As a man who cannot get enough fried chicken in his life, this news is devastating. I know many of you will never have heard of this beautiful little chain of restaurants out on the East Coast. However, I implore you to look into them. They have some of the best chicken this side of the Mississippi. And sadly, they're struggling to stay open. Hopefully, a savior can come gliding in to save the day. I will be completely heartbroken if they close.
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Fried Chicken Off The Menu?
The place in question is called Sticky's. It was formerly named Sticky's Chicken Joint before a slight brand change shifted its name. They are a relatively small chain, as mentioned before. Sticky's has Fried Chicken locations in New York and New Jersey predominantly. Which makes sense because holy foot traffic. (At least in NYC; Jersey is eh.)
It originally gained its notoriety for having farm-raised, antibiotic-free chicken. So it immediately satisfies the health nut in your family. (I know we all have one, hey mom!) They also had a wide variety of delicious sauces and rubs for the food. My personal favorite is a "Thai Sweet Chili". Something about a sweet and spicy sauce just elevates the flavor of chicken for me.
Unfortunately, this beloved company might be going into the fryer. In April of 2024, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The hope was that the move would cut its debts. Hasn't exactly worked out perfectly for them.
Unfortunately, the lack of people they had moving into their 12 different locations across the two states halted abruptly during the pandemic. They counted pretty heavily on the foot traffic from NYC. After losing that for a year, they've struggled to bounce back.
Hope For The Future?
The chicken may not remain unfried for much longer! Harker Palmer Investors came in with a solution in the form of two million dollars. Their solution would not only include the purchase of the famous chain, but also taking on some its debts.
The goal of the move is to prevent Sticky's from moving to Chapter 7 liquidation as reported by Food Republic.
However, the plan has yet to be approved after receiving pushback from the U.S. Trustee. And Sticky's has recently warned that forced to shut down all stores if the sale remains that way.
