Kick’s Chicken coming to former Corner 21 location

Last edited 11:58 a.m., July 15, 2026 [Editor's note: Removed a restaurant name.]

The corner of Sunshine Street and Fremont Avenue, the original home of the relocated Corner 21 Chinese restaurant, will soon be chickening out with an original restaurant concept by two Springfieldians.

Kyle Gitchel and Xavier Cahoone are the K and X behind K&X Foods LLC, and that’s where the name of their restaurant comes from: Kick’s Chicken.

The restaurant’s unique value proposition is hand-breaded chicken with all sauces made in house, Cahoone said.

“We plan on making the best chicken tender in town,” Cahoone said in a phone interview today.

Cahoone and Gitchel said they are currently working for other restaurants, though they declined to name them.

“We were just two friends chit-chatting,” Cahoone said. “Me and my business partner were tired of working for other people, and we really wanted to do something on our own. My business partner is really a let’s-do-it kind of guy, so … we did it.”

A modest letter-sized paper sign went on the door of the 1369 E. Sunshine St. location last week and immediately garnered attention on social media. The sign shows the restaurant name and its logo: a chicken wearing sporty lace-up kicks.

“I really liked the idea of a chicken wearing Jordans, so that’s where we came up with the logo design,” Cahoone said.

The sign reads, “Soon to be the new home of Kick’s Chicken,” and Cahoone is confident that they will be able to open in a few weeks’ time, though he notes the timeline is really up to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department as the team waits on the final inspection. Meanwhile, he said, they are getting everything set up and taking care of details like new roofing tiles.

The approach is a focused one, Cahoone said.

“Our business philosophy is if you have a large menu, whatever the thing you’re most proud of, people are less likely to get it,” he said.

He said the menu at Kick’s will have just enough offerings to suit those who don’t want chicken tenders but end up there anyway.

“We’ll have options for you,” he said.

But mainly, the menu has chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, salads and wraps.

Asked about the price point, Cahoone said a basic meal will consist of three chicken strips with three seasoning options – salt and vinegar, lemon pepper or a classic house blend – with bread and what he called a quick pickle of cucumber-and-onion salad for about $13. A drink is about $2 extra.

“We’re going to try to offer the best cost value that we can do for our customers and be locally owned,” he said. “Our stake is we’re going to try to provide a great lunch spot and a great place to bring home dinner to your family, affordably and made in-house.”

He added that Kick’s will brine its chicken, unlike most chain restaurants in the area – think of the seasoned brine used in Thanksgiving turkey preparation.

“It makes it tender,” Cahoone said. “It allows the flavor of the brine to penetrate the chicken, so it’s not just the breading that tastes good – the mean is also flavored, not just the outside.”

He said the tender will live up to that name and will not be tough.

“When you bite into it, it falls apart,” he said.

Cahoone is hoping some of the magic that propelled Corner 21 to growth and expansion at the spot will also touch Kick’s.

“Corner 21 is arguably one of the greatest restaurants in the area,” he said. “I kind of got a weird little feeling, cooking and setting up in a place I used to frequent as a customer.”