Kickin’ Chicken

Located between Alameda Parkway and Union Boulevard, Kickin‘ Chicken is a newly opened fast-casual eatery, focusing on fried chicken sandwiches and tenders with fresh and high-quality ingredients.

The owners, brother and sister duo, John and Ivy Pham have been in the restaurant industry for nearly 15 years. After years working in corpo- rate restaurants, Ivy decided it was time to open up her own business.

The motivation for opening a fried chicken restaurant came from the idea of simplicity and focus. “My parents used to own a pho restaurant, and it took a lot of preparation and side work to make pho. Which is why we wanted to create something simple, so that we could focus on doing that simple thing well.” John Pham said.

However, opening a restaurant during the pandemic wasn’t an easy process. The restaurant was supposed to be opened in March 2020, right as the COVID-19 first reached Colorado. “It was a difficult decision to make. A lot of our friends and family were telling us to pull back, but we were just too committed. We just had to try it and hope for the best.”

Eventually, Ivy and John opened Kickin Chicken in July 2020. Despite the shutdowns and overall effects of the pandemic, Kickin’ Chicken has been doing pretty well with social media playing a big part in the suc- cess of the business. Ivy and John feel lucky to have received incredible support from the community; to the point where, Kickin’ Chicken would sell out of chicken over the weekend due to its popularity. Ivy and John are still waiting for things to get better, but they feel grateful for what they have been able to accomplish so far.

Now let’s talk about the food! The dishes at Kickin’ Chicken are glob- ally inspired with a touch of different cultures.

“We believe good food is good food, no matter where it is from which is why we have Mexican street corn, Vietnamese slaw, and Thai iced drinks. Because of our mixed menu, customers that come to Kickin’ Chicken are also very diverse,” said John.

Before they opened the restaurant, Ivy and John played around with a lot of fried chicken recipes in order to discover the most unique taste. The secret behind the crunch for Kickin’ Chicken’s sandwiches is its glu- ten-free rice flour, which gives it the ultimate crunchiness and standout flavors. The crunch of the fried breading is met with a juicy slab of chick- en. Adding on additional sauces and toppings, makes it the best chicken sandwich in the Denver area.

If it is your first visit, definitely try the Chicken Sandwich, which in- cludes chicken thighs on buttered Texas toast topped off with Kickin’ sauce, slaw, pickles, and a side for $9.50. The Chicken Katsu is John’s per- sonal favorite, which includes chicken thighs over fried rice, mac salad, katsu sauce, and a side for $11.95. Don’t forget to add on the Vietnamese slaw to get the best of multiple cuisines in one meal!

275 S Union Blvd, Lakewood, CO 80228 Tel: 303.989.0197 kickinchickenrestaurant.com

Connect with Kickin’ Chicken on social: Instagram: @kickin.chicken Facebook: @Kickin’ Chicken Lakewood