Fried Chicken Restaurant Closes After Just 1 Year Open

Greyson F

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A local fried chicken restaurant has closed.Photo byTim MossholderonUnsplash

Fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, and chicken wings have been all the rage in the restaurant industry over the last several years. Countless chicken sandwich shops have sprouted throughout the Valley, some of which are connected to major celebrities (ranging from Shaq to Samuel L. Jackson). And while the traditional chicken restaurants continue to see massive lines pushing out of the parking lot into the road (looking at your Chick-fil-a), it isn’t necessarily foolproof. In fact, one chicken wing restaurant, which has been open for just over a year, has officially thrown in the towel and closed down.

Back in November of 2021, folks in search of warmer weather and a break from the chilly, Minnesota climate, decided to bring a fried chicken restaurant with them. Bap and Chicken opened as one of the first Korean fried chicken and bibimbap combo restaurants throughout metro Phoenix. Since then other Korean fried chicken shops have moved in though, so for the last few months it lost its monopoly on this segment of the market. 

However, even before the new Korean fried chicken restaurants started coming, Bap and Chicken found itself struggling. The restaurant never found a true foothold, and introducing locals to the Korean style of fried chicken fell on deaf ears. The restaurant closed without any real announcement or send-off. It faded away, back into the gray, chilly Minnesota night. In fact, all semblance of the restaurant ever being located in metro Phoenix has since been scrubbed not only from the restaurant’s website but from all of the social media pages as well. The local Facebook page has been deleted, and there are no posts for the restaurant on its Instagram page either. 

Despite not finding a connection with the local market, Korean fried chicken has a direct connection with the American version. During the Korean War, U.S. soldiers did not have access to turkeys when celebrating holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, instead of a traditional turkey, military members cooked up fried chicken. This left a lasting impact on individuals who worked with the U.S. military, and the notion of fried chicken spread. Eventually, it took on local ingredients and flavors, mixing both American and Korean into one, unique yet familiar dish. 

For anyone that missed out on Bap and Chicken, but is hungry to try some Korean fried chicken, BB.Q Chicken, which is based out of Seoul, just opened its first Arizona restaurant inside of the Mesa Mekong Plaza. 

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# fried chicken# Korean food# Asian restaurant# closed# restaurant

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