King of the Coop’s “The King Mac” complete with housemade pickle and shredded slaw. Credit: kingofthecooptampa / Facebook

King of the Coop owner Joe Dodd took to social media Monday to address various changes happening with his local hot chicken brand.

In addition to the closures of King of the Coop’s St. Pete and South Tampa outposts, its location inside of Seminole Heights’ Flocale will soon be rebranded into The Coop’s Den, a late-night concept with a full-service bar.

“It is with a very sad and heavy heart that we share that we have made the difficult decision to close our doors in St. Pete and SoHo,” King of the Coop wrote on Instagram. “We do this in hopes of continuing to try and reach our right customers. As well as getting back to the basics and working on our quality and consistency to give you the best possible product we can produce.”

In the Instagram video, Dodd mentions the halt of franchise-related expansion, although its Westchase location is wrapping up its build out and will soon be its third restaurant in Tampa Bay. He also teases the return of King of the Coop’s Sunday family-style dinners, which were quite popular a few years ago.

The Coop’s Den inside of Flocale will debut on Sunday, Oct. 1, complete with food and drink specials. King of the Coop’s new late-night spot is joined by Westshore Pizza, burger concept Slide, Matt’s Fat Cookies, Oh Yeah Creamery and its new axe throwing room.

“We’re getting back to what made us King of the Coop—getting back to our roots. We’re going to get back to the quality and consistency that people loved,” Dodd says. “These changes will give me time to refocus on what really matters to me and the business. Even through all the ups and downs I appreciate everyone for supporting us and giving us feedback, even if it’s negative, because we can’t grow any other way.”

The restaurant’s location inside of Seminole Heights’ Flocale aka “The Coop’s Den” remains open at 5910 N Florida Ave. alongside its Wesley Chapel location at 27835 Wesley Chapel Blvd.

For the latest news on King of the Coop and its upcoming Westchase location, head to its Instagram at @kingofthecooptampa.

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