Friday, December 17, 2010

Harold's Opening Today

A reader just tipped us off that Harold's Chicken at Wilson and Clifton is finally opening today after some construction delays. The sign on the door states that doors will open today, December 17, at 10am. Please note that Body Fit Athletic Club is just a block away at Leland and Broadway. *g*

14 comments:

  1. Thank you for the disclaimer about Body Fit. lol. Like we need another deep-fried (although be it a endorphin producing carb high) diabetes and heart disease inducing, artery killing joint in the "hood". These places sure like to target the areas of concentrated poverty when setting up shop, I wonder why that is?

    Sorry, not to be a hater but someone has to be the voice of reason! (meant to be taken sarcastically for anyone with a fragile ego)

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  2. Can someone please educate those of us that are not familar with Harolds? There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm on here for them, which is awesome...but I dont know anything about them.. are they a Chicago company, etc etc? Thanks!

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  3. Harold's is a home-grown franchise that is mostly concentrated on the South Side and South Suburbs, but has been expanding. It is generally awesome, though there is a great deal of variation between franchises. It's not as consistent as, say, a McDonalds. So if you're in the know, you know WHICH Harold's are good and which ones aren't.


    I'm happy to see them in Uptown. It's definitely a step up from KFC (closed) and the horrible Popeyes we once had. And they are locally owned and locally franchised. I don't eat a lot of fried chicken, but you know, it's good once in a while!

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  4. Great news for me. Their chicken is the best and I love the catfish nuggets with their hot sauce. About time we get some good chicken joints around here.

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  5. Wow!! I am starting to feel OLD!
    Most of you youngins don't know that there was a Harold's on Sheridan, just north of Wilson, when we first moved to Uptown.
    Too bad the sign on this one does not have the moving neon hatchet man chasing the chicken! That was amusing.

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  6. Right On for Harold's. I've tried it a few times and it has been GOOOOOD.

    Hopefully they will be good neighbors and citizens of Uptown and do their part to help clean things up. Making this investment in our community is a great start.

    And remember kids.. fried chicken is a SOMETIMES food!

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  7. AWSOME! This is excellent Friday news. I know what I'll be having for dinner tonight.

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  8. @UptownAction - I share your feelings.

    I also wonder if everyone will love Harold's when chicken bones are strewn all over the neighborhood. You think chip bags are bad?

    But again, it is a new business willing to open up, and well, I do like fried chicken.

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  9. Ok let me be the jerk in the room to point out there used to be a Harold's Chicken Shack in Uptown. It closed as the neighborhood around Sheridan started getting better.

    Harold's Chicken stores are in the low income neighborhoods mostly (and a few downtown) so let's not celebrate this. It shows that the area isn't changing - its REVERTING.

    NO offense to anyone but that is the truth.

    Oh and I agree the best thing about the OLD Harolds was the neon sign of man with the hatchet chasing the chicken. (it was like something from THE SIMPSONS)

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  10. I don't think anyone needs to be concerned. The superior attitude that links really good fried chicken solely to poverty-stricken neighborhoods is alive and well in Sheridan Park. With 3 out of 10 posters reminding us of the truth behind Harold's opening, there should be little concern that the area is reverting.

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  11. I just came back from my first trip to Harolds. After ordering 6 wings I waited 30 minutes for my food. Apparently my ticket was "lost."

    After 30 minutes of wait the food better be pretty damn good. Sadly, the wings were okay and the fries were unbelievably bad. They tasted like someone cut a potato and then marinated it in oil for hours before finally serving it uncooked. Wow, were they bad.

    I really want to support a local business but poor customer service and poor food do not make a sustainible business.

    Hopefully things improve, but not at the current pace.

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  12. I went yesterday around 2pm and found four people in front of me in line and another three waiting for their food. It stayed that way for almost ten minutes as no orders were taken during that time and the staff madly scrambled to take care of the people who had already ordered. They were either woefully understaffed or had equipment issues or who knows, but it was not a good start. I left, but will definitely be back to give them a try once they get their act together.

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  13. Harold's has rotating specials. Last time I ordered, they had a half dark dinner for $3.99. That's pretty awesome. Also had 6 wing dinner for $6.60, so dinner was an easy decision. Get 'em both! I was a bit surprised when I saw that the wings were really little. I'm getting used to those steroid wings. I also have fond childhood memories of the old Harold's sign with the axe man. Glad to see some other old timers posting.

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