A RICH HISTORY
Harold’s Chicken is known both for its uniquely prepared chicken and for the unique experience upon entering one of the restaurants. Over 50 years later Harold’s remains a staple in Chicago and is now expanding to other national communities. Legend has it that, when Harold Pierce was a child, the Pierce family had the local preacher over for dinner. When the preacher ate the last piece of chicken, Harold vowed never to be without chicken again. Harold Pierce (August 11, 1917 – March 8, 1988) was an African-American entrepreneur who founded the successful Harold’s Chicken Shack restaurant chain in Chicago. Pierce was born in Midway, Alabama and moved to Chicago in 1943, from Freemanville, Alabama to work as a chauffeur for Jack Stern, a furniture store owner. By 1950, he was running a small restaurant with his wife, Hilda, on 39th Street. The H&H Restaurant specialized in chicken feet and dumplings.
IGene Rosen, a friend of Pierce, owned a poultry shop and supplied H&H with their chicken. Harold's Chicken Shack developed primarily out of necessity, because the larger fast-food chains tended to avoid African-American neighborhoods. Due to Chicago's legal and social obstacles of black-owned businesses prevented Harold's from expanding into downtown or the North Side. Harold's became one of the few examples of a thriving fast-food chain that was owned by and primarily served the black community.
The first Harold’s Chicken Shack opened on 47th and Greenwood in 1950. He franchised the idea out to friends and family who opened additional Harold Chicken Shacks throughout Chicago. One of Pierce’s stipulations was that they purchase their chickens from Rosen. Otherwise, Pierce didn’t interfere with the management of the stores, which led to deviations in the techniques, flavors, and qualities of the product as well as variations in the menu from one restaurant to another. After retiring in the early 1980’s he moved to Beaverville, Illinois, where he indulged in a passion for raising hunting dogs. The legacy lives on!
