Hot Chicken Restaurant Planned For Capitol Drive

Site of Fire Bird Hot Chicken, 4103 W. Capitol Dr. Photo taken April 24, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.

Things are heating up on Capitol Drive.

A new, Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant, Fire Bird, is slated to open along the bustling northside street, replacing NYPD (New York Pizza Delivery), which closed its doors more than a year ago.

The upcoming restaurant, 4103 W. Capitol Dr., could open as soon as June 1, with plans to serve chicken tenders and sandwiches, as well as a variety of sides and desserts, said co-owner Maher Ayad.

Ayad is also the owner of Big Sharks Fish & Chicken, a local fast food chain. The industry veteran is partnering with Saleh Ahmad for the new venture. Ahmad owns another location for NYPD at 231 E. North Ave.

The space itself, though still in progress, is quickly coming together with help from Holly Messer, a local artist who has completed projects for a wide array of area businesses including Stubby’s, Dead Bird Brewing, Mad Chicken and more. She’s also known for her murals and portrait work.

At Fire Bird, Messer is leaning heavily into a graffiti theme, applying a rainbow of spray paint to every inch of the restaurant’s interior. Miniature flame motifs, lightning bolts, chicken feet and other doodles abound, intermixed with swaths of bold, geometric patterns.

The restaurant also features freshly upholstered red booths and other cosmetic upgrades.

Ayad said he plans to draw on his previous experience as a restaurant owner for the new project. “I’ve been in the chicken business for quite a while, so when this opportunity came along on Capitol Drive, we wanted to do something different,” he said.

In addition to hot chicken — or mild, depending on customers’ preferences — the restaurant will serve french fries, mac and cheese and possibly some appetizers, according to Ayad. Fire Bird may also sell desserts such as milkshakes.

Although Fire Bird shares its name with a number of existing concepts, the Milwaukee restaurant is a standalone business.

The restaurant’s license is pending approval from the Milwaukee Common Council.

The proposed hours of operation for Fire Bird are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The previous restaurant, NYPD, was the site of a non-fatal stabbing leading up to its eventual closure. Co-owner Abdul Hamdan is accused of stabbing his business partner, Ashraf Khaled, inside the building on May 8, 2021.

Hamdan turned himself in to the Milwaukee Police Department later that same day, according to a report from Fox 6. He was later charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. He pled guilty as part of a plea agreement where the court found him not guilty due to “mental disease/defect.”

This article has been updated to include additional information about the building. 

Photos

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