First Glimpse - Peckers packs a punch with its community-minded Hitchin Westmill store serving Seriously Good Chicken | Local History | News | Hitchin Nub News

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In the meantime, read on for our First Glimpse on Peckers, the brilliant new chicken store that has a opened in the heart of the Westmill community in Hitchin.

Peckers stylish street art decor is a riot of psychedelia and variegated, inventive whirls created by renowned Hitchin graffiti artist, Mark Meana. CREDIT: Nub News

First Glimpse - Peckers: Hitchin's community-minded Westmill family store serving Seriously Good Chicken

"We've been so busy since we opened at the end of February," says Peckers' engaging co-owners Sanjay and Rishi Chandarana.

It's not difficult to see why.

This new acclaimed chicken store in the heart of the Westmill community has opened to rave reviews. Situated next to the new Nisa store at 25 John Barker Place, Peckers has been wowing punters with its mouth-watering fayre since the moment it first welcomed customers on February 28.

Offering dine-in, takeaway and delivery options, with ample space for 22 covers, Peckers lineage with Hitchin, and Westmill in particular, runs deep.

Sanjay's family came to the town after leaving Uganda in the 1970s with Westmill playing host to their first home in the UK. As former City worker Sanjay notes: "Many came to know the Chandarana family, and my grandad 'Sandy' who served the community from his off licence for over 30 years."

It is fitting that Peckers is a matter of yards away from their hugely well-known grandfather's store, in this part of Hitchin that is currently undergoing such rejuvenation. As Nub News has reported previously, the area is part of a substantial rebuild, including provision for 48 'affordable homes'

Humble and hard-working Sanjay and Rishi told Hitchin Nub News: "We're so excited about Peckers. We just want to give back to our community.

"The feedback we have had from every single person since we opened has been absolutely fantastic. We cater for everyone, we welcome everyone. This is a community restaurant - we're proud Peckers is in the heart of our community."

Five decades on from the legendary Sandy, Peckers joint supremo Sanjay and Rishi say with pride: "To be back 50 years later to serve the community Hitchin again was fate. My brother and I were born and raised in the great town of Hitchin and we love this area."

As you can see from our Nub News picture above, Peckers stylish street art decor is a riot of psychedelia and variegated, inventive whirls created by renowned Hitchin graffiti artist, Mark Meana (@meanamania).

The food is as captivating as the art, with high quality fast food prepared by Venezuelan head chef Manuel Tovar. It's no wonder Peckers have styled a menu to complement their spectacular murals, with locally sourced and ethically reared fully Halal chicken.

Sanjay and Rishi explain: "Not only does this mean the freshest poultry available, but virtually everything is made inhouse, including all our sauces - right down to the mayo."

Peckers have also invested in self-serve kiosks, allow punters to order without the hassle of queuing.

And as for the food. Well, Nub News was quite blown away with the crisp, fresh, tender chicken on offer, not to mention the flavoursome rice (Basmati) bowls, the tender wraps and the tasty chicken fillet burgers, as well as the freshly made, succulent sauces.

Peckers: Seriously Good Chicken

But don't take our word for it:

Why not visit Peckers today and sample their seriously good chicken - which ranges from the Mega Pecker Burger, to Buffalo Soldier Fries, to their Murgar on the Dance Floor Burger, packed with crispy chicken fillet, house-made masala sauce, crispy lettuce, onion bhaji, mango chutney and red pickle onion, to their 'Hert and Seoul Burger', with their secret blend of Korean glaze and house mayo, crispy lettuce, house Korean slaw and crispy onions - to name but a small selection from their star-studded menu.

See Hitchin Nub News next week for our in-depth Up Close feature on Peckers' impressive owners' Sanjay and Rishi - but in the meantime, the store certainly has Nub News seal of approval our visit this week that had us greatly impressed.

In fact, quite simply as we say: Peckers packs a punch with its community-minded Hitchin Westmill store serving Seriously Good Chicken