

Like you’ve cooked at home and that’s what makes the difference.” “We love these chicken wings because they’re like homemade. We’re originally from Gary, so we would go to Chicago a lot to eat, so we were really excited,” said Thometra Foster. “We were so excited when we heard it was opening up. When they first opened, it was common for someone to pay upwards of $15 for a single meal, but now, that same meal should cost under $10.Įven through those growing pains, the restaurant has developed a regular following of customers stopping by Harold’s almost once a week. This wait was largely attributed to a relatively new staff not quite prepared to handle a large number of orders, as well as the method in which Harold’s Chicken is prepared – specifically that the chicken is not fried until it is ordered.Īnd with each batch taking around 12 minutes to prepare, that added up to a long wait for those early customers.īut since then, the Westfalls have ironed out many of those issues as well as lowered their prices to match the current market. People were waiting up to an hour for their chicken, and at one point the restaurant ran out of fries. Unfortunately, the pair was not prepared for the immense demand they would experience during the first several days of being open. With the location set, they began remodeling the old bar into a sit-down restaurant and brought in more fryers.Īnd on June 14, they officially opened their restaurant. More new restaurants: Popular BBQ restaurant ready to open in Lafayette That’s when they found a spot on 3312 South St #3163, which was once the Cozy Tavern.Īlthough the kitchen was smaller than they may have liked, they figured that it’d be a great first location due to the size of the building. With the approval of the higher-ups, the Westfalls began to search for the location of their new restaurant. Within Indiana, Harold’s has six locations, a majority of which are in Northern Indiana cities, the only exception being one location in Indianapolis.Īnd because of that, Lafayette seemed designated to have a location.īesides Indiana, Harold’s Chicken has around 40 locations spread across the country in states such as Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and California. Once Chiffion was able to pitch her ideas to the franchise owners, the company thought Lafayette would be a good market for expansion. I spend a little bit of time here, I spend a little bit of time at the church, and I come and go at the store,” said Chiffion. So, it’s easy for me to get this started. I have people that are respectable to run the other business, and I have three ministers in my church and an assistant pastor. “It’s been a challenge to balance all three, but I try to keep everything on the even keel.

With the pair in agreement, Chiffion started to reach out to the owners of Harold’s Chicken, which was a difficult task due to how busy the owners were. She had people she could rely on at both the beauty supply shop and the church, and Ken, being retired, figured a restaurant would be a good place to spend his extra time. Lafayette chicken: What city loves Chick-fil-A peach shakes the most? Lafayette! We do! Although the task of opening a new restaurant seemed like a Herculean task – with the Westfalls already owning another business, and Chiffion being a pastor in town – she still believed they could tackle one more thing.
