Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Harold's Chicken Coming To Wilson & Clifton

We had heard some rumors of "Harold's Chicken" moving into this space at 1132 W. Wilson and the sign seals the deal. Has anyone tried Harold's Chicken? Check out Harold's Wikipedia entry.

29 comments:

  1. I've tried several and they tend to be inconsistent from location to location. The one in South Loop....bad.
    The location on Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park....crispy and delicious!

    Vote Jeffrey Littleton for Alderman of Uptown and Fast Food critic without delay.

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  2. Harold's chicken is awesome. A welcome addition to the neighborhood.

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  3. More fried chicken, please.

    Chickens are proof that God loves us.

    Of course they are also proof that God doesn't really like chickens.

    Beer is also proof that God loves us and wants us to act silly.

    I think the quality of the chicken at various Harold's outlets varies widely.

    I hope this one is the best of the flock.

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  4. WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I was so sad when Annette's closed, I found them much too late. Welcome to the neighborhood Harold's!

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  5. Time to start taking double doses of my lipitor before their fried food turns my arteries into jello but I love Harold`s. Try the catfish nuggets and fried perch with hot sauce. What the heck you only live once.

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  6. Last time I had Harold's was the one in Rogers Park, and it was descent. Hopefully this location will be much more improved. I like Harold's from time to time and we know Uptown could use the extra business and I am just glad it's not a KFC!

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  7. Harold is my favorite chicken! Cant wait

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  8. Wonder if it'll have the bullet proof glass like their other locations.

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  9. YEAH!!! Chicken bones scattered all over Wilson, can't wait!! With the exception of Magnolia Cafe, IS there a restaurant along the Wilson corridor that doesn't deep-fry their entire menu? It's no secret that these companies prey on poor people because poor people apparently love deep-fried, horribly unhealthy food right?

    Besides fast-food pits, can you find any affordable and healthy places to eat in areas of concentrated poverty? A place like The Soup Box, Sultan's, Jamba Juice, Panera, The Vegetarian Diner, Tweet or any other place that allows you more options than deep-fried sh*t would be MUCH more welcome there.

    Not to sound too yuppie (and coming from a person that lives around the poverty line but gasp! is educated) can I get something that has "green" things on the menu, or freshly made items? Fruit anything? I love that I have to cook nearly every meal at home or travel out of the neighborhood to eat something that won't kill me in 15 years.

    Before your panties get to tightly wound, I am slightly exaggerating, we have SOME good options here but seriously, can we raise the "hood" up instead of maintaining our lowly status with another deep-fried chicken shop? Come on.

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  10. I'd like to see a little diversity in the restaurants we have in Uptown.

    Would like to enjoy more dining options in neighborhood restaurants and would welcome these wonderful dining options like Kopi Cafe, Bongo Room, Lulu's Cafe, and Patisse that offer great comfort food and super-good prices. How many greasy fried Chicken places do we need?

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  11. Jeffro,

    please don't interrupt the chicken rejoicing thread with a campaign commercial.

    Some things are sacred!

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  12. I hope that Harold's is successful, and a good neighbor to the area.

    That being said, I have visions of how discusting Popeye's was, and that was just steps away.

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  13. I actually saw this post and was hoping I could go to Harolds right now and get some fried chicken. They do a good job cooking a bird at Harolds. Much like Annettes did I have been deeply sorry they went out of business.

    I can wait with anticipation until Harolds open their doors. I wish them the best of luck and to the people who are complaining go suck one. We got a new place to eat in the hood. We now have more eyes watching the street.

    I am laughing a little bit because some of the same people that complain about Harolds opening are the same people that do not want the Gap, or any other national chain of store or restaurant to open in Uptown but are also the same people who complain about the lack of vibrant retail.

    Maybe they should take out a loan and open a Kopi, Soupbox or Jamba Juice.

    That might be harder to do than complaining on a blog for some.

    Welcome to the hood Harolds, I hope you deliver and I also hope you sell broasted potato wedges.

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  14. Harolds hot sauce is excellent, almost sacred and I am living proof it want kill you in 15 years. Enjoy your meals!

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  15. Cassidy its funny you used the word
    DESCENT.

    Its better than having a Popeyes or a KFC, thats for sure.
    I guess that since Popeyes closed, Harolds saw that there was a fried chicken VACUUM. Something that nature abhors.

    It is nice that its not on a corner though, because that just encourages the four corner hustlers.

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  16. My experience with Harold's, #62, was that the chicken was soggy and greasy. HOWEVER, that location was not like most I've heard of with the bulletproof glass, it was a standard restaurant. I hope that Harold's being an entirely new furnishing on Wilson, that they can provide a welcoming and fresh space with food and jobs for the neighborhood.

    Good luck Harold's!

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  17. The BEST fried chicken livers ever!!!

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  18. Harld's Chicken RETURNS to Uptown. Am I the only old-timer who remembers the former Harold's Chicken shack that was at the NE corner of Leland and Sheridan?

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  19. whether you particularly like Harold's or not, an active store front is much better than rows and rows of empty ones.

    One store encourages another. Let's think big picture. This is good for the neighborhood.

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  20. Wasn't Harold's Chicken at Leland and Sheridan years ago...with the neon chef chasing the neon chicken with an axe in the window??????????????????

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  21. Truthbearer and LarryNow, I remember the Harold's there too.. but for the great delivery truck that looked like a giant chicken.

    I still regret not taking my picture with it.

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  22. D said,
    "One store encourages another. Let's think big picture. This is good for the neighborhood".

    This is exactly right, partially. What if we were to look at this from a business perspective. Scouting is a critical step in deciding where to open any business. To succeed, a market or neighborhood should provide favorable conditions to my business. One of the variables to consider is what other kind of business is in the area and if it will attract customers into my doors.

    The other end of that equation is what type of customer do surrounding business's attract into the area. If for example I am the Gap, do I want to open my doors in an area of concentrated poverty, crime, loitering, graffiti etc.? Highly unlikely because my overhead costs of needing security, additional cameras, higher insurance to protect my windows from getting smashed in etc. will be exorbitant. Not to mention the hassles of having to constantly deal with drunks, loiterers, shoplifters and high shrink.

    PB said,

    "I am laughing a little bit because some of the same people that complain about Harolds opening are the same people that do not want the Gap"

    Sorry PB, I'll take a Gap any day of the week over another grease pit whose presence does nothing to lift the neighborhood.

    "Maybe they should take out a loan and open a Kopi, Soupbox or Jamba Juice. That might be harder to do than complaining on a blog for some". - PB

    I'd love to, but as I stated above, opening a higher end restaurant or retail would be too much of a headache, especially in that location.

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  23. I'm still waiting for Chick-Fil-A at Wilson Yard! Until then, I'll get my fried chicken at Jake's thank you.

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  24. "Am I the only old-timer who remembers the former Harold's Chicken shack that was at the NE corner of Leland and Sheridan?"
    Before that one there was one previously on the southwest corner. The return of hot delicious greasy chicken to uptown. WooHoo.

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  25. SO EXCITED to have Harold's in the neighborhood. Mixed half with mild and pepper, please!

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  26. I've heard of a number of shootings at/near Harold's Chickens. When I used to go to NIU there was a shooting after almost every basketball game at Harold's Chicken.

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  27. My digestive system is too delicate to "handle" spicy chicken like Harold's and Popeyes but I know there is a definite "cult" market for this product (esp. male college students for some reason).

    MY ideal chicken chain would be White Fence Farm (low-fat and high-flavor), which limits itself to the main location in Lemont and a carryout facility on Harlem/Ogden. I think they are missing a great opportunity by not going north!

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  28. Harolds chicken was in uptown before, on the corner of sheridan & leland, in the 90's.

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