Soft circular light fixtures hanging from an open industrial ceiling snag my attention as I sit in candy-apple-colored seats against matte black walls, wooden tables, and a stainless-steel bar counter. The four garage door windows bring in enough light to complement them. Admiring the New York flare, I watch Adam Bierton carry out a tray full of crowd-favorite fried chicken in one hand and, in the other, a blue bottle. I can’t remember the last time I had Kool-Aid, and I’m immediately hooked on the fact he sells it.
Moving back home to Rochester from Brooklyn, Bierton quickly picked up on an opportunity in the Flower City’s dining scene. Chick’n Out hit the streets—quite literally, as a pop-up model restaurant—in April of 2019.
“No one was frying chicken, or at least dedicating their menu to fried chicken,” Bierton says. “I was eating great fried chicken in Brooklyn, and the Nashville-style fried chicken was trending at the time. When I moved back, I did a bunch of research and found there was a hole in the market. I just had this idea I knew was going to work.”
It didn’t take long to learn that little touches like selling bottled childhood liquid gold, naming the Mac Attack bowl after his grandfather, or being meticulous enough to go through forty French fry recipes just to nail down the perfect one, make up the essence of Chick’n Out—a vision of personalized and perfected nostalgia paired with top-tier eats that resonate with the community. How kool.
Bierton launched Chick’n Out at his brother’s bar, Blossom Road Pub, with a repeating Thursday kitchen takeover. He then navigated through the pandemic following this pop-up model, making a home in kitchens at establishments such as Hattie’s, Jackrabbit Club, and Bar Bantam, each for a few months at a time.
Bierton slowly committed to owning a full flagship food and beverage operation, opening Chick’n Out’s current location in June 2024. And just as the brick and mortar took time, it took more than a year to perfect the recipe that would become his shtick.
“I took my grandmother’s fried chicken recipe, and I developed on that—doing experiments, running a control, and introducing new elements,” Bierton says. “How do you consistently fry the exact same piece? That’s what I’m mostly focused on—doing one thing and doing one thing really well.”
It’s safe to say Bierton accomplished that. Not only does Chick’n Out have the branding, but it has the tastes to back it. Every dish is made fresh in-house, and most are adapted from his grandmother’s recipes.
The Mac Attack ranked highest for me—garlic parm french fries, chopped chicken, and mac and cheese topped with Mac Daddy sauce and fresh scallions. It’s all perfectly warmed underneath cool tones from the sauce.
The mac salad is scooped straight from Bierton’s grandmother’s kitchen table, and I won’t tell my mom it’s better than hers, but it’s pretty dang good.
Then there’s the three piece tenders that come in Not So Hot, Hot, and Way Too Hot. The first bite went to the Hot and Stung tender—the stung being a honey drizzle that can be added to any chicken. It was delicious, but I’d give my vote to the Not So Hot tender I tried immediately after. It was perfectly crisp but soft to bite. It almost tasted sweet, with a powdered coating that had me licking my fingers in public with no shame. And the cool cucumbers from the cucumber onion salad cut against the hot chicken effortlessly—a perfect complement.
“My grandmother was from the south, and she married an Italian, so Sunday dinner was a really big thing; we’d either have sauce or fried chicken,” Bierton says. “And there was something nostalgic and comforting about that style of food that I wanted to bring back to my community.”
In addition to southern sides, Chick’n Out has other bowls, wings, and sandwiches. The Heater is a crowd favorite, with pickles, coleslaw, and Awesome Sauce on a brioche bun. They also offer simple classic desserts such as Banana Puddin’ and Tasty Delight Lemon Pound Cake. The restaurant also features a bar with all the essentials and specialty Kool-Aid cocktails.
But the chicken isn’t everything. Bierton wanted to bring an enthusiastic approach on food and beverage to the community. He’s done egg hunts around the city with free food as prizes, jump-the-line raffles, and other giveaways, and he hopes to expand those trends into the new year.
“It’s about the experience—creating an experience and location that people can depend on and know exactly what they’re getting every time,” Bierton says. More information, updates, and menus can be found online at chicknoutroc.com or on social media at @chicknoutroc.
Chick’n Out
37 Charlotte St., Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 232-2468
chicknoutroc.com
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of (585).
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