One of New York’s hottest new fried chicken restaurants is getting ready to open its first-ever Manhattan location.
Rokstar Chicken is the latest concept to be brought to life by New York restaurateur Mark Lee. Lee is best known as the founder of Spot Dessert Bar, a popular dessert restaurant that operated in Flushing and on St. Mark’s Place. After making a name for himself with Spot, Mark set his sights on building New York’s next chicken empire, endeavoring to one day become the Shake Shack of Korean fried chicken.
As Rokstar describes it, Korean fried chicken has been around since the 1970s and has since become a staple in Korean culture. Named “R.O.K” for “Republic of Korea”, Rokstar is on a mission to introduce and share Korean culture with the world through the best way possible – food. A fast and casual concept providing high-quality food and service with unique sauces and batter, Rokstar promises to serve guests some of the crispiest chicken they’ll ever have.
The brand is relatively new and has been steadily operating out of a Food Bazaar in Douglaston since launching in December 2021. Recently, Lee just launched his first-ever expansion in Long Island City, and now he and his team are finally ready to bring their popular new concept to Manhattan. According to Eater, Mark will be setting up shop at Harlem’s Food Bazaar located at 201 East 125th Street. Located on the corner of Third Avenue and 125th Street, Food Bazaar recently opened its first location in Harlem (and Manhattan at large) less than a few months ago back in August. Established in Queens in 1988 by founder Francis An, Food Bazaar operates 30 locations across the tri-state area and was founded in order to help the area’s diverse immigrant communities find easy access to international ingredients not regularly found in typical American grocery stores.
Once open, guests can expect to enjoy Rokstar’s classic fried chicken, served with a wide variety of sauces, including classic, sweet chili, and hot soy garlic. Guests can order their chicken boneless, whole, or just wings, and can add on sides like salad, white rice, onion rings, and of course fries.
According to Mark, Rokstar’s Harlem outpost is expected to open on February 13th, and you can follow Rokstar on Instagram to stay updated with all of their opening news.
