Waco Spotlight: Krispy Chicken

As you approach the only only four way stop on Eleventh Street, you may think it would be the only reason to pause on the deteriorating street– yet, a small marquee standing on the lefthand corner seems to sing a certain salvation to the neighborhood: “Krispy Fried Chicken, Homemade Biscuits”.

“What can I get’cha”, the small sliding window burst open with the impartial greeting as the manager, Kevin, attends to each of his eager customers who patiently wait in front of the small drive-up joint. A seductive greasy scent diffuses out of the wooden shack enticing a medley of hungry stomachs. The aroma provides an answer to the question of how Krispy Chicken has been feeding watering mouths that stumble onto the hidden gem for the past 41 years.

Krispy Chicken delivers delicious food with all the fixings but no frills. The experience of ordering at the eatery follows a simple discourse. Hand painted signs nailed to the outside wall plainly present an assortment of meals, each consisting of a combination of chicken, biscuits, and a side of your choice– all fried of course. The aged building comes alive as regulars and first-timers step up to the counter to order, the difference is easy to tell– patrons are greeted by name and asked with a hearty chuckle, “Can I get’cha the usual?”.

It has been the community that has kept Kevin coming in at 8 o’clock every morning to keep on churning out what locals refer to as “the best fried chicken in town”. He too was born and raised within a block radius of Krispy Chicken. “I have always lived around here, and I always enjoyed cooking. So one day I was actually laid off from another job and I had known the older son who worked here, and he said they needed a fry cook down here, so he told me to talk to his parents. And you know, I did and I’ve been working here ever since. Being one of the kids from the neighborhood and growing up here just makes what I do more beautiful.”

Louis Davis is the real mastermind behind the surprisingly successful establishment, though. He forged a new destiny for himself when he opened the doors of Krispy Chicken in 1975. Having grown up in “the neighborhood”, his family was known, in its own way, as Waco royalty. Kevin proudly explained, “Oh yea, this corner use to be real kinda famous back in the day– Davis’ dad and his granddad use to own the store across the street, when it was 7/11 back in the day. They also owned the store on the other corner– it was actually used to be a liquor store.”

Today the corner does not sparkle with any sort of fame. The once-was-liquor-store is now just a carved out shell, used as a shelter by the homeless in the evenings. The 7/11 has now become a struggling convenient store, its acclaim forgotten. The Davis’ legacy of fame is found now only found in a secret recipe, that has left locals, Waco professionals and Baylor student alike, buzzing about the famous fried chicken on Eleventh Street.

The buzz is by no means a lie. Biting into the lightly goldened chicken, your palate is suddenly filled with a sensation no fast-food could ever recreate: lightly salted, with a hint of spice, overwhelmed by the taste of home-made. No matter who finds themselves standing outside Kevin’s sliding window, their tastebuds are sure to be pleased.

So what has brought people back into this seemingly forgotten community? “It’s the development, at least that’s what I think. We use to be just a lot of people from the neighborhood, then all of a sudden we see a lot of things go up around here and you can tell it’s drawing others in.” Kevin’s toothy grin beams as he points out where he thinks businesses will pop up. A mold is being broken with the ground as development takes over downtown Waco– the door to the neighborhood has been swung open and Krispy Chicken is happy to show visitors in. “I feel great about it. I think it’s going to be good for the neighborhood, you know, and everyone around here deserves it.”

The “NO LOITERING” signs are disregarded as newbies learn the ropes from long time fans of Krispy Chicken, ‘Where you from, hun?’ and ‘How have you been?’ echo as Baylor students surprisingly find friendly greetings and downtown professionals make unexpected friends. Behind the sliding window Kevin wraps up greasy goodness, and shouts the occasional “Order up!”.