After five years serving Southern food in Dallas’ Lakewood neighborhood, Palmer’s Hot Chicken will close at Mockingbird Lane and Abrams Road and move to a delivery, catering and food truck business.
The news may come as a surprise for Dallasites who watched owner Palmer Fortune and his hot chicken shop featured on Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri in 2024. It’s the second DDD-featured restaurant in Dallas to announce its closure within a week; Rye on Greenville Avenue will also close soon.
Palmer’s is known for its hot chicken sandwiches and pimento cheese grits. The Lakewood restaurant was a family-friendly spot in Hillside Village, with a covered, turfed patio and games for kids.
The owner told The Dallas Morning News his East Dallas restaurant was not profitable — but that selling hot chicken in other ways in Dallas could be.
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“It’s sad, but it’s a huge relief for us,” Fortune said.
Palmer’s Hot Chicken opened in Dallas mid-pandemic, in fall 2020.
Kathy Tran
Within a few days after the restaurant closure, Palmer’s Hot Chicken’s menu is expected to become available via DoorDash and Uber Eats delivery. Fortune and his team will move to a ghost kitchen in Garland, where they will make the same recipes, without the dining room attached.
Palmer’s will also continue its corporate and event-based catering, which Fortune said comprised a significant part of the business.
It will continue to book the food truck, which is serving hot chicken right now at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. The truck is regularly parked at Southern Methodist University sporting events.
Hot Chick-in-Pancake Poppers were our No. 1 bite at the State Fair of Texas in 2024.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
Later this year, Palmer’s will sell its Nashville hot chicken at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the State Fair of Texas. In 2024, Palmer’s team served The News’ favorite Big Tex Choice Awards finalist: a snack of shredded hot chicken and pimento cheese, dipped in pancake batter and fried. Fortune said his team will be entering the famous contest again in 2026.
Fortune said he is grateful to get out of the restaurant business. And, he thanked Lakewood neighbors for being supportive.
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“We just got signals from a higher power,” he said. “It’s just time.”
The restaurant’s last day open will depend on the winter weather this weekend, Fortune said. He hopes to sell his last hot chicken sandwiches and street tacos on Jan. 25, 2026, but fans might want to stop in earlier in case icy or snowy conditions move the closure up a day or two.
Palmer’s Hot Chicken is at 6465 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas. It’s expected to serve food until Jan. 25, 2026, weather permitting, then switch to third-party delivery, catering and events such as the State Fair of Texas.
Staff writer Tommy Magelssen contributed to this report.