REGIONAL DINING FEATURE The Thirsty Chicken Restaurant, daiquiri shop aims to bring new concept, relaxed environment to Leander F amily-owned chicken spot BY ZACHARIA WASHINGTON
wings—and the most ordered daiquiri is the El Gallo Loco, which includes watermelon avoring with Tajin and Chamoy. The Thirsty Chicken is a family-oriented restaurant, o ering both alcoholic and non-alcoholic daiquiris, and all of the music is clean, Clifton III said. Children can also participate in karaoke and game nights o ered at the establishment. Because The Thirsty Chicken only has patio seating, the heat during the summer months has been an ongoing challenge. The family is working to enclose the patio completely, Clifton III said. Once completed, the portion of the patio connected to the building will be fully air conditioned and covered, while a portion under- neath the trees will remain open. The Lott family looks forward to expanding The Thirsty Chicken across the Austin area in the next few years. All six of the Lott children will get their own locations, Clifton III said, and afterward they will start to franchise the restaurant. There is also discussion about food trucks so the family can do more event catering. In the meantime, the Lott family will continue to perfect the Leander location of The Thirsty Chicken. “We really just want to help create a more positive environment and just a fun environment for everybody,” Clifton III said. “I want to invite everybody to come out and have a good time—what we say is, ‘Come kick it with us.’”
and daiquiri bar The Thirsty Chicken opened in October with the goal of introducing a new concept to Leander. “We really wanted to bring some avor to Leander,” Marketing Man- ager Clifton Lott III said. “We’re from California, so we wanted to bring that vibe out here.” Before establishing the restaurant, owners Sandra Lott and Clifton Lott Jr.—the parents of Clifton III—owned Century Water Solutions, where they sold water softeners and o ered water-puri cation services. After realizing there were no other chicken and daiquiri spots in the city, Clifton Jr. and Sandra decided to turn the o ce space they already had into a restaurant. Clifton Jr., Sandra and their children live in Leander, so they wanted to start the restaurant in their own back yard rst, Clifton III said. “We wanted to bring a di erent experience to Leander; I mean, I can’t think of another place that o ers daiquiris and wings and this vibe,” Clifton III said. Everything at The Thirsty Chicken is made in house from scratch, Clifton III said. Clifton III said customers par- ticularly like the restaurant’s Bird Baths—or sauces—because they are served fresh, and the daiquiris are popular because they are strong but still sweet. A favorite order is the Dirty Bird—spicy garlic parmesan
Clifton Lott Jr. and Sandra Lott opened The Thirsty Chicken in October.
The social media and marketing manager is Clifton Lott III.
COURTESY THE THIRSTY CHICKEN
ZACHARIA WASHINGTON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Popular daiquiris include The El Gallo Loco (left) and The Dodo Bird (right).
Fried cauli ower bites shown in The Dirty Bird spicy garlic parmesan Bird Bath.
ZACHARIA WASHINGTON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
ZACHARIA WASHINGTON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
BIRD BATHS The Thirsty Chicken continued the restaurant’s theme to its menu items, calling its eight sauces Bird Baths.
The Thirsty Chicken 104 W. Willis St., Leander 512-528-4395 https://thethirstychicken.com Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
SPICY SCALE
The Raging Rooster (hot Bu alo) El Pollo Loco (spicy margarita) The Kickin’ Chicken (medium Bu alo) The Twisted TailFeather (spicy lemon pepper) The Dirty Bird (spicy garlic parmesan) The Wet Willy (barbecue) The Quack Quack (Asian heat) The Fowl Chicken (garlic parmesan) The TailFeather (lemon pepper)
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ROUND ROCK EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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