Hometown Bar-B-Que's Chicken Offshoot 'Back On Track' After Construction Delays

RED HOOK, BROOKLYN — A planned fried chicken offshoot of Hometown Bar-B-Que in Red Hook is "back on track" after an issue with a contractor pushed the project back several months, according to the restaurant's general manager.

Mitchell Rosen gave the update to Community Board 6's Permits and Licensing Committee on Monday night, when he applied for a liquor license at the premises.

"We have our permits back. We’re ready to go," he told the committee.

Chef Billy Durney rocketed to fame for his barbecue joint on Van Brunt Street that opened in 2013. Riding that wave of momentum, Durney announced in January of 2016 that he would be opening a fried chicken spin-off a few blocks away, at Van Brunt and Henry Street.

Construction delays in the century-old building plagued that opening. And things came to a head this April, when his expeditor, hired to navigate the city's red tape, was banned for life from working in the city by the Department of Buildings, which said it couldn't trust his filings.

Rosen told Patch after Monday night's meeting that his team has gotten back in the building and is ready to resume construction.

"Our permits are back," he told Patch. "We've already gotten back in the building, but we need to just get our ducks in a row as far as the contracts and stuff.

"We should be building in the next couple of weeks, and then it should take just a few months. It's going to take a little while because I have to get the gas service in there and get the utilities turned back on."

He said that if all goes well with the utilities, the new restaurant could be open by February or March of next year.

"We're back on track," he said.

The restaurant itself is expected to be another success for the Hometown team. It's going to serve fried chicken in a small outfit with a different feel than the laid back, industrial vibe at Hometown Bar-B-Que.

The restaurant will seat 30 to 35 people with eight or nine seats at the bar, Rosen told the committee. He said he doesn't want it to feel like a trendy new place helping gentrify the old neighborhood.

"Kind of back to old Red Hook," Rosen described it. "Sunny’s meets an old world restaurant."

He said Durney was visiting Nashville this week, but the recipe won't have anything to do with "Nashville-style" hot chicken.

"I’ve eaten the chicken," he said. "I can tell you the chicken is outstanding."

Lead image: Hometown Bar-B-Que chef Billy Durney. Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for NYCWFF