A project teased for more than a half decade, the San Diego debut of Los Angeles-based soul food chain Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles is delayed yet again and is now not anticipated to open until 2023.
We first reported in early 2016 that Roscoe's was looking for a location to open its first San Diego branch. Roscoe's expansion to San Diego was halted early in the permitting stages due to the filing of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2016, which came months after the company was ordered to pay $3.2 million to a former employee who won a wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuit against the chain's parent company. Then in 2019, we published an update detailing that the company was in the final approval stages to build its first San Diego restaurant in Barrio Logan at the corner of National Avenue and Sigsbee street, where plans include demolishing the current four existing buildings to construct a brand new building. The affected addresses includes 1678, 1682, 1684-1686, and 1692-1695 National Avenue, as well as 926, 928, and 930 Sigsbee Street. The project was subsequently confirmed by the City of San Diego Development Services Department but was then stalled another time due to the pandemic.
Despite the issues stalling the opening of the company's premier San Diego branch, last year Roscoe's broke ground on the construction of its restaurant in Barrio Logan. The first San Diego Roscoe's was on schedule to open this past summer, then delayed until fall 2022, and now a representative confirmed the new scheduled opening is planned for early 2022. The San Diego branch of Roscoe's will include a 6,000 square-foot restaurant on the base floor of a standalone building with a second-story, rooftop dining deck and its own parking, as well as a crave-worthy comfort food menu with fried chicken, waffles, grits, gravy and other Southern dishes.
Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles made classic southern soul food popular in Los Angeles starting in 1975. Founded by Herb Hudson, a Harlem, NY native, Roscoe's has expanded to 8 locations throughout Los Angeles and Southern California since its inception. Based on the success of the first San Diego outpost, more area branches may be on the way.
Roscoe's House Of Chicken 'N Waffles is expected to open in first quarter 2023 at 1678 National Avenue in San Diego's Barrio Logan. For more information, visit roscoeschickenandwaffles.com.
