White Fence Farm, the iconic Lakewood restaurant, will soon expand its business with a network of carry-out eateries, including places that will soon open in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and on the 16th Street Mall.
“We’re bringing chicken to the people,” said co-owner Tom Piercy of the restaurant’s famous fried chicken.
When in 2014, their plan was to keep the Lakewood restaurant — open since 1973 — exactly the same. But they wanted to extend the brand with takeout places, because families with busy lives sometimes don’t have time to drive out to the restaurant.
“We’d talk to people, saying, ‘Have you ever been to White Fence Farm?’ and they’d say, ‘We love that place, but we’ve not been out there for 10 or 15 years,'” said Piercy.
The first year, they opened a space at the Pepsi Center and in Green Valley Ranch.
This June, they’ll open in a kiosk on the 16th Street Mall at the intersection of California Street.
Next month they’re also opening in Arvada at W. 88th Ave. and Wadsworth Blvd.; in Capitol Hill at 9th Ave. and Corona St.; and at a stand in Elitch Gardens.
The idea for expansion through carryout locations is rooted in Piercy’s childhood. He went to high school in near Romeoville, Ill., just three blocks from with its family-style chicken dinners.
“My mom would give me $20 and say ‘Bring home chicken for dinner,'” he said.
He’d buy a family pack, bringing it home for dinner with his parents and five siblings.
They want to recreate that ease of takeout in metro Denver but, in Capitol Hill, they’re also emphasizing the neighborhood ambiance.
“We’ll also have tables where people can set up laptops and hang out,” he said.
