Harold’s Chicken

Harold Pierce, an African-American Chicago entrepreneur, founded Harold’s Chicken in 1950. He started off by running a small restaurant with his wife, Hilda, on 39th Street. The name of the restaurant was H&H, and they specialized in dumplings and chicken feet. Gene Rosen, a friend who owned a poultry shop nearby sold chicken to Pierce. The character of Harold’s developed primarily out of necessity because the larger fast-food chains tended to avoid African-American neighborhoods. In turn, Chicago’s legal and social obstacles to black-owned businesses at the time prevented Harold’s from expanding into downtown or the North Side. Harold’s became one of the few examples of a thriving fast-food chain that was owned by and primarily served the black community.