A trio with deep local restaurant pedigrees plans to launch a fast-casual fried chicken startup this spring with not one but two locations — the first in Clawson in April and the second in Detroit's New Center area later this spring.

will offer customers "chef-driven" varieties of fried chicken and waffles, fried chicken sandwiches and smothered chicken over biscuits.

Teaming up on the new restaurant are Scott Moloney, owner ofin Ferndale andin Clawson; Matt Baldridge, former chef at theandand executive chef at the former; andchef and owner Greg Reyner, who also plans to openin Detroit's West Village during the fourth quarter of this year.

The trio is investing and financing about $500,000 to get the two Atomic Chicken restaurants off the ground. The restaurants are expected to create about 50 jobs, combined.

The fried chicken will come in a number of varieties, ranging from buttermilk and "smokin' hot" to panko-crusted Japanese. Some options will include sriracha or ginger soy glazes. They'll be dished up with sides including smashed sweet potatoes with Michigan maple and cardamom, black-eyed peas with bacon, gorgonzola mac and cheese, sweet vinegar slaw and cinnamon apples.

For dessert, patrons will be able to choose from homemade puddings in butterscotch, banana vanilla and Faygo Rock 'n Rye.

Independent of one another, Baldridge and Reyner had each been considering a chicken and waffles concept. And both were looking to put their new restaurants in former chicken joints.

Baldridge had been eyeing the formerrestaurant on South Main Street north of 14 Mile Road in Clawson.

Reyner was looking to lease a formerlocation in Detroit's New Center at Woodward and Milwaukee avenues, one block off the laststop, for his chicken and waffles restaurant.

The two separately mentioned their plans to their mutual friend Moloney, who thought they sounded very similar. So he introduced them, and the trio hatched Atomic Chicken, their so-called "chicken with an attitude."

The restaurant's menu has morphed into not only chicken and waffles, but a chef-driven, artisanal chicken place with a healthy component and a lot more thought and prep going into the food, Reyner said.

"We want to do a fast-casual concept … where you're getting a high-quality product at an affordable price (and) where when you only have a half-hour for lunch you can get in and get out."