Has anyone ever turned Hotville’s origin story into a poem before?
[Laughs] That was something I was not expecting! Very, very cool. And impressive. I love the poem you all put together and I can’t wait for people to get their hands on the collaboration. I think people are really going to cherish it. Our chicken is not just a trend. Trends come and go. The people who have this collaboration will be able to brag about it later.

A lot of hot chicken spots have opened up in Los Angeles in the last year or so, but Hotville is the real deal, straight from Nashville. What separates your family’s restaurant from the rest?
This chicken is an institution in Nashville, right alongside country music. I don’t know that my ancestors could have predicted hot chicken becoming a worldwide phenomenon but my aunt André always talked about keeping the chicken in the family. While people were always inquisitive about how we made our chicken, Nashville just cherished it for what it was worth. I don’t think anyone’s mimicking, they’re just inspired by us. Our process is very unique and something we hold close to the vest. I haven’t tasted any other Nashville Hot Chicken like ours. Others have come on the scene and hit the mainstream but then you get into a whole conversation about access and systemic oppression that allow people of other communities to afford to get into this game. I don’t call Nashville Hot Chicken “Black food” but it was started by a Black family in a segregated part of town. But people of all races came and ate, even back in the 1930s. So, for the world to get a hold of it, I’m not surprised. We were intent on bringing our history and story to the Crenshaw district, and as people are discovering who we are and what we’re about, there’s a certain pride that goes along with that. It makes me feel accomplished, like I can check that box. We always wanted to do this. Nashville Hot Chicken started with the Prince family.

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