A shuttered Chinese restaurant site in Clarksboro may be getting new life as a halal hot chicken spot. An online ordering page for Asad's Hot Chicken lists an address at 185 West Cohawkin Road, near Route 295 exit 18, in a building that for many years housed Dragon's Nest.
The listing itself does not confirm a restaurant is actually opening there, but as reported by 42 Freeway, the site sits at the intersection of West Cohawkin Road and Berkley Road in East Greenwich Township, and New Jersey business registration records back up the idea that Asad's has plans for the location, according to the outlet's assessment. If the location does materialize, it would mark Asad's first restaurant in Gloucester County, per that same report.
Asad's Hot Chicken describes itself as one of Philadelphia's original Nashville hot chicken brands, according to the company's own halal page. The chain says it runs 20 halal hot chicken stores in all — seven in Philadelphia, seven in the Pennsylvania suburbs, five in New Jersey and one in Delaware — though an NJ.com snippet from August put the count at 19 locations, a discrepancy that has not been reconciled between the two sources. The company notes that the halal certification belongs to its chicken supplier rather than to the restaurants themselves.
A Fresh Addition to South Jersey's Growing Footprint
The possible Clarksboro location would follow closely on the heels of Asad's newest opening in Vineland, which the chain opened Thursday as its first restaurant in Cumberland County. That Vineland store, at 301 S. Main Road, had been under construction for months with no specific opening date announced, according to an August report from nj.com. The same report described Vineland as the chain's fourth spot in New Jersey, with earlier locations in Cherry Hill, North Brunswick and Sicklerville, and noted the expansion was announced with a large Asad's banner.
Asad's company page lists five New Jersey addresses in total: Cherry Hill, Burlington, Sicklerville, Vineland and North Brunswick. Clarksboro is not among them yet, and there's no announced opening timeline for a potential location there, consistent with the current, unconfirmed status of the listing.
What's on the Menu
Asad's built its reputation on freshly prepared halal chicken tenders and sandwiches, with tenders marinated overnight, cooked to order, and coated in the company's signature seasoning. Diners can choose heat levels ranging from no heat to scorching, and the chain has also added bone-in and boneless halal chicken wings, fried fresh and tossed to order in seven different flavors.
Beyond the core tenders and wings, the menu includes loaded fries topped with halal hot chicken, melted cheese and Asad sauce, along with sides like mac and cheese and coleslaw. For dessert, there are smoothies, milkshakes and banana pudding rounding out the offerings.
For now, the Clarksboro plans remain unconfirmed beyond the online ordering listing and the business registration records cited by 42 Freeway. Whether the former Dragon's Nest building actually becomes Gloucester County's first Asad's Hot Chicken — and when — is still an open question for area residents watching the property near Route 295.
