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Saroki’s Crispy Chicken & Pizza reimagining roadside cuisine
Brothers Todd and Curtis Saroki are challenging preconceptions about mega-station food with their hand-breaded chicken tenders and NY-style brick oven pizzas.
April 9, 2025 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
All road trips are not created equal, and one of the most important components of a positive experience is amazing food. It's a connection point, a moment of unexpected delight, according to brothers Todd and Curtis Sarokim who are rewriting the narrative of mega station dining with their brand, Saroki's Crispy Chicken & Pizza.
Founded in 2012, the mega station concept has grown from a single location to 20 units and is adding 20 over next few years. The brothers are challenging preconceptions about mega-station food with their hand-breaded chicken tenders and NY-style brick oven pizzas made with 100% fresh ingredients and house-made sauces.
"We're creating more than meals," Curtis Saroki told FastCasual.com. "We're offering a sensory experience that challenges everything people expect from mega station food."
Honoring the family's heritage in the kitchen
The brand's chicken fingers are breaded in technique honoring the Saroki family's Chaldean heritage, which is an ethnoreligious group primarily composed of Chaldean Catholics — Eastern Rite Catholics who are part of the Chaldean Catholic Church, which is in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church but retains its own liturgy, traditions and customs. Chaldeans embrace strong family values, a distinct cuisine and a tight-knit community, Todd Saroki said.
To honor that culture, each chicken tender is coated in a seasoning that tells a story of cultural depth and culinary skill. The breading isn't uniform, but a landscape of texture — crisp in some areas, deeply golden in others — proving that precision matters, even in fast food, Curtis Saroki said.
With Todd Saroki's time spent at the International School of Pizza in San Francisco, Sarokis NY-style pizza follows the same philosophy of intentional craft. The daily made dough carries the subtle complexity of careful fermentation. Stanislaus tomatoes are sourced from California, and the mozzarella is carefully selected to connect each slice to authentic culinary traditions. The chefs also use innovative bases, such a fresh basil pesto and vodka sauce.
About Cherryh Cansler
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