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Burnaby food lovers lining up out the door for this new fried chicken restaurant

Hastings is set to be known as chicken row with multiple restaurants opening their doors in the coming months.
chicko
Chicko Chicken has officially opened its doors in Burnaby.

Hastings Street is fast becoming the mecca for chicken restaurants, with one new eatery now open and a few more set to open in the coming months on this street.

First out of the gate is Chicko Chicken, a company that specializes in Korean-style fried chicken and already operates in Edmonds and is set to open soon at Market Crossing shopping centre in south Burnaby. But it’s now open on Hastings Street in the Heights across from Anton’s Pasta between Carleton and Madison.

And people were lined up out the door and down the block when it first opened its doors.

And it’s no wonder. Chicko is known for how it imports authentic ingredients from Korea to ensure it gets those flavours just right. It should be noted that Chicko is small so it's more likely you will order takeout for their dishes.

But more chicken is coming to the Heights. Chicko is just down the street from where bb.q is setting up west of Gilmore Avenue in the old Chez Meme location.

Bb.q, which will also be adding a location on Beresford in the Metrotown area, does fried chicken in sweet, savoury and spicy varieties that include a number of different dipping sauces. The company has more than 3,500 locations in 57 countries. bb.q has a menu that takes fried chicken to a different level. There’s the golden original signature crispy version, but there are also several hot and spicy versions, including gang-jeong, Jamaican, mala hot and gangnum style. One item that caught my eye was a cheesling chicken smothered in mascarpone and cheddar cheese powders. There’s also a black pepper chicken, soy garlic and honey and garlic. And you can get wings or other parts of the chicken.

And on the eastern end of Hastings will be the new location for the Peri Peri Shack, which has three levels of heat, from hot, very hot to Peri Nero – the restaurant’s hottest flavour.

They are bringing this spicy chicken – along with mild, citrus and herb, plus mango – to the corner of Hastings Street and Sperling Avenue to fill the space recently vacated by Cozmos Cafe, which closed after deciding to not renew its lease. The Peri Peri Shack is packing its flame-grilled chicken and rice dishes – plus barbecued corn -  into a crowded roster of chicken restaurants in the city.

The city has been filled with new restaurants like Popeyes, Chicko, Chirpyhut, Hi-Five and Pelicana – now there are three more to fill the demand of chicken lovers.

Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.