If you have recently passed by the CVS drugstore on San Vicente, you might have noticed the bright blue CHX truck serving fried chicken sandwiches. If you are luckier, you may have even stopped to check it out. Quickly, you would have found that this is not your average fast food meals on wheels business.
Founder Alex Hyman is a 20-year-old Brentwood local and Crossroads School graduate, currently studying at the esteemed Cornell hospitality school in New York. Wise beyond his years, he spent his mid-teens working in fine dining restaurants, including Kali in Hollywood and Ospi in Venice, before switching gears to work on his good friend and Cornell fraternity big brother’s burger truck, Sunset Smash, last summer in the Palisades.
“Kali is a Michelin-star restaurant so it's very well-known,” says Hyman. “I turned 16 and I got hired to work part-time there in the kitchen.” Once Hyman was accepted to Cornell, he connected with alumni chef Jackson Kalb of Ospi—a Pacific Palisades native who attended Brentwood School and grew up working at Mélisse. “I worked there too, as a server, and got to know the front of house,” he says.
Hyman’s father is a middle school teacher at Paul Revere, and his mom is a screenwriter who also orchestrates fundraisers for political campaigns. While the young chef grew up in Westwood and Brentwood and earned his chops at some of the city’s top dining establishments, he wanted to offer an accessible option but with elevated food where his friends could afford to go. CHX was born at the end of May. “I took my last final at school in New York, and then six days later, I opened during summer break,” Hyman says. “I worked day and night, making sure the truck was ready and we had a great menu.”
Most days, you can find CHX parked side-by-side on San Vicente Boulevard with Hyman’s friends and mentors Sunset Smash and Gracias Señor Rudy. “They were in the Palisades, and now we're all here together with three different cuisines on the same block,” he says. “They're both amazing support systems, and we help each other out. It's really nice to have this kind of community.”
The name CHX comes from the way kitchen restaurants label chicken. “I thought of the name first and then the brand,” Hyman says. “I decided to create this whole truck with different variations of chicken.”
The young entrepreneur was diagnosed with celiac disease when he was 13, so he went to work on a gluten-free version of the fried chicken sandwich with rice flour and potato starch. After sharing a few testing batches with family and friends, the feedback was positive. “They thought it was better than regular fried chicken,” he says. “It’s kind of like the Japanese way of making karaage. Our whole menu is gluten-free.”
After more recipe testing during a few free public pop-ups on both coasts, and a guest Google form for feedback, Hyman continued to evolve the concept, along with his well-received cooking videos on TikTok.
“I thought there was a gap in the industry, and I wanted to offer good quality, creative food and do catering,” he says. To that end, Hyman added a few unique ingredients to his menu such as gochujang and yuzu. “I think the impact that fine dining had on the food and the service is just an extra level of attention to detail. Whether it be the Caesar dressing that we make from scratch or the brine for the chicken, we don't cut corners. Everything we sell is fresh, organic and really good quality.”
Hyman still has a few more years in school, but the truck is continuing with his “phenomenal team” that includes cook Bryant and manager Dominique running operations now that Hyman returned to campus at the end of the summer. “Word’s been getting out and people really enjoy the food,” he says. So much so that it caught the attention of the original food truck guru Roy Choi, founder of Kogi, who started the restaurant on wheels phenomenon in Los Angeles. “He came by with his daughter to order some chicken and I told him that he inspired me so much growing up,” says Hyman. “I think there's something special about being in a community like Brentwood, where I have regulars that come every day. Some are walking their dogs, and they stop to get a sandwich and we know each other’s names.”
But it’s not just friendly vibes that keep the regulars coming back. The sandwiches are mouthwateringly good—options include ‘The Venice,” with a tangy yuzu ranch sauce and “The K-Town,” featuring a sweet gochujang glaze. Other popular orders include a delicious chicken Caesar salad as well as popcorn chicken, marinated with a Taiwanese blend of ginger, garlic and tamari, then tossed with a five-spice seasoning. The French fries—which can come on their own or “loaded”-style topped with the popcorn CHX—are coated with an invisible layer of potato starch so that they stay crispier longer. “For the roasted garlic aioli—served as a side—we take five pounds of garlic, cook it low and slow in neutral oil, and then we emulsify it with that oil,” Hyman explains.
There are also cute T-shirts and other merchandise with the brand’s logo (designed by Hyman’s high school friend Jonah Manheim) in an eye-catching bright blue shade that matches the truck that Hyman had wrapped. Or why not take the entire truck to your house? CHX can be booked for private events and catering, which is a growing business for him in Brentwood.
The future goal for Hyman is to develop a line of sauces and condiments, plus his gluten-free flour blend, in addition to opening a brick-and-mortar in LA or New York City after graduating. Wherever he ends up, he wants to keep the truck. “There’s something special about hopping around with the truck and building that community in LA,” he says. “Being able to make small impacts on people's lives by giving them a really good sandwich and remembering their order can make a big difference in someone's day.”
CHX Sandwiches; follow on Instagram at @chxsandwiches or email chxrestaurant@gmail.com for more info.
“The impact that fine dining had on the food and the service is just an extra level of attention to detail. Everything we sell is fresh, organic and really good quality.”