Two new restaurants decided to bring some heat to Montgomery during the week of Oct. 13.

Both restaurants — Eugene’s Hot Chicken and Dave’s Hot Chicken — serve “hot chicken,” which is essentially spicy fried chicken. The dish originated in Nashville and has become massively popular in recent years outside of Tennessee.

Eugene’s Hot Chicken’s grand opening was on Oct. 15, and Dave’s Hot Chicken’s official opening date is Oct. 17.

Eugene’s Hot Chicken

Eugene’s Hot Chicken, at 79 Commerce St. Unit 1, already has two locations in Birmingham. Eugene’s founder and CEO, Zebbie Carney, said they’ve been looking to establish a location in the Yellowhammer state’s capital for over a year.

“We’ve been looking to expand, and, you know, we’ve seen this is a growing city,” said Carney, who is a Nashville native. “We looked in the Eastchase area at first, but man, something drew me to downtown. … I just thought this would be the perfect location. … We really wanted to add value here.”

The restaurant chain, which started in Birmingham in 2015, serves chicken tenders, wings and popcorn chicken at different heat levels, as well as fries, pork chops and catfish.

The downtown location will offer the same deals, discounts, catering options, food truck availability and specials as the two in Birmingham.

The location has a mural from the previous tenet in the space that is an homage to historic Montgomery restaurants. Since Eugene’s has moved in, they’ve a bit of their own branded flair to the mural.

The new location’s hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Eugene’s is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Dave’s Hot Chicken

Dave’s Hot Chicken, a chain that began in 2017 in California that now has locations in most U.S. states, is located on the other end of town at 7413 Eastchase Parkway.

The brand got its start in a parking lot in East Hollywood and was an operation between three childhood friends in their 20’s who embarked on opening an eatery with $900, a portable fryer and a couple of folding tables.

Deryl Pangelinan, COO of Dave’s Hot Chicken, said that the wall art in the new Montgomery location — as well as the art in every Dave’s Hot Chicken location — is a unique and serves as a reflection of both where the brand started as well as the community they set up shop in.

“You’ll never find two Dave’s Hot Chickens anywhere in the world that has the same exact artwork,” Pangelinan said. “Everything on the inside is catered to what you’ll find within the community, which is huge for us. … We started in a parking lot, which I visit five or six times a year just to remember where we came from. Behind the parking lot where the guys were set up, there was street art, which we mimic in all the restaurants to never forget where we came from.”

They serve chicken tenders, “bites” and sliders — which the staff have recommended patrons try with the chain’s signature “Dave Sauce,” as well as with a drizzle of honey — along with fries, slushies, toast and breaded cauliflower branded as “Dave’s NOT Chicken.”

The chicken can be ordered at a variety of heat levels, with the most extreme heat level being the Carolina Reaper — one of the world’s hottest peppers — which customers must sign a waiver to purchase.

The new location’s hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.