The Lakelander staff had the pleasure of trying several items on Sarah’s Hot Chicken’s virtual restaurant menu, and, while it was all delicious, let’s talk about the most important part of the dishes, the Hot Chicken.

Sarah’s Hot Chicken in Lakeland is a virtual restaurant specializing in Hot Chicken, combining classic Nashville flavors with fresh, made-from-scratch recipes. The menu offers chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, shrimp po’ boys, and salads – all customizable with heat levels.

When they say “Damn Hot,” well, you’ve been warned.

As you take the first bite into Sarah’s Hot Chicken Sandwich, you crunch through a perfect layer of extra-crispy fried breading. Next, you sense the faintest touch of sweetness from the breading’s spice mix, and as your teeth pierce deep into the perfectly cooked, juicy chicken breast that was brined for 24 hours, the pungent explosion of heat and flavor fills your mouth in an instant. Then, bite after bite you continue to enjoy the rest of the ingredients in perfect harmony: slaw, pickled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. The rest is history.

Sarah’s Hot Chicken is the creation of Lakeland’s Fish City Grill team members. The concept is named after the location’s managing partner, Sarah Ceretto. “I am so proud of our team and the time and effort put into creating such craveable recipes,” Ceretto says. “We can’t wait to make Sarah’s Hot Chicken successful and see it branch out to other cities.” 

It’s a unique partnership between the franchisor and franchisee that led to Sarah’s Hot Chicken coming to fruition. “This is the perfect example of how collaborative innovation can propel a company forward,” says co-founder of Fish City Grill, Bill Bayne. “We are fortunate to have Brian Edwards, Sarah Ceretto, and the Lakeland team members as part of the Fish City Grill family.”

Sarah’s Hot Chicken is only available for delivery by placing an order through sarahshotchicken.com or DoorDash.