A loss for one restaurant chain is another one’s gain.
Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken & Wings is moving into a long-vacant storefront in Burke Town Center, though it is unclear when exactly the restaurant will open its doors.
The 2,250-square-foot storefront, located at 9540 Old Keene Mill Road, only became available after issues with prior “almost tenant” Bonchon sidelined that project.
After finalizing plans to bring four different franchise restaurants to Fairfax County, Bonchon opted to terminate the franchise agreements for each of the locations — including the proposed Burke restaurant — due to a material breach of contract, according to federal court records.
The Burke restaurant, though it never opened, did have interior and exterior signage installed before the plans were tossed in 2023, a civil complaint said. The lawsuit also dealt with locations in Groveton, Herndon and Tysons.
Bonchon’s planned Tysons franchise never opened, becoming a bb.q Chicken instead, but the company recently reopened a Herndon location under a different owner. Bonchon has also returned to Annandale following a fire.
Hangry Joe’s ultimately jumped on the available Burke Town Center space, signing a lease with landlord Kimco Realty to open another Fairfax County storefront for the hot chicken chain.
The Burke location will be Hangry Joe’s 14th in Fairfax County, joining local outposts in Tysons, Chantilly, Annandale, Herndon and other neighborhoods.
Commercial plumbing updates have been completed in the space, according to Fairfax County’s permitting portal, though county officials are currently awaiting corrections to a food establishment application.
Multiple requests for comment sent to representatives of Hangry Joe’s went unanswered by publication time.
Hangry Joe’s, which was founded in 2021, features chicken fingers, wings and sandwiches on its menu, each adjustable to five different levels of spice. The chain also offers tamer options, including loaded fries, loaded mac and cheese and chicken salad.
