Roosevelt Row’s Welcome Diner is launching a new restaurant called Welcome Chicken and Donuts that is set to open this October.
The new restaurant’s menu will feature the eponymous chicken and donuts. Instead of the Southern-style chicken Welcome Diner is known for, the new spot’s chicken will be Korean-inspired, which means lighter bread that is quicker to cook, waiter Kyle Gutierrez said.
“I’m looking forward to learning new cooking techniques to expand my horizons,” said Peter Moore, a chef at Welcome Diner.
Aside from the Korean-style twice-fried chicken and the hand-made artisan donuts, customers are not sure what to expect from the new restaurant, which will be located at 16th Street and Buckeye Road.
“It will be fried chicken and handmade doughnuts. I think that’s all the information I can really give at this time,” said Wayne Coats, Welcome Diner general manager.
It has yet to be decided if Welcome Chicken and Donuts will be serving the same alcoholic beverages offered at Welcome Diner, located on Roosevelt and 10th streets.
Welcome Chicken and Donuts is looking to give customers a slightly different experience and will operate primarily during breakfast and lunch hours, Coats said. Welcome Diner, the original, just reinstated its weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. but is primarily a nocturnal restaurant opening at 5 p.m. and closing at 2 a.m.
Welcome Chicken and Donuts will move into a former Kentucky Fried Chicken building constructed in the ’70s. The staff said they are hoping the old building will help recreate the unique look of Welcome Diner but also give off a slightly different vibe.
There are still many details to be finalized about the new restaurant, keeping owners Michael Babcock and Jenn Robinson working around the clock, Coats said.
Opening a second restaurant has been on the agenda for Babcock and Robinson for more than a year.
Welcome Diner once operated as a food truck named Old Dixie until Phoenix entrepreneur Sloane McFarland offered Babcock and Robinson the chance to permanently set up shop at their current location.
“As a company, as a group and as a team we really have some long-term goals and we’re working towards building a sustainable company,” Coats said.
Customers can expect to see the same familiar faces from Welcome Diner also working at the new restaurant as well as a group of new employees all hoping to create a one-of-a-kind customer experience.
Frank Picazo lives directly across the street from Welcome Diner and has been a customer since the day it opened. He is considered by a majority of the staff including Coats to be their No. 1 customer.
“I expect the same great food and the same great service,” Picazo said. “I’ll definitely be going down there to see what kind of creations they come up with.”
For now, Picazo will have to wait for donuts while eating a Big Jim and sipping on a Hurricane at Welcome Diner’s bar.
“I think it’s great, I love seeing friends and locals be able to make it and do something they love,” Picazo said. “The passion is there.”
Contact the reporter at Brien.Corwin@asu.edu
