Nashville's Hattie B's Hot Chicken Is Coming to Wicker Park — and It's Already a Homecoming
By Socialhood News · Wicker Park ·
Wicker Park is about to get a whole lot spicier. Hattie B's Hot Chicken, the Nashville-born chain that has built a devoted following for its fiery, customizable bird, is opening its second Chicago location at 1542 N. Damen Ave. on Tuesday, October 28 — and for the brand, the neighborhood carries a history that makes this more than just another address on an expansion map.
The news, reported by Block Club Chicago on October 8, marks the latest chapter in a busy fall on Damen Avenue. The 1542 N. Damen space was most recently home to Urbanbelly, the Asian street food restaurant that spent a decade in Wicker Park before relocating to Fulton Market earlier this year. Hattie B's is now stepping into that corner spot, just steps from the Damen Blue Line station — one of the neighborhood's most foot-trafficked corners.
For Hattie B's, the Wicker Park opening is genuinely personal. "Chicagoans have always shown us a lot of love, and Wicker Park is a special spot for us," said Brian Morris, the company's executive chef and vice president of culinary, in a press release. "It was the first place in the city we brought Hattie B's to, back when we did a pop-up at Dove's Luncheonette in 2019." The brand was founded in Nashville in 2012 by father-and-son duo Nick Bishop Sr. and Nick Bishop Jr., and it opened its first Chicago location — and its first anywhere in the Midwest — in Wrigleyville back in February. A River North location is already slated for next year.
The menu is the full Hattie B's experience. Chicken comes with customizable heat levels running from no spice all the way up to Nashville hot — a spectrum that has made the chain's reputation. Plates include jumbo tenders, chicken sandwiches, and half-bird platters, all served alongside Southern sides like pimento mac and cheese, collard greens, and bacon-cheddar grits. A "Southern salad" with chicken tender bites, mixed greens, sweet corn, and black-eyed pea succotash rounds things out, and desserts like banana pudding and peach cobbler are on the menu as well. For the opening, the brand is also partnering with Paulie Gee's — the beloved pizza spot sharing the nearby Milwaukee Avenue building with the incoming Blank Street Coffee — to create a limited-run collaboration pizza. A portion of proceeds from October 16–31 will benefit No Kid Hungry.
The arrival fits the particular rhythm of Wicker Park in fall 2026. The neighborhood's restaurant corridors have been churning steadily all year, with operators planting flags on both Milwaukee Avenue and Damen. Hattie B's joins a block that has seen plenty of transitions, and its opening gives the corner a well-known national name with a genuine local backstory. The Damen Blue Line stop, the proximity to the park, and the dense foot traffic along that stretch make 1542 N. Damen one of the higher-visibility restaurant addresses in the neighborhood.
Before Hattie B's opens, the neighborhood has another big community moment on the calendar. This coming Saturday, October 17 — the same day as the Wicker Park Bucktown Thrift Riot — the Wicker Park Advisory Council is hosting its annual BooPalooza and BarkPalooza at Wicker Park, 1425 N. Damen Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event draws 3,000 to 4,000 people each year and features live music, an all-ages costume parade and contest, games, pumpkin decorating, and face painting. BarkPalooza runs alongside it with a dog costume parade for four-legged neighbors. It is one of the most attended free community events of the fall season.
For updates on the Hattie B's opening date and any ticketed events tied to launch week, keep an eye on Block Club Chicago and the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce at wickerparkbucktown.com. And if you are heading to BooPalooza this Saturday, the park is waiting — costumes strongly encouraged.
Sources:
1. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/08/hattie-bs-hot-chicken-opens-this-month-in-wicker-park/
2. https://wickerpark.org/events/
3. https://business.wickerparkbucktown.com/chamber-events