Grandma Chicken PicaPollo opens second location on Bethlehem’s South Side

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Dominican-style fried chicken restaurant has opened its second Lehigh Valley location on the city’s South Side, taking over a Brodhead Avenue storefront that for the last four years served as home to a family-run Ecuadorian eatery.

Grandma Chicken PicaPollo opened in early April at 306 Brodhead Ave., at the southwest corner of West Third Street across from Comfort Suites. The fast-casual spot is the second location for owner Jorge Gomez, whose original Allentown shop at 624 N. Maxwell St. opened in late 2023.

The term “picapollo” — sometimes written “pica pollo” — refers broadly to a style of seasoned, deep-fried chicken popular in the Dominican Republic, typically served with tostones or french fries.

The Bethlehem menu mirrors that style. Whole-chicken combinations range from $7.49 for a two-piece to $29.49 for a 15-piece, with fries or tostones. Wings, chicken tenders, chicharrón, mofongo, empanadas and chowfan — a Dominican-style fried rice — round out the menu, along with natural juices in flavors including tamarind, passion fruit and cherry.

The dining room is clean and roomy, with seating for roughly two to three dozen guests. Hot food is held in a heated display case and replenished throughout the day.

The space was previously occupied by Couchpota.doh! Kitchen, an Ecuadorian street-food restaurant run by William and MaryLou Seixas.

The Seixas family opened the brick-and-mortar location on Jan. 21, 2022, after years of running a food truck around the Lehigh Valley. The building had previously housed a thrift shop. The Seixases are continuing operations through a mobile unit called Steak & Onions by Couchpota.doh!

The opening adds to a cluster of Dominican and Latin restaurants on South Bethlehem’s compact grid. Casa De Campo, an established Dominican spot, sits two blocks south at 123 W. Fourth St.

Restaurante Mi Tierra, another Dominican kitchen, operates several blocks west at 558 Broadway. Grandma Chicken PicaPollo differentiates itself with a narrower, fried-chicken-forward menu and unusually late hours — staying open until midnight on weeknights and until 3 a.m. Fridays through Sundays.

Those hours align with another part of the location’s appeal: Lehigh University’s Asa Packer Campus is roughly half a mile away.

In a December interview ahead of the opening, Gomez said he anticipated more foot traffic on Brodhead Avenue, particularly given the university’s proximity, and that the brand had grown significantly since its Allentown debut.

The full menu and online ordering are available at grandmaschicken.com.