The Temple of Chicken — Day 17

Genre: Comedy

Premise: Hassan and Becky own the best little BBQ chicken joint on the other side of the gentrification line in Brooklyn. People travel from all around New York City to eat their famous Pakistani/Cajun fusion hot wings, some just so they can brag to their friends about it. When a developer offers to buy the married couple's property, they politely decline. They've been serving their tightly-knit community for over 15 years, and they don't intend to be bought or pushed out. But their neighbors aren't so resolute or secure, and one by one the other businesses on the block shudder as the developer makes everyone offers they can't refuse, or finds sneaky ways to evict the various small businesses. Piece by piece the developer gobbles up three square blocks, until finally, Becky and Hassan are the last holdouts. Their single-story storefront shakes and rattles as an army of bulldozers and backhoes descend and begin pulling down the buildings all around them.

The developer is planning to convert the three square blocks into a massive shopping mall and luxury high-rise buildings, and Becky and Hassan's BBQ joint sits exactly where the architectural plans call for the main entrance to the complex. To redesign the plans would cost the developer millions, and possibly billions in lost revenue from the delay. The pressure to push the development through is so intense, that the city bends to the developers will, and agrees to use eminent domain to seize the couple's property. Hassan and Becky are lucky enough to catch wind of the planned seizure a few weeks before it is issued. But what can they do?

Late one night, a drunk lawyer—one of their regulars—stumbles in to enjoy his favorite hot wings, and suggests to the couple that there is one tactic they might consider: start a religion. If Becky and Hassan can turn their little eating establishment into a place of worship before the eminent domain is pushed through, they will be harder to force out. And if they can rally public opinion to their cause on top of it, they will be untouchable.

So how does one start a religion based on BBQ? Can great food become spiritual sustenance? And more importantly, can Becky and Hassan convert their rabidly loyal customer base into true believers quickly enough to save them from eviction? What begins as an absurd ploy by a desperate couple, soon becomes a city-wide sensation as a citizenry fed-up with big development and over-priced housing rally to the couple's cause. With the battle lines drawn, and the media pouring fuel on the fire, something almost completely inexplicable happens: A true spiritual awakening begins to dawn among Becky and Hassan's supporters. What happens when a ploy outgrows itself and becomes a purpose? This is the story of Becky and Hassan, the spiritual movement they began, and Brooklyn's—and the world's—first Temple of Chicken.