Haven Hot Chicken Cuts The Ribbon On New Restaurant In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Haven Hot Chicken, the Connecticut-based, spicy Nashville-style chicken restaurant, cut the ribbon at its Fairfield shop on Thursday, the chain's ninth location in the state.

The spot serves fried chicken — and "not chicken" — cuisine under five different "heat levels," Country (no spice); Mild (hint of spice); Medium (proper spicy); Hot (will burn); and Haven (for the hot head).

"We have something for everyone," co-founder and CEO Etkin Tekin told Patch, adding that Country and Mild are Haven Hot Chicken's most popular flavors.

"From there, things get spicy fast," Tekin said. "The Hot and Haven levels are for folks who truly love authentic, spicy food."

First Selectman Bill Gerber, on hand for the ribbon-cutting, can attest to the spiciness.

"I had one of their sandwiches, and I have to say, it was the best chicken sandwich I've ever had," Gerber said, adding that he would suggest customers start with the Mild level.

"I had the Medium, and I was sweating," he said with a laugh.

According to co-founder and President, Jason Sobocinski, the chain employs 170 people, and was recently named one of the 5,000 fast-growing companies in the nation by Inc. Magazine.

In addition to Fairfield, the chain also has locations in New Haven, Middletown, Newington, North Haven, Norwalk, Orange, Oxford and Storrs. Plans call for the company to double in size in 2025, with the launch of several more locations, including the possibility of shops in the adjacent states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.

Tekin and Sobocinski, joined by Rob LaTronica and Craig Sklar, launched Haven Hot Chicken, after Tekin and Sobocinski went to Nashville for a conference and fell in love with the Music City's famous spicy chicken.

"We couldn't find anything like it anywhere in Connecticut, which led to us launching it here," Tekin said, adding that they started out as a pop-up spot in 2019, and opened the first location, a takeout site in New Haven, the following year during the pandemic.

But just as important as selling chicken meals is helping to provide meals to those battling food insecurity, Sobocinski said.

Through its "Great Banana Pudding Drive," Haven Hot Chicken donates the cost of one meal to CT FoodShare for each Banana Pudding dessert the chain sells.

On Thursday, the Sobocinski and Tekin presented CT FoodShare with a donation check from the drive for $5,825.

"We've been able to donate 106,000 meals through the pudding drive," Sobocinski said. "We're very proud of that, because eating is a right, not a privilege."

Tekin said that in addition to philanthropy, Haven Hot Chicken is also committed to helping its employees develop into leaders.

"We don't just create jobs, we want to create careers," Tekin said, adding that more than 20 employees have been promoted beyond hourly workers to leadership positions with the company.

"For me, that's a big deal," Tekin said, recalling past jobs in his life where he did not feel fulfilled. "We want people to learn skills and grow within our organization."