Fast-growing, family-owned fried chicken restaurant Roaming Rooster has signed a lease for a location at Woodmore Towne Centre in Glenarden, Maryland — its 12th restaurant in the D.C. area.
The Woodmore lease comes one month after Roaming Rooster opened a location at Crofton Center in Crofton, Maryland.
Woodmore Towne Centre, one of the largest open-air shopping centers in the D.C. region, was acquired by New York-based Urban Edge Properties last year for $193.4 million. It has been pursuing new tenants. The Wegmans-anchored center is already 97% leased. Other restaurants include CAVA, Silver Diner, Copper Canyon and Nando’s Peri Peri.
Roaming Rooster started as a food truck in 2015 by three Ethiopian immigrants, Biniam Habtemariam, Michael Habtemariam and Hareg Mesfin. It expanded to three food trucks shortly after, and opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2018.
It has gained a large following, originally just by word-of-mouth, for its free-range, grain-fed fried chicken sandwiches and wings. It also has a busy catering business.
One year after opening its first restaurant location, it saw business triple after rave social media reviews that went viral.
Sandwiches and wings on its menus come with a range of heat levels, from mild to “inferno,” and include Nashville, Buffalo and honey butter-style. There’s also a vegetarian buttermilk-fried oyster mushroom sandwich.
Roaming Rooster restaurants also serve hand-spun milkshakes and frozen custard.