Harold's Chicken Shack Coming to Evanston

What does a picture of a chef chasing a chicken with a hatchet knife say to you?

If you're a fan of Harold's Chicken Shack, it says juicy, fresh fried chicken served on top of white bread.

The unmistakable Harold's Chicken Shack sign may be popping up soon in Evanston, as the Chicago chain hopes to open a location at 337 Howard St. 

Franchise owner Kelly Roberts has applied for a special use permit for the storefront just a few doors down from the Howard Street El, according to city documents. Roberts owns two other Harold's Chicken Shack restaurants in Chicago.

The Evanston location will have seating for 10 people and will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday, according to Roberts' application to the zoning board. There will be no delivery service. 

Roberts told Patch she expects to open the Evanston restaurant in March, assuming she gets approval from the city.

The first Harold's Chicken Shack opened in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in 1950, according to the Chicago Maroon. Original owner Harold Pierce, who moved to Chicago from Alabama, got a reputation for serving "the best fried chicken north of the Mason-Dixon line." 

Fans of Harold's Fried Chicken rave about the mild sauce, the white bread it comes with and, of course, the chicken.

"When you order fried chicken here, it comes on a piece of Wonder bread that sops up all its wonderful juices," wrote one reviewer on Yelp. "I don't eat a lot of fried chicken. If I eat it, I want it to be Harold's. It's that simple. It's that good." 

"Harold's fried chicken has elevated my status as reluctant vegetarian to that of repentant vegetarian," wrote another Yelp reviewer. "I did it. I ate the chicken. And it was good."