Hot Chicken Star Howlin’ Ray’s Expands to Dinner Hours Tomorrow

Fans of Chinatown hot chicken specialist Howlin’ Ray’s are in for a surprise, as the impossibly-busy restaurant will begin evening service starting on Saturday.

Owners Johnny Ray and Amanda Zone made the surprise announcement on their Instagram page yesterday, blasting the news out to their rabid 80,000-plus fans. It’s likely that the reaction will almost instantly be met with wall-to-wall fans clamoring for a later-evening meal, given the place’s penchant for lines that can often stretch to five hours or more.

In other Howlin’ news, the team is close to unveiling a small merchandise window adjacent to their existing storefront inside Far East Plaza in Chinatown, and will be starting up a quarterly ‘zine in the near future as well. The expansion of hours further falls in line with the restaurant’s overall plans to grow its availability for customers who have been patiently waiting for hours in long lines, starting with increased production at the original site.

Plans to fully grow with dual kitchens and a possible takeout window in Chinatown have proven too unviable to realize, but the addition of some extra storage space and new kitchen equipment is speeding up the process for everyone involved most days. Adding evening service should help thin the line out too.

The Zones are also close to locking in their official Culver City expansion address and starting construction, but official word on that front is still to come. In the meantime, fans can start to line up for later-evening meals as soon as Saturday, though they will be closed on Sunday in celebration of Easter.

• Watch: Sampling LA’s Hottest Hot Chicken at Howlin’ Ray’s [E]