Atlanta-based PONKO Chicken is adding their sixth franchise to the Georgia food scene. Their new franchise location is bringing their unique flavors to the long- standing Atlanta landmark of Lenox Square and will be located within the Lenox Square Dining Pavilion at 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 3032.
PONKO Chicken will occupy the former Taziki’s space, offering their full menu of Japanese-fusion, award-winning chicken tenders, salads, tacos and sandwiches, providing guests with a fast-casual experience and high quality, made-to order menu items. The build-out will commence at the top of the new year with the potential opening date in the first quarter of 2020. The Lenox Square location will incorporate the same modern interior as their other locations and will be open Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm and Sunday 11am–7pm.
Dr. Patrick Sallarulo, PONKO Chicken’s Chairman and CEO says, “We are extremely happy to be in Lenox Square and to be working with Simon Property Group. This is our first shopping center and we could not be more excited or proud that we are able to work alongside an Atlanta trademark, like Lenox Square. We are very much looking forward to serving this community with our outstanding product.”
Lenox Square was first founded in 1959, is one of the largest shopping centers in the Southeast region and is owned and operated by Simon Property Group, the largest shopping mall operator in the U.S. PONKO Chicken’s mission statement is to connect cultures, cultivate happiness, one chicken tender at a time and they plan to continue to do so for the residents and neighboring communities of Lenox Square.
PONKO Chicken is known for its award-winning Japanese-American chicken tender, is a three-peat Taste of Atlanta award winner and holds the titles of “Best Selling Taste” at Taste of Atlanta, “Best Fried Chicken” at ATL CLuckFest, “Top Selling Vendor” at SuperBowl Live 2019 and “Best Dish” in the Midtown Alliance Spring Crawl.
Founders, Maggie Antoine (Culinary Executive) and Reiko Clark (Brand Executive) joined forces with Dr. Patrick Sallarulo (Chairman and CEO) in 2017. Together, they opened their flagship PONKO Chicken Restaurant in Chamblee, Georgia. In 2018, the three owners decided to take their unique taste to the masses by offering the opportunity to franchise, and the first PONKO Chicken franchise store opened its doors in Midtown, Atlanta in 2019. PONKO Franchise Corporation currently has agreements to open over 25 stores in various locations throughout the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.
The flagship Chamblee store can be found in Atlanta, GA at 2896 Chamblee Tucker Road and is open daily from 11am-10pm. PONKO Chicken Midtown is located at 915 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 6, Atlanta, GA 30314 and is open Sunday-Thursday: 11am-10pm and Friday-Saturday: 11am-11pm. PONKO Chicken Buckhead is open daily from 11am-9pm. PONKO Chicken Marietta is open Sunday-Thursday: 11am-9pm and Friday and Saturday:11am-11pm.