Hot Cluckers to take over former Famous Dave’s

Springfield soon will be home to another Hot Cluckers restaurant.

Restaurateur Michael Felts said the Nashville-style fried chicken and catfish eatery will open in first quarter 2020 at the former Famous Dave’s site at 4406 S. Campbell Ave.

The nearly 6,100-square-foot building, which has sat vacant for a year, will be a full-service restaurant and bar, Felts said. The original 2,000-square-foot Hot Cluckers at 1450 E. Sunshine St. is designed as a fast-casual restaurant.

“It’s three times the size of what we have now,” Felts said. “We’ll be able to do a full breakfast menu, and it’ll be more of a sports bar concept than what we have now.”

Felts said most of the equipment the kitchen staff will need is already at the former barbecue restaurant, which keeps move-in costs low. Felts said he signed a five-year lease with options. The restaurant space is part of a strip center off South Campbell Avenue owned by EWP LLC, according to state documents. Other tenants in the center are Subway, Supplement Superstore and Supercuts.

Near Andy’s Frozen Custard and Einstein Bros. Bagels on South Campbell, Famous Dave’s closed its doors in January 2019 for undisclosed reasons after seven years in operation, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

Felts also is planning a Hot Cluckers next to his developing Taco Habitat eatery in Branson. He’s also behind the upcoming Bourbon and Beale restaurant and Taco Habitat eatery in Springfield.