Welcome to Black Tastemakers, an occasional series that highlights African American excellence and influence on the Fayetteville area food scene. Nominate Black culinary professionals and entrepreneurs by emailing tshook@gannett.com.
Fayetteville’s historically Black corridor has seen a number of changes over the last decade, but a fried chicken joint has remained a neighborhood fixture.
Crown Fried Chicken, nestled between two churches and across from Colvin Funeral Home, is among the longest-running Murchison Road restaurants still in operation.
Owner Tercel D. Walker said the restaurant serves about 600 pounds of fresh, never-frozen fried chicken each week to all kinds of customers — longtime residents of surrounding neighborhoods, Fayetteville State University students, churchgoers, soldiers and people facing homelessness.
“Sometimes we see the same people two or three times a day because they're homeless, or their stove isn't working, or they simply can't cook or don't have anywhere to cook,” he said. “That has definitely heightened my level of empathy for the community.”
Walker, a 40-year-old Burlington native, former college football player and stylish guy who previously worked in the hotel business, bought the restaurant in 2015 from a New York couple who started it about a year prior. In late 2019, he opened a second location on Ramsey Street.
Alongside its signature fried chicken, the two restaurants serve seafood, cheeseburgers, chicken wings and homestyle sides like okra, corn on the cob and macaroni and cheese. Sweet potato pie and pound cake are made in-house and served by the slice.
The food is halal, meaning it’s prepared according to Muslim law.
There is no pork on the menu; dishes like collard greens that typically call for ham hocks are instead made with smoked turkey, Walker said.
"We want to make it accessible to our Muslim brothers and sisters," he explained.
Crown Fried Chicken almost never closes
Customers in the know count on Crown Fried Chicken in times of crisis.
The restaurants have remained open even as hurricanes left devastation in their paths, flooding Fayetteville streets, sweeping away homes and turning communities into islands. They were open for business when hurricanes Matthew, Florence and Ian struck the city, Walker said.
The restaurant hardly skipped a beat when the pandemic hit because they were already doing most of their business to-go, Walker said.
Crown Fried Chicken remains a neighborhood anchor
Prices are impressively low — seven bucks can get you an entree, fries and a drink, and a $20 bill can easily feed a family. Walker said it’s been a challenge to keep meals affordable amid rising costs.
“Wings have almost become a delicacy,” he said. “It’s the new filet mignon.”
Still, Crown Fried Chicken is resilient because locals embrace the business, Walker said, especially at the original location on Murchison Road.
“We owe it all to the community,” he said. “They have been the pillar that has allowed us to stay."
And to the people who have stayed away because of an unfair, outdated negative reputation of the neighborhood, Walker said, he invites them to experience it for themselves.
“This corridor is a beacon of light. Come and see,” he said.
Food, dining and culture reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com or on Facebook. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter.
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