani's native country. Frisco will be the third.
“DFW has always been on my radar, but Frisco in particular because it’s growing exponentially,” Kilani says. “Frisco has the most potential for us.”
The concept’s name is a nod to its hometown of Houston, which was nicknamed Clutch City after the Houston Rockets won the 1994 and 1995 NBA championships. And “Cluckers” is chicken, duh.
The menu is simple, with ample clucky puns. In addition to the fried chicken sandwiches, there are wings, tenders, tacos, and a chicken salad. Sandwiches are as follows:
- Cheesy Buns: queso cheese and pickles on a challah bun
- Cluck It Like It’s Hot: slaw, pickles, and cluck it sauce on a challah bun
- Juicy Cluckin Lucy: slaw and pickles between two challah buns stuffed with cheese
- Toasted Juicy Lucy: slaw and pickles between four pieces of cheese-stuffed Texas toast
There are two variations of chicken & waffles including chicken tenders placed between two waffles like a sandwich. There's also fried shrimp and a vegetarian sandwich made with a fried cauliflower "tender." Beverages include milkshakes in flavors such as Oreo, Biscoff, and chocolate; a root beer float; and a Mexican coke float.
The Frisco restaurant will be fast-casual with indoor seating for about 40, plus a drive-thru that will open at a later time TBD.
The decision to open as a restaurant rather than food truck happened somewhat by necessity. Kilani had his sights set on the city for some time but couldn’t make a food truck work with Frisco’s strict food truck regulations.
Nashville hot chicken has been one of the biggest trends in DFW in the past few years with entries such as Hattie B's, Birdcall, Budlong, Rise Southern Biscuits & Chicken, Crimson Coward, The Cookshack, Sammy's Famous Chicken, Hangry Joe's, and Palmer's, with Guy Fieri's Chicken Guy! and more to come.
"What makes Clutch City different is that everything on our menu is unique to us," Kilani says. "Our breading, our spices, everything in our sandwiches is made in-house. You can’t buy it anywhere else."
