Des Moines RegisterWaukee now has a new fast-casual restaurant that specializes in chicken and with another focusing on Hawaiian plate lunches on the way.Slim Chickens debuted its third Iowa location in Waukee that joins another that opened in Ankeny in 2022 and another in Grimes. The restaurant at 965 S.E. Alice’s Road specializes in chicken tenders, wings, sandwiches, salads, wraps, chicken and waffles, and more....
Des Moines Register
Waukee now has a new fast-casual restaurant that specializes in chicken and with another focusing on Hawaiian plate lunches on the way.
Slim Chickens debuted its third Iowa location in Waukee that joins another that opened in Ankeny in 2022 and another in Grimes. The restaurant at 965 S.E. Alice’s Road specializes in chicken tenders, wings, sandwiches, salads, wraps, chicken and waffles, and more.
Jeff Brands, owner of Edotto Brands, plans to open seven more locations across the state, targeting Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, and Waterloo. Brands also owns 22 Taco Johns locations in the metro.
On Wednesday, the first 100 diners receive a free jar dessert with the purchase of an adult meal. Thursday brings double points on orders all day. On Friday, customers can get a crispy sandwich meal for $6.99.
Find the Ankeny location at 1730 N. Ankeny Blvd. and the Grimes restaurant at 2170 E. First St.
Hawaiian Bros Island Grill
Right down the street, Hawaiian Bros Island Grill plans to open its first location in Central Iowa at 1005 S.E. Alice’s Road in Waukee on March 10.
The Kansas City-based chain offers Hawaiian plate lunches with a protein, cold mac salad and two scoops of white rice. This dish gained prominence in the 1880s as Hawaii’s pineapple and sugar plantations grew. The workforce, who predominantly came from Asian nations, brought their lunches, made from leftover meat from the night before.
At Hawaiian Bros, only six plate lunches make up the compact menu. The Huli Huli chicken features grilled teriyaki chicken. The Molokai chicken mixes sweet and spicy sauce with a smidge of heat. The savory Honolulu chicken infuses garlic, green onions and sesame. The spicy Kilauea chicken, the hottest dish on the menu, rounds out the poultry options.
For pork, Hawaiian Bros serves a slow-roasted kalua pig, a staple in Hawaiian cuisine, prepared on a wood smoker at the back of the restaurant.
Hawaiian Bros already opened a location in Davenport at 2955 E. 53rd St. with a total of 10 planned in Iowa.
(This article was updated with new information.)
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at [email protected].