Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken opens its first location in Macomb County – Macomb Daily

Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken opened its first Macomb County location this week on the site of the former Dooleys Irish Tavern on Gratiot Avenue in Roseville. (MITCH HOTTS – THE MACOMB DAILY)

A popular chicken restaurant chain is celebrating the grand opening of its first Macomb County location on Thursday.

Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken officially opened earlier this week at the site of the former Dooleys Irish Tavern on Gratiot Avenue across from Macomb Mall. The bar will close permanently in 2022.

Co-owner Raid Alsomairi, who runs two other Lee’s stores in southeast Michigan with his partner Noman Aiyash, said they had been looking for locations on Gratiot for three years.

“We couldn’t find any space at all,” Alsomairi said Tuesday. “Finally, the owner of Dooleys contacted us and said he wanted to get out of the business.”

Alsomairi said the location is ideal for a chicken restaurant because of its proximity to Interstate 94 and Gratiot.

Lee’s is a fast-food restaurant chain that offers bone-in fried chicken and chicken strips, as well as other tasty treats such as chicken pot pie, chicken sandwiches, and about 20 sides, including mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and biscuits.

Founded in 1966 by the nephew of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders, the restaurant has more than 130 locations in the United States, most of them in the Midwest.

All dishes are made to order, not pre-made. “We bring the chicken out as soon as you order it,” says Alsomairi, who also runs Leo’s Coney Island near Macomb Mall. “The spices have their own flavor – each one is better than the other.”

Alsomairi said another Lee’s will open at the site of a closed KFC restaurant on Garfield Road near 181/2 Mile Road in Clinton Township. The Garfield location will open later this year, he said.

Fort Walton Beach, Florida-based Lee’s was named Best Fast Food Fried Chicken in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards 2023.

The 3,000-square-foot Roseville location has a 34-seat dining room and plans to add a patio in the future. The company is one of three tenants expected to occupy the building, along with a tobacco shop and a bakery.

For the grand opening on Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., the first 100 customers will receive a free 2-piece brisket meal, as well as giveaways and more. One guest will have the chance to win free Lee’s for an entire year.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. For more information, call 586-837-5337 or visit leesfamousrecipe.com.