WNY native bringing Hot Chicken restaurant to Amherst

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — The northernmost location of a chicken sandwich chain with restaurants in Virginia, New Jersey and Florida is about to open in Amherst.

HCK Hot Chicken’s first New York restaurant will hold its grand opening at 3310 Sheridan Drive on Saturday morning. Even though this is the first for the area, the guy behind it is no stranger to Western New York.

Franchisee Naiem Rizek says he was born and raised in the Niagara Wheatfield area, later attending high school in Greenville, North Carolina.

While in the south, he met Anthony Sarago, the man who would go on to found HCK Hot Chicken in 2020 alongside his father Mike.

“I had always kept an eye on it,” Rizek said. “Something I’ve always wanted to do was own my own business, but I wanted to be involved in the right thing.”

Sometime last year, Rizek reached out to Sarago about his success with the restaurant. It had something he said he couldn’t find here.

“They had in Woodbridge, Virginia what we didn’t have in Buffalo, and that was unity through food,” Rizek said.

Josh Allen’s truck being given away in contest

So, what does “unity through food” mean exactly? Rizek describes it as finding a place where customers from all walks of life can feel included and be united under a similar banner. That’s his goal for the new branch of the HCK tree.

“We’re all-inclusive on all walks of life,” Rizek said. “That’s what we are centered on. We’re focused on our customers, our customer service. That is our vessel.”

Hot chicken’s on the menu, of course, with Rizek noting a couple of the combos as HCK’s most popular items. His personal favorite is combo one — a Nashville-style chicken sandwich dipped in a choice of sauce, which ranges in hotness from Base, to After Burner, to Angry Hot, to Medic.

“Be prepared if you take on the Medic,” Rizek said.

The franchisee takes pride in how the restaurant’s offerings are prepared.

“We take our chicken and it goes directly from the fryer, dipped into the wet sauce. Everything is made in-house,” he said, noting that includes the sauces and batter.

To celebrate its grand opening, HCK Hot Chicken is giving away free sandwiches to the first 23 guests who show up when doors open at 11 a.m. For everyone though, sandwiches will be $5 all day.

Additionally, customers can register to win free sandwiches for a year at this link.

HCK Hot Chicken is open every day starting at 11 a.m. They close at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 9 p.m. during the rest of the week.