Rotisserie chicken restaurant chain to open Columbia spot in this busy commercial area
A fast-casual restaurant that specializes in Peruvian rotisserie chicken is planning its first Columbia location in the busy Harbison area.
VIVA Chicken, which is a Charlotte-based fast-casual chain, has signed a lease for 275 Harbison Blvd. and plans to open a restaurant there in early 2023. It will be in the Harbison Center, a shopping complex that currently includes spots such as Rooms To Go, 2nd & Charles bookstore and Total Wine and More. The restaurant will be nearly 2,900 square feet.
While this will mark VIVA’s entry into the Columbia market, the company has already started to grab a foothold in South Carolina. It opened a location in Summerville in December, and there will be a VIVA debuting in Greenville this spring. There are currently 15 total VIVA locations across multiple states.
According to a release, VIVA was founded by Chef Bruno Macchiavello and Randy Garcia in 2013. A mainstay on the menu is Pollo a la Brasa, a staple of Peruvian street food, made from Macchiavello’s family recipe. The restaurant also makes Peruviuan sauces daily, including Aji Amarillo (mild, yellow), Huacatay (medium, green) and Rocoto (hot, red).
VIVA also will carry a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, bowls and a number of sides. The restaurant will make a number of juices in-house daily, including Peruvian favorite chicha morada, which is made from purple corn, cinnamon, clove, pineapple, apple and limes.
“Columbia is a market we’ve had our eye on for some time, and we’re excited to add it to our roster of South Carolina locations,” VIVA Chicken CEO Gerald Pulsinelli said in a statement. “We see lots of guests at our other restaurants who are visiting from the Columbia area and we’re thrilled to bring a VIVA location closer to them.”
