Tomorrow — Wednesday, August 7 — is opening day at Northern Virginia’s first Chicken Salad Chick restaurant and The Burn got a sneak peek at what all the hype has been about.
On Monday and Tuesday, the restaurant held a friends and family event where people in the community were invited to a preview of the restaurant. These kinds of events also help the new staff with training.
The fast casual restaurant can be found in a shopping plaza in Falls Church located at 7505 Leesburg Pike.
A second location is coming to the Greenbriar Shopping Center off Highway 50 in Fairfax. That one will tentatively open in October.
Chicken Salad Chick is an Atlanta-based chain with more than 260 locations. The menu’s focus is on its dozen or so different types of chicken salad.
During our visit today, we sampled the Olivia’s Old South, a traditional chicken salad with sweet pickles and egg. We had the Sassy Scotty, a blend of ranch, bacon and cheddar cheese. We also got a scoop of the Jalapeño Holly, which is filled with diced jalapeños.
All were delicious, but our favorite was the Dixie Chick, the only chicken salad on the menu with onions and described as an “onion lover’s delight.” (Full disclosure — The Burn loves onions.)
The menu features traditional chicken salads, as well as savory ones, fruity and nutty ones, and spicy versions. They also are known for their pimento cheese spreads and their egg salad.
We also thought it was noteworthy that besides the traditional Sweet Tea and Unsweet Tea, the restaurant also offered a Watermelon Tea.
Current plans call for up to six more Chicken Salad Chick stores around NoVa. It’s unclear if Loudoun County is in the mix, but we are told nearby communities such as Herndon and Reston are definitely being explored.