Tiffany Acosta
Audio By Carbonatix
A West Valley eatery serving Nashville-style hot chicken is bringing the heat to Tempe. Twist Hot Chicken will open a second location on Elliot Road near Priest Drive on Saturday.
Kyle Preston, Saad El Quarati and Lance Linderman launched the hot chicken shop in suburban Peoria in 2022. Linderman is also behind West Valley staples Driftwood Coffee Co., Easy Tiger and the forthcoming Jefferson House. Twist was, as far as Linderman could tell, a pioneer of the wickedly spicy chicken craze on the west side of town.
“I like all things spicy, so we were early adopters in the West Valley,” Linderman says.
The Twist menu features sandwiches, tenders and nuggets of crispy fried chicken that can be spiced to levels that range from “mild” to “Sun Devil,” which customers must sign a waiver to sample.
“Mild is all the flavor and a little bit of spice, medium you’re already sweating, hot hurts,” Linderman says.
There are also options to go meatless with your sandwich or tenders.
“We can do our entire menu vegan,” Linderman says.
Twist Hot Chicken
Twist offers more than a dozen dipping sauces, including creamy Nashville, grape chipotle and avocado ranch. Diners can also opt for a salad, loaded crinkle-cut fries, sweet potato waffle fries, macaroni and cheese or cheese curds. Complete the meal with a Stubborn Soda or Kool-Aid and warm beignets dusted with powdered sugar.
Twist has expanded to Tempe previously, opening on Mill Avenue in 2023. That outpost shuttered in 2024.
As the fast-casual restaurant gears up to make a return to a more suburban corner of the college town, it’s going big with the opening celebration. Twist will offer its signature Twist Hot Chicken Sandwich for free to guests on Saturday. No other purchase is required to receive the sandwich, which is topped with a creamy coleslaw, Twist Sauce and pickles.
“We’re running free chicken the entire day,” Linderman says. “We’re really hoping to get the Tempe crowd out so that they can try us.”
Twist Hot Chicken
Opens Jan. 24
1245 W. Elliot Road, #103, Tempe
Now open
8386 W. Thunderbird Road, #103, Peoria
