‘Half about music and half about food’: Here’s what to expect when Disco Chicken opens in Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Most nights when you walk into Disco Chicken, 212 E. State St., the first thing you’ll see is a live DJ spinning whatever mix of electronic music matches their personal vibe.

The goal isn’t to create a club atmosphere, but rather to establish a music-infused ambiance for customers craving the creative chicken sandwiches, tenders and loaded tater tots that have made the food truck version of the restaurant popular.

“Having somebody that’s just controlling the music and the tempo and the environment of the day is really appealing to us,” said Paul Sletten, the restaurateur who owns Disco Chicken and other downtown establishments. “This is half about music and half about food.”

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The new brick-and-mortar restaurant stemming from the food truck is expected to open in about four to six weeks, filling the former Taco Betty’s and 212 Grindhouse. Until then, you’ll see the Disco Chicken food truck in the patio area adjacent to the property every Friday until the restaurant opens.

Think of it as a way to get used to visiting the space for chicken sandwiches until the tri-level restaurant with a rooftop patio opens at the completion of renovations.

The DJ booth will be to the left of the first-floor entryway once you walk in. The wall of windows facing East State Street and the Rockford City Market grounds will be filled with countertop seating with tables in the space inbetween.

DJs will spin everything from techno and house to disco, ’90s industrial rock, electropop and everything inbetween.

“Everything here is going to be electronic music in all of its beautiful forms,” said Sletten, who is a DJ himself outside of his career in the restaurant industry.  “Obviously there won’t be a live DJ every day, every shift — but it will be a lot. There will be a lot of opportunities for people to play.”

Sletten said he wants to give local DJs a place to spin. He also plans to give graduates of DJ camp at Rockford’s nonprofit Rock & Roll Institute a chance to play in a live setting.

“He’s truly putting his money where his mouth is and creating a platform where he can have all these different styles,” said Vic Rivera, who has been DJing for 22 years under the name Vic Monsta. “He’s into everything that’s not Top 40 — disco, funk, abstract — just anything and everything, and he’s creating a platform for it.”

The walls will be lined with bright, colorful art that pays homage to club promotion flyers of various DJs.

“I know he’s creating a great atmosphere for music lovers and people who just want to have something a little different to do during the week or on the weekend,” Rivera said. “It’s cool to see how far this culture in Rockford has come, to the point where an entrepreneur like Paul can put that at the forefront … and people are going to accept it and appreciate it and maybe even just be completely blown away by it.”

3 levels, late hours

There’s additional seating on the second floor of the restaurant, in a room with exposed brick walls and large window panes that let in loads of natural light in the day and give a view of the downtown cityscape. There’s also seating on a rooftop deck, which has views overlooking the Rock River, the Iconic Energy tower, Joe Marino Park and Rockford City Market

On the west side of the building — where the food truck will be parked in the lead-up to opening day — is a small space for outdoor patio seating in warmer-weather months.

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Disco Chicken launched as a food truck in May 2019. It serves buttermilk fried chicken tenders, loaded tater tots and original sandwiches such as The Rodeo, a fried buttermilk boneless chicken breast with cheddar cheese sauce, bacon, barbecue, the house special Disco Sauce, jalapenos and fried onions on a brioche bun.

You’ll also find treats from two of Sletten’s other food trucks. There will be Bad Humor ice cream treats and canned cocktails and non-alcoholic mocktails similar to what’s at VeeDubs mobile cocktail bar.

Sletten, who also owns Social Charcuterie Bar & Cocktails and Abreo, was a partner in Taco Betty’s when it opened in 2017 and ran the restaurant until 2019. Taco Betty’s operated until 2021, when it rebranded into 212 Grindhouse. That burger joint closed five months later and the space has been vacant since.

Sletten’s new restaurant filling the space is designed to be a casual and quick stop for lunch as well as a family dinner location and a nightlife spot for adults later in the evening.

He plans to operate seven days a week with the kitchen open until midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. He said downtown needs more late-night options, something that was evident two weeks ago when two comedy shows in downtown both let out after 10 p.m. Sletten and his team ended up serving comedian Nate Bargatze’s group at Abreo.

“If you’re coming out of a show and it’s like 11 o’clock, your options are about 20% of what was open when you went to the show,” he said. “For a city our size, we need more options.”

He hopes it adds to the momentum for downtown Rockford with other new spots such as The Music Box of Rockford, a listening lounge created by Miles Nielsen, Kelly Steward and their business partners that’s holding a series of soft openings now.

“It’s just really popping. I think the energy is going to be really great,” Sletten said. “It’s just really great for downtown.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas