Local restaurateurs look to spice up the city with new Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken in Rockford
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A taste of Nashville hot chicken with one menu option so spicy you have to sign a waiver to eat it has arrived in Rockford.
Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken & Wings opens at 11 a.m. today at 6150 E. State St., suite 114, which is next to Crumbl cookies.
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The 3-year-old restaurant chain was brought here by a group of Rockford restaurateurs who have spent years running Subway franchises.
They feel Hangry Joe’s can be hit in Rockford with its 8-ounce Mega Sando, a chicken sandwich so big in hangs over the bun, as well as its wings, wraps, Korean chicken nuggets, tenders and treats such as funnel cake fries and hand-spun milkshakes.
“Rockford didn’t have anything like this,” said Brandon Wilhelm, co-owner of the franchise. “We need something in chicken that’s got a punch to it.”
Wilhelm owns the business with his brother-in-law Michael Lentini, his middle sister Ellen Nelson, and longtime business partners Todd VanNispen and Dave Clinton. They’ve all been partners on Subway franchises.
Wilhelm, who also plans to develop other Hangry Joe’s in the Midwest, decided to franchise after visiting the restaurant chain’s headquarters in Virginia.
“They said, if you don’t like the food we’ll buy your plane ticket back,” said Wilhelm, a 1998 Guilford High School graduate who has developed and operated Subway restaurants for the past 18 years.
Wilhelm said he stopped into the restaurant before his meeting with corporate and knew it had a winning menu.
“I was shocked at the amount of flavor and the quality of the food,” he said. “I said, you guys nailed the food. I’m sold, you’ve got a product that’s better than anything else I’ve had in the chicken arena.”
This is the Rockford region’s first Hangry Joe’s. There are locations in Naperville and Chicago elsewhere in Illinois, and there are dozens of other Hangry Joe’s across the country as well as in Dubai and Korea.
For those who want to test their tolerance for the hottest spices, you can try the Angry Hot seasoning that’s made with ghost peppers.
That seasoning is served with a side of showmanship as guests are required to sign a waiver before they eat it.
“I couldn’t imagine anyone actually getting injured from it, but it’s uncomfortably hot,” Wilhelm said. “It’s still got the flavors, where it’s not just something that’s so hot that it’s miserable.”
Wilhelm, who prefers the medium spicy seasoning, said eating the Angry Hot is an experience.
“The first bite you’re like, it’s not that bad, it’s still got all this flavor. Then it starts building and you’re like, oh this is hot. Now I’m sweating,” he said. “You kind of get a little bit of an endorphin rush. It’s really good but it’s hot.”
If you need to cool off after the heat you can get one of the hand-spun milkshakes, which are made with real ice cream, not soft serve. They come in seven flavors: Oreo, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, espresso, mango and Reese’s.
The oversized Mega Sando ($10.75) is expected to be a top-seller. There are also loaded fries ($11.95), chicken and waffles ($12.95), Korean chicken nuggets ($10.95), loaded mac and cheese ($12.95) and the classic Sando ($7.50), among other options.
The chicken at Hangry Joe’s is always prepared fresh and never frozen after its marinated for three days in a proprietary blend of seasonings, Wilhelm said.
The signature Hangry Sauce and the coleslaw are also made in-house, complete with shredding the fresh cabbage in the kitchen.
“We want it to be a little more upscale,” Wilhelm said. “It’s a little higher price point than some of the fast-food joints, but you’re getting twice as much protein on that Mega Sando as you do at some of the fast-food chicken places, and I think a ton more flavor.”
Wilhelm said the local ownership group takes pride in its connections to the community. It’s mural on the western wall includes a few nods to Rockford, including a sock monkey, the Rock Guardians of Rockford, Symbol and a Rockford Peaches logo.
“We want to support the local community as much as we can,” he said. “We want to support the Rockford Rescue Mission and a few of the other places that we work with every year (at Subway). We plan on continuing doing those same type of things with Hangry Joe’s as well.”
About | Hangry Joe’s Rockford
Where: 6150 E. State St., suite 114
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Online: hangryjoesrockford.com
Contact: 815-706-2488; store255@HangryJoesRockford.com
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
