Jersey Mike's Subs, Dave's Hot Chicken coming to University Mall in South Burlington

The food scene at Chittenden County’s primary indoor shopping mall will get a boost this year with the arrival in South Burlington of a couple of nationwide casual eateries.

Dave’s Hot Chicken will open its first location in Vermont at University Mall. Jersey Mike’s Subs will bring its second shop to the state less than seven miles from its first in Williston. The moves were announced in a news release March 11 from a publicist for University Mall.

Jersey Mike’s is known for its selection of cold and hot subs. The shop began on the New Jersey shore in 1956. According to the company’s website, there are 2,734 shops in the U.S. with another 297 coming soon.

Dave’s Hot Chicken began seven years ago as a late-night pop-up shop in a parking lot in East Hollywood, California. The eatery’s menu features chicken tenders and sliders with varying degrees of spice, as well as sides including mac and cheese and kale slaw.

Despite the Amazon-driven decline in brick-and-mortar retail stores in the U.S., University Mall still has more than 70 shops, restaurants and other services in its Dorset Street location. The food scene at the South Burlington mall, however, has been lean in recent years, with the food court practically barren. Other eateries, including Applebee’s, IHOP and Auntie Anne’s pretzel shop, are sprinkled throughout the mall.

University Mall is owned by the Boston-based company Eastern Real Estate, which assumed ownership of the mall in 2022. According to the news release, the arrivals of Jersey Mike’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken are “part of a broader revisioning of the offerings at UMall,” with other possibilities including a proposed medical spa.

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.