Atomic Chicken

Chicken restaurant · North End

Atomic Chicken

Chicken restaurant · North End

4

6500 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202

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Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null
Atomic Chicken by null

Highlights

Easygoing counter serve for fried chicken & waffles, sandwiches & Southern sides in no-frills digs.  

Featured in Eater
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6500 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202 Get directions

$ · Menu

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6500 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202 Get directions

+1 313 782 4803

$ · Menu

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lunch

Last updated

Jul 11, 2025

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@eater

"However, the area has been fickle when it comes to new businesses. Cafe Con Leche, the Zenith, and most recently Atomic Chicken all struggled to find a regular clientele in the neighborhood." - Brenna Houck

Supino Pizzeria Owner Is Opening a Restaurant in New Center - Eater Detroit
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@eater

"Atomic Chicken in New Center is once again shaking things up in March with the addition of a partner restaurant." - Brenna Houck

Peruvian Restaurant to Join Atomic Chicken’s Ranks in New Center - Eater Detroit
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@eater

"Atomic Chicken, a fast-casual chicken restaurant in New Center, Detroit, confirmed its closure due to slow neighborhood development and operational challenges. It briefly hosted Buffy’s Mexi-Casion Grill as a pop-up before closing in May." - Brenna Houck

Falling Down Beer Company Abruptly Closes Both of Its Taprooms - Eater Detroit
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@eater

"Atomic Chicken is preparing to open its doors again next week with a new restaurant joining its ranks. Co-owner Scott Moloney tells Eater that partner Buffy Campeau will setting up shop inside the New Center restaurant with dishes from her food truck Buffy’s Mexi-Casian Grill. The new “dual concept” format will allow Atomic Chicken to offer customers some alternatives to its fried chicken and chicken sandwiches, says Moloney, while giving Buffy’s a place to showcase its American and Mexican-influenced food during the mobile restaurant’s winter off-season. During the brief closure, the restaurant team has been busy removing its chalkboard menus in favor of three video screens that will be updated regularly to feature both Buffy’s and Atomic’s dishes. Both restaurants will share the kitchen space and POS system meaning customers will be able to mix and match their fried chicken with items like tacos and sliders. Atomic will also be updating its menu with a few new items and adjusting prices to make the food “a little bit more affordable,” Moloney says. Buffy’s is expected to run out of Atomic until food truck season starts again and — depending on how the addition is received — possibly longer. Moloney says the partners have also toyed with turning a portion of Atomic’s space into a casual restaurant incubator. That format give local entrepreneurs opportunities to test their food business startups out of the existing restaurant. Despite increased development activity in the area, New Center is still an evolving market for restaurant businesses, Moloney admits. “Atomic got off to a great start in the first two or three months,” he says, “and then summer came and we had some air conditioning issues and we lost all of our momentum.” By freshening up the menu, bringing in Buffy’s, and possibly inviting more pop-up restaurant residencies, Moloney hopes to keep customers excited about dining out in the neighborhood. As for Atomic’s temporarily shuttered location in Clawson, Moloney says he still owns the building and is slowly working to address some issues with the property including resurfacing the parking lot. Whether the restaurant will still trade in chicken though remains to be seen. “I can’t promise it’s going to be an Atomic Chicken,” he says." - Brenna Houck

New Center’s Atomic Chicken Joins Forces With Buffy’s Mexi-Casian Grill - Eater Detroit
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Adomas Rauckis

Google
Ordered the atomic chicken and seasoned fries. It was awesome. Perfect amount of hot on the chicken, the blue cheese was perfectly melted and the bun was just a tad sweet. The fries were great with very flavorful seasoning all over them. The staff was very friendly and asked us twice if everything was tasting right. No doubt I will be back to this place!

Zachary Risk

Google
UPDATE: After my second visit, I increased my rating from 2 to 3 stars total. The tots were much better this time, well-seasoned, and slightly crispy. Really quite good. And the service was still good, although I got blue cheese dip instead of ranch. The chicken is still a problem. There was no pink this time, but the stricps still need another 1-2 minutes in the fryer. The chicken is slightly tough/rubbery, which only happens with under-cooked chicken. Also, they need to clean/trim the chicken before coating and frying. There should not be pieces of skin/connective tissue on strips. Finally, they should consider pounding the chicken to ensure the pieces are more similar in size, and this will help with even cooking. One positive is that the seasoning was powerful; very spicy! Unfortunately, because of my two dissatisfying visits, I won't be going back. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I acknowledge that this location has been open for less than a week. I also plan to revisit the restaurant in a month or two to see if it has improved. But after my first visit, I am incredibly disappointed. PROS: Staff were nice, and the location itself has pleasant aesthetics. House-cut fries are a plus, and the tots had a pretty good flavor. CONS: My chicken strips were not cooked long enough; there was still some pink on the meat. Not good! I ordered spicy, and it had very little flavor or spice in my opinion. I also received three strips that were not proportional or cleaned very well (there was a piece of connective tissue on one strip). I did not receive my dipping sauce either. Finally, we were told there would be a 20-minute wait. I think we waited closer to 12-15 minutes, but that still seems a little long for this type of restaurant. As I prefaced, I'll give this a second chance. All of these issues can be easily fixed, so this may be growing pains. I am hopeful this place is a success, but they definitely have some work to do. I'll edit this post after my next visit.

Michael Cottage

Google
Been waiting a while to try this and I wasn't a let down. I really enjoyed the two sandwiches my friend and I shared (Atomic Chicken and The Rooster). The pulled chicken in my opinion had great flavor and was moist , the cheeses on both were on point. Long story short I can't wait to try some more items on the menu like the fried chicken! P.s I don't right reviews but I felt I needed to write this one since it seems to be all negative and the food was great.

Jay Montgomery

Google
The food was amazing, staff was very polite and helpful when choosing what to pick. I understand that the place just opened but was one of the cleanest places to eat around. I work downtown and so I am constantly on the hunt for good places to try and I highly suggest giving this place a shot, it won't let you down. BTW when I came to write a review about my experience (which I rarely do), I was shocked to read some of the reviews that I did. Didn't even seem like the same food I ate.

Luke Kirtley

Google
Editing my review from 4 stars to one. The chef was screaming that she needed help the entire 40 minutes I waited for my food. Staff correctly. If you cannot afford to staff, how can I expect your food to be fresh? There was no music. Just. Silence. At first it was great but since dying down, it's not a pleasant experience.

Brian A

Google
They just can't seem to ever get it right here. They try, but there's always something wrong with the food. The staff is great, everyone is really nice, but there's just something missing with the food. It's just not that great... Except the Mac and cheese is pretty good. Chicken looks good though!

Clifford Samuels Jr

Google
Chicken sandwich was tough, little seasoning but was spicy. Mac and cheese was a total disappointment. Go to Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken for better chicken and sides. Can see why there was no lunch crowd. :-( Waiting for the next restaurant to open at this location.

Hana Pauline

Google
Every time I eat here the food is great, but they have the STRANGEST hours. They would get a lot more business if they were open past five and in the weekends... It’s almost like they don’t want to make any money. I’ve gone there at least five times excited to get their food and they were closed. One time they shut down the entire place for a “private event” and there were only two people inside. I brought my dad their food once and he asks me to get it for him ALL the time now, but they never seem to be open when we want it. :( PLEASE EXTEND YOUR HOURS!!