Right around the corner from Wishbone, a new chicken joint is making its mark on campus.
On Dec. 7, Hatch & Coop held the grand opening of its new chicken restaurant on 40th Street between Walnut and Sansom streets. From noon to 3 p.m., the business served complimentary homemade ice cream sandwiches to dozens of people.
Happy with the outcome of the opening, founder and owner Gary Dorfman said the establishment expected to serve around 300 to 400 people as the day progressed, adding that the fried chicken sandwich was his bestseller.
Dorfman was also the brain behind Jake’s Sandwich Board, the restaurant that Hatch & Coop replaced next to Hai Street Kitchen & Co. Dorfman said Hatch & Coop grew out of Jake’s, which opened in 2014, as he realized the positives of working with chicken after experimenting with it for the last year.
The restaurant hopes to serve “fast food you can feel good about,” Dorfman said. The restaurant caters specifically to students with its affordable pricing — $6 for a chicken sandwich — and simple menu.
The menu has only a “handful of items, well executed,” Dorfman said, including two sandwiches, a salad, fries, and a vegetarian option of cauliflower steak.
According to Dorfman, Hatch & Coop specializes in both all-natural chicken and simplicity.
“I want to take a simple approach with everything,” he said. “With the menu, I want my customers to get it and I want my team to get it. Same thing with marketing, we’re hoping to connect with the people and the word spreads organically.”
Among the first customers of the day were College seniors Matt Cartwright and Jake Raynis. Both Cartwright and Raynis had heard about Hatch & Coop from friends.
Cartwright said he had heard about the free ice cream sandwiches but came in looking for something spicy. “The food was amazing,” he continued. Raynis said he would encourage people to visit.
Hatch & Coop is open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and now, in Dorfman’s words, “it’s all about chicken.”
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