January 03, 2007
Panic at the Chicken ShackNews
A couple of days ago a Twin Donut shop burned down in the Bronx. This sort of thing happens frequently enough, of course — grease fires, arson, incidents of unknown causation. But not in this case. It turns out the fire was set by the owner of the Kennedy Fried Chicken outlet immediately adjacent. The chicken joint shares a wall and a roof with the donut shop, but it was barely scathed. The owner was quickly suspected and apprehended. Why’d he do it? Because the donut store had started selling chicken, undercutting his business.
Yeah, yeah, you want a desi angle. Well, hold your horses. Let’s get some local color first:
I think he was a fool, said a Hunts Point resident who identified himself as Rhino. To burn down a store, this place has been here for many years, is stupid. …
“He punched a hole in the wall between his store and the donut shop, explained Assistant Chief Fire Marshall Robert Byrnes. He introduced some gasoline. He used a pressurized container that you use with insecticide. He ignited the fire and left.”
People in this neighborhood who bought chicken from Kennedy Fried Chicken say it is hard for them to believe the owner would do something crazy like this. They say he was a good guy who cared about the community.
“Why would he do something like that, added another local resident, Kesha Nelson. That doesn’t make sense, he was trifling like that. I thought he was a nice guy. I buy chicken from here all the time.
“Kennedy Chicken had the best chicken, concurred local resident Frank Jones. I don’t know about Twin Donuts because I never had their chicken.”
And now your desi angle. Judging from the names at least, both chickenwalla and donutwalla appear to be desi:
Kabeer Ahmad also was charged with reckless endangerment and remained in custody because he was unable to post $250,000 bond. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Bronx food fight began when a Twin Donut shop started competing with Ahmad’s Kennedy Fried Chicken by adding legs, wings, breasts and thighs to its menu and selling plates of food for 50 cents cheaper. …
Ahmad had accused Twin Donuts of violating a noncompete clause by selling chicken at the shop. But the owner of the doughnut shop, Mike Chhor, said he didn’t know why his neighbor set the fire and destroyed his business, which he bought three weeks ago.
“I don’t know why he burned the store,” Chhor said. “I had no problem with him.”
If convicted, Ahmad faces upward of 25 years in jail. This brother-on-brother violence must end. What a senseless waste of entrepreneurial initiative. Why couldn’t they just get together an open a Chicken & Waffles joint?
siddhartha on January 3, 2007 08:25 PM in News · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Kennedy Fried Chicken LOVE IT
is the name Kentucky too pricey?
Sad story..
and don't mind the bad pun..but kabeer ahmad was too 'chicken' for competition...may he 'bok bok' in jail.
but I am across the street at the moment from Gladys Knights Chicken and Waffle house.. (roscoe's is okay--well the waffles anyways, but I prefer waffle house anyday ;))...
Yeah, what he did was fowl.
It's a common name here. We also have Kansas Fried Chicken, as well as second-order derivatives like Lincoln Fried Chicken. But connoisseurs go for Crown. Interestingly, a lot of these joints have gone halal, which is another whole interesting story.
Damn, that cracked me up! Thanks for the laugh.
Ahmed took the law in his own hands because the law was negligent. What right does a donut shop have to sell chicken?
Sid, you could have used the same title for your last two posts, Fowl Behavior Rings In the New Year.
Yeah I just realized that as well...
Is Mike Chhor a desi name or am I missing something (not that it matters - but I'm curious)
Google results for "chhor" suggest either desi or Cambodian.
I'm still crossing my fingers for a Clinton Fried Chicken on 125th in honor of Bill.
I can't wait until Dick Wolf makes this into a Law and Order episode and we all anticipate for days the starring of more desis on the series!
"I can't wait until Dick Wolf makes this into a Law and Order episode and we all anticipate for days the starring of more desis on the series!"
OK, I know my comment is irrelevant, but I just finished watching the Pakistani-sister-killer episode. I've been doing nothing but downloading and watching an obscene amount of L&O in all its incarnations for the past two weeks and I ... uh ... just wanted to share that with all of you. (And btw, wasn't that episode just like an SVU episode??)
Milli - I LOVE YOU! I thought the SAME thing about it being like an SVU episode!! I thought I was going crazy, or having some insanely creepy deja vu. Thank you for making me feel like less of a freak.
Ok, back to the chicken, folks.
What is it with Law and Order and brown on brown violence? There's also the Persian Jew fratricide episode...or maybe it's immigrant-perpetrated violence, with the adopted Romanion orphan fratricide episode, and the dutiful Korean daughter turned lesbian lover and accessory to murder episode...
I meant patricide, not fratricide...
i once read a financial report about the Kennedy Fried Chicken "franchise." I tried to google it but couldn't find it. basically, they are owned exclusively by brown immigrants (not sure where) and make a LOT of $$$ per store, even in comparison to KentuckyFC. they are goldmines.
i once ate their chicken but almost died from a salt overdose.
There's a Mississippi Fried Chicken in England (I've also seen Kansas and, I believe, Nebraska). In any case, the Mississippi has a slightly strage street address. I guess we're talking less halal and more kosher...
Mississippi Fried Chicken
33 Jewry St, Winchester.
Hampshire. SO23 8RY.
ironically tamasha i was watching my tivo'd law and order last night.. it was like SVU.. totally... god how dick wolf has completely taken over my entire DVR.....
less addicted to chicken.
(can't believe those names are so common...)
colonel sanders would be turning in his grave..his beloved ky...
sid:
what he did was fowl
LOL!
:)
The NYT has a piece about the Kennedy "business model." Apparently many stores are owned/operated by Afghani immigrants.
The McDowell's of the chicken world?
Thanks Mr P! I'm a Crown Fried Chicken guy myself.
Off-topic, but have you been to Amy Ruth's Home Style Southern Cuisine at 113 West 116th Street (b/w Lenox and Seventh)? Best chicken and waffles in the City ;).
Also, many of the Dunkin Donuts in NYC seem to be desi-owned. There aren't as many here as in other places (cough*Boston*cough) though - is it like that elsewhere? I suppose it's no different from the 7-11 stereotype.
One "Donut Uncle" used to give me my coffee for free on Fridays - what perks!
There must be something about that franchise, as the first murder of the year occurred inside one in my city!
http://www.wwlp.com/news2004/story.html?artID=424223
Thank God I'm a Vegetarian!!
oh. my. god.
i've eaten from here ... nothing like greasy chicken from the boogie-down bx...
the name used to always remind me of McDowell's & McD's from "Coming to America" with Eddie Murphy ...
what a shame!
Cluck, Cluck!
Check out the various variants of Colonel Sanders dhabha.
A Gallus gallus domesticus by any other name..
Kennedy Fried Chicken just like McDowell's in Coming to America. McDonalds has the golden arches, we have the golden arcs.
Really ought to be Galbraith Fried Chicken?
Asha's dad, I had not realized that it was Samuel Jackson in that scene in Coming to America. Wow, he really got stuck in a certain kind of role, didn't he? Not that he isn't fantastic in these roles.
"local color" nice lead in!
RHINO and KESHA express shock and dismay over FRIED CHICKEN feud between AHMED and CHHOR.
Ethnic diversity, transfatty fried foods, AfAms embracing an immigrant into the "community", violence and market forces...As George Allen would put it, "welcome to America!"
There is a McDowell's in Santo Domingo, DR.
I have to admit a fondness for Kentucky Fried Chicken. There is a chain of fried chicken places that seem to have outlets in the less salubrious ghettoes of London called Dixie Fried Chicken. You have to keep the 'Southern' vibe there I think.
But what I really want to know is, does the Kentucky Fried in England taste the same as it does in America? Anyone know? I suppose it's not as authentic.
red snapper, don't know about kfc but i gotta admit, all the chocolate in england tastes different (better!), from kit kat to the normal cadbury bar compared to the united states version... damn you must have some great cows out there! :)
You see, that just makes me feel rather proud and patriotic chick-pea, proud of our cadbury superiority and the elevated taste of our Kit-Kats (which one of my aunts can't pronounce, although she has a fondness for them, and calls them 'Kricket Kats')
Incidentally the McDowell's scene was filmed in a Wendy's on Queens Blvd not too far from where I live.
gotta hand it to my british isles..they have great veggie food everywhere, including the supermarket... great sandwiches from pret a manger... good choco (crunchie, lion bars, your maltsers are my absolute favorite, wine gums)--i go crazy in heathrow airport when i'm on a layover to india, as i was a few months ago...
but i dislike being charged for ketchup in burger king for drenching my fries in the tomato mess.. a small price to pay for veggie cheese i guess ;)
Red Snapper, the KFC tastes different here and its tons more greasy. ChickPea you forgot about Aero! I cant believe there is no Aero in the US and I am not going to even start about Flake.
A lot of ladies I've met really like Flake. I don't know why.....
Heh heh.
Bounty is also really good. And Cadbury's Galaxy.
And Burger King's Spicy Beanbuger. And the seasoned masala-style fries you can get at some Pizza Hut Express outlets (Red Snapper -- you may be familiar with the one in Lakeside, if you're from London).
CinnamonRani & chick-pea
Are you both sitting down? I have something to tell you. I have something that is going to make you love me until the end of time. Chick Pea, you shall have to wait for Heathrow stop-overs no more, I have found your cure. CinnamonRani, all that you crave, I shall give you. Via import-export and the internet.
ChickPea, control yourself --- you can buy Maltesers and have them delivered straight to your American door via this portal of delight! CinnamonRani, you can get Aero delivered straight to you in the USA by clicking here! You also said that you are not 'even going to start about Flake', I ask, why not? Start on it!
And for a sepia twist, on a website called 'British Delights' you can also get the national dish of England through the post. Yes that's right, I'm talking about Indian Curry!
Because when a man finds a way for women to get the chocolate they crave, it is surely the most noble of all achievments.
*Jai buys Red Snapper a virtual shot of tequila for showing everyone how to woo the ladies with chocolate even if you're thousands of miles away*
Red Snapper wins the award for SM's Supersmooth Hero of the Week :)
Oh, you're a wise man. There is nothing more appealing than a man buying you a chocolate dessert. Now if you bought those chocolates and sent them to the girls, that would make you super-smooth =)
I don't eat chocolate, don't crave it, don't care for sweets and will certainly throw someone out the window (if they know me) if they give me chocolates. :-)
red snapper..
you are OFFICIALLY my hero of the day..
(swoon)
:)
jai:
where is my shot? :) choco and shots woo combined! and agreed, that spicy bean burger is damn tasty....now if they would give us free ketchup that would be divine!
i have never really been a fan of flake.. aero yes..flake no.. i like it crunchie (my favorite--that honeycomb is killer)
but the pizza hut pizza in india is amazing.. their paneer one is awesome.. my folks and i had that for dinner 3 nights in a row... yes overdosed on pizza for the uhum..awhile...
When talking about donut shops, I would bet big money on CAMBODIAN. What is it with Cambodian donutwallas?
What kind of desi origin would it have, just out of curiosity??
Hmm...Life imitating 'art.'
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28594
This post is suspiciously similar to the above mock article from "The Onion" a few years ago!
This brown on brown violence must stop. Yes, it starts with chickens then it escalates to donuts then who knows where it will lead to. ;)
IMO, the solution was pretty simple. The chicken place should have started selling donuts using the same price undercutting tactic. My guess is the donut shop would have backed off at that point. A little bit of simple game theory would have come in handy but I admit the grease fire through the wall is infinitely more entertaining...well from my blog reading perspective anyways.
Nestle milk chocolate from Heathrow airport (it comes in the red packaging) is the best. UK Kit Kats also rock, as does Cadbury. American chocolate (Hershey's, Dove, etc, or even our version of Cadbury) sucks because it's just too sweet (has too much sugar, not enough chocolate). Anytime I'm in Heathrow I pick up like 20 lbs of chocolate (keep my entire carry-on luggage free for that). Prior to about 5 years ago my luggage would be just UK bhangra cd's, but now I order all that stuff on-line.
from chicken to donuts to chocolate..
must be the fun friday mode ;)
i also love walkers crisps...
england's food rocks..
beats america by a mile..
amitabh: american choco sucks. agreed.
In Muscat, they have a Trivandrum Fried Chicken. :)
It's the same reason why Patels end up in the motel business: money.