New Jersey-based chicken chain expanding with Ohio location

LEWIS CENTER, Ohio (WCMH) — Another Nashville hot chicken chain is hoping to lure in central Ohio customers.

Flamin’ Feathers will soon begin welcoming Nashville hot chicken enthusiasts in Lewis Center at 1329 Cameron Ave., most recently home to a fast casual Mediterranean restaurant. The chicken chain owns several other locations in New Jersey and is expanding into Ohio through a franchisee.

“This marks a major milestone as we bring Ohio’s very first Flamin’ Feathers to life, and we couldn’t be more excited,” the franchisee said on social media. “From the moment we discovered Flamin’ Feathers, we knew it was something special, and now we’re thrilled to introduce it to our community.”

While an opening date for the Lewis Center location has yet to be announced, the brand has teased giveaways on social media for the restaurant’s launch, including 1,000 free sandwiches. Flamin’ is home to hot chicken sandwiches, tenders, wings and tacos. Loaded fries and mac and cheese, wagyu smash burgers, mozzarella sticks, milkshakes, and other sides and desserts round out the menu.

The New Jersey brand is following in the footsteps of several other chicken chains that have recently expanded in the Columbus area, like Texas-based Layne’s Chicken Fingers and Huey Magoo’s. which opened a third central Ohio restaurant last fall.

Dave’s Hot Chicken, a national brand boasted as a “hot chicken sensation,” also opened a third Columbus-area eatery last year. Bojangles moved to open its third central Ohio location in May. A local Buca di Beppo restaurant closed at the beginning of 2025 to be demolished for Chick-fil-A, continuing the brand’s trend of bulldozing Columbus-area businesses to make way for new locations.

Big Chicken, the brand founded by Hall of Fame basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, has yet to deliver on plans announced in 2023 to open several dozen Ohio locations. Similarly, Slim Chickens shared plans in early 2024 to open 25 restaurants in Ohio but has since only launched a few eateries.