As a child, Casey Long aspired to be a chef and own her own restaurant. She made that a reality in 2021 when she and her two co-founders, Gabe and Trent, opened Chubbs Chicken Sandwiches. After studying psychology at UCSB and not knowing what to do next, Long moved to Santa Cruz eight years ago to be with her partner, himself a former fried chicken entrepreneur who encouraged her and helped the business get off the ground. Long says she, Gabe and Trent all knew fried chicken and also had good food connections in town.
Out of a “lovely hole in the wall,” they offer take-out and on-site dining on a shared patio in a building with a modern indie café feel. The menu is focused: fried chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and Southern-style sides. The sandwiches headline, with standard and Nashville-style hot options, choice of bun, fixings and type of mayo. The vegetarian fried oyster mushroom is another favorite, and the sides are French fries, potato salad, mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes and a mayo-based coleslaw with bright notes of vinegar. Everything on the menu is either already gluten-free, or can be made so.
To what do you attribute your success?
CASEY LONG: The community, for sure. We were mentioned in a popular local food Facebook page, promoted by a prominent local food journalist, and have had positive, organic word-of-mouth rave reviews. We try to be extremely consistent with our product, and since it’s only myself and my two business partners doing everything, we are able to do that.
How have you and your partners perfected the recipes?
Due to us being in a communal kitchen and not having to design a space, we were able to really focus on menu testing. We were lucky in that our bun maker was also using the same space, so we got to research and develop with her. And in the month prior to opening, we hunkered down and tested variations on everything we serve—the chicken, sides and sauces—to ensure each item was delicious individually as well as in harmony with each other.
Summer hours Wed.-Sat. 5-9pm; 766 Chestnut St., Santa Cruz; 831-600-6813; chubbschickensandwiches.com.
Kickin’ Chicken former components??