Photo by Kim Ashford
A full breakfast with grits, eggs, toast, and bacon or sausage costs $2.99.
Joseph Delpit was born in the back of the shotgun house on East Boulevard and Lettsworth Street in Old South Baton Rouge. The front of the house was home to the original Chicken Shack that his father, Thomas H. Delpit, founded in 1935. The back of the small shotgun served as the living quarters for the family. These tight accommodations helped establish a long-running joke for Delpit: he likes to tell people he was born on the kitchen floor of the Chicken Shack.
When I asked him if he realizes the Chicken Shack is the oldest continually running restaurant in Baton Rouge, Delipt chuckled and said, “That’s what I have always suspected, but I have never been able to confirm it.” Over the years, Joseph Delpit managed to expand his father’s business as well as serve as the first black councilman in Baton Rouge; he was later elected to the state legislature, serving from 1975—1992. Today Delpit is retired from politics but still stops into the Chicken Shack most days to check on his operation before going back home to his wife of fifty-four years, Precious.
Joseph’s son Derrick now manages the North Acadian Thruway restaurant, along with his brother Thomas. Derrick Delpit started working at the Chicken Shack when he was nine. He was supposed to wash dishes, but he was too short to reach the sink; he had to stand on a bucket to get the job done. During the early mornings, Derrick Delpit sits in one of the orange-topped booths and reviews the week’s invoices while a few regulars drink coffee and read the paper. Morning is the only time the dining area is quiet except for the R&B classics on the radio. In a week, the Chicken Shack will sell more than three thousand pounds of chicken.
The Chicken Shack makes the best fried chicken in Baton Rouge, which Derrick Delpit attributed to the fact that he and his team “use only Grade A chicken and fry them in a wet, old-fashioned cake-like batter filled with spices. Then we coat each piece only once and throw them in the deep fryer until they are golden brown.” The result of the unique battering process is a light, crispy coating that really seals the moisture into the chicken. The famous batter is also responsible for another famous Chicken Shack treat—Shack Balls, which are essentially boudin balls lightly coated with the wet batter, giving them an airy quality.
Over the years, the Chicken Shack has added plate lunches to its menu. The most popular lunch specials are the smothered pigtails and smothered turkey wings with red beans and rice and mustard greens as sides. They also make all of their desserts on site. Single servings of peach cobbler and small sweet potato pies offer the perfect end to home-style plate lunch.
I looked out the window and was compelled to ask about the elephant in the room: the Church’s Chicken restaurant next door. Derrick shook his head and laughed. “Our business actually got better after they set up shop. You’ll see a few people there around noon, but our line will be out the door. Especially on Tuesday when we have our two-piece dark meat special for $1.45.”
As Derrick was mentioning that R&B legend Percy Sledge made a visit to the Chicken Shack just the day before, Troy Carter, shift manager and loyal Chicken Shack employee of thirty-four years, joined us. Carter started working for the Chicken Shack as a fry cook at age fifteen. “Meeting people has been the best part,” he said, “I have met a lot of people from every walk of life: a king from Africa, an Indian chief from Mississippi, Martin Luther King III, and Buddy Guy. They have all come to Chicken Shack.”
While the Delpit’s chicken empire does hinge on their secret eighty-year-old fried chicken recipe, the family isn’t above changing and adapting to new trends. About two years ago, the Chicken Shack went mobile when they purchased a food truck. The Chicken Shack Express drives all over the capitol area serving the famous chicken and shack balls at festivals and to lunch crowds. About six months ago, the Chicken Shack threw its hat into the breakfast business. A full breakfast with grits, eggs, toast, and bacon or sausage costs $2.99; fresh fried chicken or a pork chop can be added for about $2 more.
A food truck and breakfast are only the tip of the iceberg. “We have been planning on franchising for a while, but everything will have to be in place before we make the move,” Derrick said, “We hope to have a location outside of Baton Rouge in the next year—possibly in Denham Springs, New Orleans, or Hammond.”
As I started to walk out the door, with Thomas and Derrick standing by the kitchen, Joe looked at his two sons and asked me, “Do you think these two will be able to run the Chicken Shack if I retire, or will things just fall apart?”
I smiled and said, “I think they will do just fine.”
Details. Details. Details. Chicken Shack 413 North Acadian Thruway Baton Rouge, La. Chicken Shack 3939 Pawtucket Street Baton Rouge, La. chickenshack.org Mobile Chicken Shack: facebook.com/pages/Chicken-Shack-Express/447683901975214
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