Mural artists Kevin Ballecer, left, and Mela Nguyen are painting the exterior of Chicken n’ Whaaat?! on Central Avenue in West Duluth. The pair also painted murals for Burger Paradox on Superior Street. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).

A family-owned restaurant group that helped revitalize Lincoln Park will expand outside the neighborhood for the first time with a new fast-casual chicken eatery attached to a West Duluth gas station.

Duluth Grill Family of Restaurants owner Tom Hanson said he has signed a long-term lease and is currently remodeling the former Charleys Philly Steaks space at the Korner Store, 231 N. Central Ave. The new establishment will be called Chicken n’ Whaaat?! and is expected to open later this year.

“We’re diving in again,” said Hanson.

Chicken n’ Whaaat?! will have table, booth and counter seating and feature a tightly focused menu offering chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and a small number of sides. It will be the only Duluth Grill operation with no liquor license, no table service and no Lincoln Park address.

The West Duluth intersection just off I-35 has seen numerous restaurants open and close including Taco Bell, White Castle, and Kosta’s Gyros. But Hanson said a locally-owned, high-quality, fast-casual concept should draw more people than basic fast food.

The new Chicken n’ Whaaat?! is located in the former Charleys Philly Steaks space and attached to the Korner Store at 231 Central Ave.

Redevelopment of the former West Duluth Kmart store, which closed in 2018, could also deliver more business to the intersection.

“We had some customers walking by saying: ‘There’s been so many restaurants there — nobody makes it.’ So in the back of my mind I’m thinking: ‘What are we doing?’ But I also looked at it and said: ‘Gosh if that Kmart property gets developed that could be a beautiful location.’ You’ve got the freeway, Central is busy, there’s a neighborhood right there.”

Chicken n’ Whaaat?! will serve fresh chicken based on a similarly-named menu item at the Duluth Grill. Chicken tender baskets will be fried in beef tallow — not seed oil — and eight different chicken sandwiches will be offered. Coleslaw could be the only side, but additions like mac and cheese are under consideration.

The new restaurant is modeled after Raising Canes, an international chicken chain that has some 700 locations including the Twin Cities and St. Cloud.

Tom Hanson is the owner of the Duluth Grill Family of Restaurants.

“They keep it super-simple and very consistent,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is balance out these kinds of things.” Hanson said his other restaurants — like OMC Smokehouse and Duluth Grill — have large, complicated menus and a big staff that serve a different set of diners in a different price range.

“We’re trying to put a little balance in what direction we go as a company to stay healthy,” he said.

Duluth native and Korner Store owner Derek Medved said Duluth Grill will make his business better. Medved operates nine Korner Stores across the northland and wanted to bring customers a quality food option. Charleys Philly Steaks was inherited when he purchased the property at the end of 2021 and it closed in 2023.

“Food is a concept — Kwik Trip has it, other big companies are creating a pillar of the future with food,” he said. “When you stop at a convenience store you get your gas, your tobacco, pop, candy – you want the good burger, the good sandwich, whatever it is,” he said.

But large corporate food operations like Taco Bell, White Castle and Charleys did not work well at the site.

The Chicken n’ Whaaat?! mural features colorful, cartoon chicken characterizations. Nguyen and Ballecer have been working on the project for weeks.

Medved reached out to Duluth Grill and set up a tour. “I said. ‘This site would be great. Let’s work something out. I’d love to have a Tom Hanson restaurant here.’ He went back to his group. They talked and it was game on.”

Medved said adding Duluth Grill is like finding a missing puzzle piece. “Food service is everything. It’s their expertise,” he said. “Together it’s going to be a great combination.”

Both Medved and Hanson said if the West Duluth location is a hit Chicken n’ Whaaat?! restaurants could pop up at other Korner Stores.

“We’re looking to grow,” said Medved. “This is beyond my vision. (Duluth Grill) is going to light it up and bring color to the picture.”

Hanson said local mural artists Mela Nguyen and Kevin Ballecer — the same artists who designed murals for Burger Paradox — are currently transforming the outside of  Chicken n’ Whaaat?! If the interior design and kitchen work is completed on time the restaurant could open in early December.