SideTrack owner Lawton Haygood says the “flying fish” grilled trout entree, shown here, has to be seen — and tasted — to be truly appreciated.
Grilled pizza will be one of the specialties at SideTrack, set to open in the former Huddle House on Hixson Pike.Lawton Haygood, who made his mark on the Chattanooga area’s restaurant scene as the creator of Sugar’s Ribs, the Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar and Canyon Grill, hopes to score again with a new restaurant in Hixson.
He plans to open the restaurant, tentatively named SideTrack, in May or June at 3514 Hixson Pike, the site of a former Huddle House where two other diner-style restaurants failed: Hillbilly’s and The Hixson Pike Diner.
The location – next to a railroad track, which explains the SideTrack name – doesn’t worry Haygood, because he’s investing around $2 million to upgrade and expand the building which was built in 2006.
SideTrack will seat about 140 people, offer plenty of parking, he said, and serve wine, liquor, bottled beer and food cooked by wood fire – a signature of Haygood’s restaurants.
“Is it a good location? We’ll find out,” said Haygood, who called the neighborhood home to “young, successful, hard-working people.”