Concord, San Jose: Would you sign a waiver to eat spicy chicken at new Angry Chickz restaurants?

Angry Chickz, a SoCal-based chain that’s fired up about Nashville-style chicken, has just doubled its Bay Area footprint with new restaurants in Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties.

These are the third and fourth Angry Chickz locations for the the Bay Area. The first opened on San Jose’s Saratoga Avenue during the pandemic and the second in Brentwood earlier this year. This new San Jose location takes over the former home of Blue Rock BBQ on Meridian Avenue, and the Concord one is on Ygnacio Valley Road.

Founder David Mkhitaryan first discovered Nashville hot chicken in 2017 and set about perfecting his recipe for a spicy, juicy chicken tender. He, his wife and a friend opened the first Angry Chickz in Hollywood in 2018. Since then, the business owners have been on a tear, opening 21 fast-food restaurants in California, Nevada and Arizona.

Heat levels range from Country style (no heat), up through Mild, Medium, Hot, to X-Hot and then — if you are willing to sign a waiver — to the Angry level. And yes, they are serious about the waiver. There’s no liability insurance to cover blowhard customers who think they can handle any level on the Scoville scale. Consider yourselves warned.

Side dishes to temper the heat include coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, fries and rice.