A new virtual restaurant is coming to Lakeland and it’s going to be hot! Sarah’s Hot Chicken, a delivery-only concept from the culinary minds behind Fish City Grill, is combining classic Nashville flavors with fresh, made from scratch recipes. The restaurant opened Tuesday.
The menu is led by Sarah’s Hot Chicken Sandwich ($8.99), a recipe that brines the chicken for 24 hours before cooking. Like other menu items, it can be ordered at one of four heat levels: Naked (no spice or sauce), Sissy (mild), Hot & Spicy (medium), or Damn Hot (hot). Among other entrées are Hot Tenders & Fries ($8.99), a Shrimp Oh Boy! ($10.99) – a take on the classic fried po’ boy sandwich – and The Hot Chick Salad ($8.99).
Sides include fries ($1.99), creamy coleslaw ($2.99), mac & cheese ($3.99) – available hot or not – and a chocolate-chip cookie ($1). Sauces made for dipping hot chicken into include Ranch, Blue Cheese, Hollerback Sauce, Honey Mustard, Chipotle Barbecue, Sriracha Thai Chile and Jalapeño Cilantro.
Sarah’s Hot Chicken is the brainchild of the team members of the Lakeland, Florida, location of Fish City Grill and is named for the location’s managing partner, Sarah Ceretto. “I am so proud of our team and the time and effort put into creating such craveable recipes,” Ceretto says. “We can’t wait to make Sarah’s Hot Chicken successful and see it branch out to other cities.”
It’s a unique partnership between the franchisor and franchisee that led to Sarah’s Hot Chicken coming to fruition. “This is the perfect example of how collaborative innovation can propel a company forward,” co-founder Bill Bayne says. “We are fortunate to have Brian Edwards, Sarah Ceretto and the Lakeland Team Members as part of the Fish City Grill family.”
Orders may be placed at Sarah’s Hot Chicken’s website, or through delivery partner DoorDash.
