Owners of popular State College eatery look to replicate success, this time with chicken

Downtown State College is getting a new restaurant soon. With a projected opening date in late February, Big Dean’s Hot Chicken will take over the former Qdoba Mexican Eats location at 208 W. College Ave. The restaurant, with its Nashville-inspired, chicken-focused menu, comes from the same team that opened Snap Custom Pizza in downtown State College in 2018.

The idea for the new restaurant came during the pandemic, with the team discussing other concepts they could launch.

“I also own a bunch of restaurants downtown in Philadelphia and one of our chefs there — his name is Dean — is from the South and always made us these incredible chicken sandwiches for staff meals,” said Rob Wasserman, one of the co-owners of both Snap Custom Pizza and Big Dean’s Hot Chicken. “As we were coming up with ideas, my partner was like, ‘We gotta do chicken, we gotta do chicken.’ I said, ‘Alright, one of our executive chefs, he makes the most amazing chicken.’ So that’s really how it all came about, that quickly.”

That executive chef is Dean Dupuis, a culinary expert with more than 30 years in the field, as well as some impressive accolades under his belt, including winning cooking competitions around the world. Dupuis has also appeared on several Food Network shows, including “Chopped” and “Cutthroat Kitchen.”

The initial Big Dean’s Hot Chicken restaurant opened in Roxborough in Philadelphia, inside a ShopRite location. The State College restaurant will be the first Big Dean’s stand-alone location, and Happy Valley was seen as the perfect spot for it, Wasserman said.

“We got a lot of love with the Snap Pizza concept,” he said. “Everyone’s been amazing with us. We’ve really enjoyed our time (in State College) and we thought there wouldn’t be any better place to bring this (idea) forth.”

The Big Dean’s Hot Chicken menu is limited, but for a good reason — the Big Dean’s team puts a heavy emphasis on nailing their flavors every time, versus offering a wide array of options.

Meal options include various quantities of chicken tenders, as well as a chicken breast sandwich with homemade pickles and coleslaw on a potato roll. Diners pick from several choices when it comes to chicken heat levels, including traditional southern (no heat and homestyle), BD original hot (Nashville-style) or “dang hot” (made with a “scorching” combination of ghost, habanero and cayenne peppers). All meals come with seasoned waffle fries and your choice of dipping sauce. Southern-style desserts are also on the menu, including apple pie, a Tennessee mudslide cake (a moist chocolate cake infused with whiskey) and banana pudding. Catering platters are also available.

“It’s a fast-casual concept and Nashville-inspired. It’s a very simple menu. We’re not looking to go crazy. It’s your chicken tenders and sandwiches with some really amazing desserts,” said Wasserman, “whether they like a mild chicken tender or sandwich, or ‘the inferno,’ which will knock their socks off.”

In response to the pandemic, Big Dean’s Hot Chicken will be opening at limited capacity, as the team is “taking the necessary precautions of opening a restaurant during this period,” Wasserman said. Otherwise, everything is business as normal.

When the State College location opens, Big Dean’s Hot Chicken will offer both pick-up and delivery, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. For more information, visit www.bigdeanshotchicken.com.

This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 11:55 AM.