The Chicken Spot has landed in Fresno, a second location for the popular Visalia restaurant with Yelp notoriety. Photo via The Chicken Spot Fresno Instagram page

There’s a new player in Fresno’s bustling fried chicken space, and this one brings some Yelp notoriety from the South Valley.

Fried chicken strips and sandwiches have been a popular concept for new restaurants in the Central Valley for several years now, with both national and local chains taking hold serving up Nashville hot style and more.

The Chicken Spot hosted a grand opening last week for its new drive-through at 4410 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd. in Southeast Fresno. The takeout-only spot is located just west of the Fresno Fairgrounds.

It’s a second location for The Chicken Spot, which opened in 2022 in Visalia. In 2023, it made Yelp’s Top 100 Restaurants in the Central Valley list. The Chicken Spot’s most popular dishes on Yelp include the chicken and waffles, original and “retro” chicken sandwiches, chicken strips and more. It maintains a 4.2 out of 5 rating with 115 reviews on yelp.

According to local and state business records, the Fresno location is owned by Karim Muharram, who hosted a grand opening that included a car show, discounts and more on July 25.