Guy Fieri’s ‘Chicken Guy!’ chain coming to Nashville and other Tennessee cities

Lizzy Alfs | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Guy Fieri takes his chicken tender restaurant nationwide There are 22 dipping sauces!

Guy Fieri is the latest celebrity chef to break into the Nashville dining scene.

The restaurateur, author and TV personality has partnered with a franchisee to expand his Chicken Guy! restaurant concept across Tennessee.

A location is slated to open in 2020 in downtown Nashville off Second Avenue and Commerce Street, with additional outposts coming to Knoxville, Gatlinburg and Johnson City, according to a media release.

Fieri, alongside his Chicken Guy! business partner Robert Earl, teamed up with FACE Hospitality to bring the restaurant concept to the Volunteer State.

“I’ve shot (‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’) and eaten all over the state and I know how much the great people of Tennessee love their real deal chicken. So, to be able to partner with a great local team like FACE Hospitality is a perfect opportunity to bring Chicken Guy! to Nashville and beyond,” Fieri said in a statement.

Fieri and Earl, the founder of Planet Hollywood, opened the first Chicken Guy! in 2018 at Walt Disney World Resort.

The restaurant’s simple menu includes all-natural chicken tenders, skewers, sandwiches and salads, which can be paired with more than 20 varieties of house-made sauces. The chicken tenders are brined in a mixture of lemon juice, pickle juice and buttermilk and infused with a blend of herbs and spices.

Specific menu items include the Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ sandwich with pepper jack, bourbon brown sugar BBQ sauce, special sauce, slaw, pickles and BBQ kettle chips; a chopped chicken Caesar salad; loaded fries; and a Triple Double Mint frozen treat with mint chocolate soft serve, crushed Oreo cookies, chocolate mints, chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.