The Forgotten Maryland Fast Food Restaurant We Wish We Could Have Tried

Among the many once-popular chicken chains that have sadly disappeared, Chicken George was a Baltimore restaurant that we have serious FOMO about. It was founded by Theodore Holmes in 1979 and quickly became a hit, expanding to multiple locations in several states. The fast-food concept was homestyle fried chicken with Southern and soul food staples like collard greens, rice, buttermilk biscuits, and sweet potato pie.

In a 1981 interview with The Baltimore Sun, Holmes said he named the restaurant after a character in "Roots," a 1976 novel based on author Alex Haley's research into his family's lineage from an enslaved ancestor brought to America from West Africa. "Roots" gained widespread popularity with the help of its majorly successful TV miniseries adaptation in 1977. In it, Chicken George was portrayed by Ben Vereen. The character was known for wearing a hat and scarf that made its way into the Chicken George restaurant logo.

Holmes' Chicken George restaurant was so successful that it was at one point the largest Black-owned fast food company in the U.S., according to The Baltimore Sun. In a 1982 issue of Black Enterprise magazine, Holmes said, "With the research we've done and the management team we've assembled, the competition catches hell trying to catch up with us and even holding its own." Sadly, financial problems and competing chains started to weigh on the business, and Chicken George filed for bankruptcy protection in 1986, ultimately being auctioned off as part of a bankruptcy sale in 1987. While the new owners tried to keep it going, it never regained the same momentum and was dissolved in 1991.

Theodore "Ted" Holmes put a lot of research and effort into nailing the recipe for Chicken George's famous fried chicken, which came in both regular and spicy varieties. He told The Baltimore Sun that he'd tried out 300 chicken recipes all across the country before landing on the winning version. "I've eaten enough chicken to last me the third lifetime into the future," he said. With that kind of dedication and planning, we imagine it was as good as those lucky enough to have dined at Chicken George describe.

The Washington Post reviewed one location in 1981, calling the chicken "plump and succulent." The review also mentions that the higher-ups at Chicken George were considering taking fries off the menu so that its signature rice side would make it more unique and stand out against competing restaurants.

Today, Chicken George has been mostly forgotten and most of us can only live vicariously through memories of the short-lived but much-loved restaurant. Commenters on local Baltimore Facebook groups think back fondly (and hungrily) to Chicken George, raving about their drool-worthy rice, spicy gravy, and chicken that was worth waiting in line for. Many chicken fast food joints like KFC and Popeyes serve similar Southern fare these days (here's our ranking of fried chicken chains), but Chicken George had its feet firmly planted in the roots of soul food, making it a fast-food concept we wish had stayed around longer.