World Famous HotBoys is coming to Walnut Creek, taking over the former Mel’s at 1394 N. Main St. The first to do Nashville hot chicken “the right way” in the Bay Area, World Famous HotBoys has become a destination chicken joint in Oakland and Sacramento.
Co-Owner Victor Ghaben tells What Now San Francisco that they aim to open their Walnut Creek store by the end of February, contrary to previous reports. The Walnut Creek outpost will have a full breakfast menu similar to the Sacramento restaurant, plus the hot chicken wings, tenders, and sandwiches that put them on the map.
World Famous HotBoys uses 100-percent Halal chicken that is marinated for 24 hours before it is fried. There are five different spice levels including mild, medium, hot, hot hot, and hella hot. Beware of the hella hot level—few have barely made it past hot hot, a challenge in itself for which you need to sign a waiver.
Ghaben adds that they are working on being open for late nights with beer and wine service until 2 a.m., hence a recently filed ABC application to transfer the license to the new restaurant. The space itself was easy to acquire. Ghaben’s family has run The Original Mel’s Diner since 1991 but in recent years, they knew it was time for a transformation.
Luckily, they already had a new tenant in mind. Ghaben and his friend Berk Gibbs started World Famous HotBoys as a popup in Oakland, after slinging their hot chicken recipe for many years. In 2019, they opened their first brick-and-mortar on San Pablo Avenue, followed shortly after by their Sacramento location. Now, they are coming in “hot” at Walnut Creek. For more information, visit worldfamoushotboys.com.
