is roscoe's chicken and waffles a franchise

“Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles is a franchise unlike any other, and we’re proud to support them,” he said. Thus far, however, Roscoe’s has no plans to close down or sell — much to every Angeleno’s relief.

Full Answer

What is the history of Roscoe's chicken and waffles?

Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles is a Los Angeles County soul food restaurant chain founded by Herb Hudson in 1975. The Los Angeles Times has referred to Roscoe's as "such an L.A. institution that people don't even question the strange combo anymore."

Did Obama order a waffle at Roscoe’s?

When President Barack Obama visited a Roscoe’s location in 2011, he ordered the “Number 9 — Country Boy” which consists of three fried chicken wings and the choice of French fries, potato salad, or a waffle. He chose the waffle. Afterwards, Roscoe’s renamed that particular menu item the “Obama’s Special.”

How many Roscoe’s restaurants are there?

Roscoe’s reach has expanded and contracted over the years with locations opening and closing, including a restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, Roscoe’s boasts seven locations in the L.A. area. Leonard Pitts and Stevie Wonder, 1977. // Photo: Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles

Where is the best chicken and Waffles in Southern California?

Roscoe's House Of Chicken And Waffles The Home of Chicken And Waffles in Southern California Since 1975. The Home of Chicken And Waffles in Southern California Since 1975.

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Who is the owner of Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles?

Herb HudsonRoscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles is a Hollywood, California-based soul food restaurant chain founded by Herb Hudson, a Harlem native, in 1975. It is best known, as the name states, for serving chicken and waffles, both together and separately, although they do offer more traditional menu items as well.

What happened at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles?

Police give a media briefing about a shooting at the Roscoe's in South Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES, California -- Rapper PnB Rock was shot and killed at the Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles restaurant in Los Angeles on Monday, sources tell Eyewitness News.

Where was the original Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles?

In 1975, he opened the first Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles restaurant in Long Beach.

What is the Obama special Roscoe's?

He reportedly ordered the No. 9, “Country Boy” which included three wings with a choice of waffle, potato salad or French fries. The president greeted diners and patrons at the restaurant shaking hands and chatted with people at their booths. Obama also took selfies with many of his constituents.

How many Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles are in LA?

8Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N WafflesTypePrivateFoundedLong Beach, California (1975)FounderHerb HudsonNumber of locations8Area servedLos Angeles metropolitan area3 more rows

Which Roscoe's was PnB shot at location?

The restaurant where slain rapper PnB Rock, real name Rakim Allen, was murdered on Monday is open for business again. According to reports the 30-year-old “Selfish” artist was dining with his girlfriend at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in South L.A, when he was shot and robbed of his jewelry.

Who made chicken and waffles famous?

Since the 1970s, chicken and waffles have gained popularity in Los Angeles due to the fame of former Harlem resident Herb Hudson's restaurant Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, which has become known as a favorite of some Hollywood celebrities, referenced in several movies, and spun off several more into a small ...

Who made the first chicken and waffles?

One story of the history of chicken & waffles begins in Harlem in the 1930s. Specifically, a restaurant named the Wells Supper Club is listed as the origin of the recipe. Chicken and waffles were on the menu at this Harlem restaurant back during the jazz era of music.

How old is Herb Hudson?

Herb HudsonPersonal informationFull nameHerb HudsonDate of birth28 May 1880Date of death9 July 1935 (aged 55)6 more rows

How many calories are in Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles?

A donut chart showing which nutrients contribute to the caloric total. There are 310 calories in Roscoe's - House Of Chicken'n Waffles coming from 27% protein, 5% carbs, 68% fat, and 0% alcohol.

Is Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles coming to San Diego?

Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles Opening Fall 2022 in San Diego – NBC 7 San Diego.

Where is Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles?

Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles is a Los Angeles County soul food restaurant chain founded by Herb Hudson in 1975. The Los Angeles Times has referred to Roscoe's as "such an L.A. institution that people don't even question the strange combo anymore." The New York Times refers to it as a "beloved soul food chain." The original location in Hollywood remains open.

What movie has a fake ad for Roscoe's?

The 1988 movie Tapeheads features a fake ad spot for the company. It was also mentioned in Quentin Tarantino 's Jackie Brown, the comedy film Rush Hour and Swingers. In the 2005 film, Be Cool, Roscoe's is referenced in a conversation between Vince Vaughn's character and that of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Who mentioned Roscoe's in the song?

Ludacris mentioned the restaurant in the song "Call Up The Homies" from the album Theater of the Mind with the lyrics "Let's roll to Roscoe's and grab somethin' to eat", while Californian band The Aquabats also mentioned Roscoe's alongside several other chicken restaurants in their 1997 song "Magic Chicken!".

Did Roscoe's infringe on its trademark?

In 2008, Roscoe's filed a successful trademark infringement lawsuit against a "Rosscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles" that had opened in Chicago. The infringing store was forced to drop its infringing logo and name. A previous "Rosscoe's" had opened in New York City, but the LA-based chain opted to not sue that location because it had no plans to enter the New York market; however, Roscoe's did plan to enter the Chicago market.

Where is Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles located?

Anyone who’s lived in Los Angeles for any length of time has a story about Roscoe’s House of Chicken N’ Waffles. Since the first location opened near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in 1975, the unpretentious soul food chain has become a mainstay, with seven locations across Los Angeles and Orange Counties. But its reputation has gone beyond its west coast beginnings, helped along by the novelty factor of its signature chicken and waffle dishes, its numerous celebrity fans, frequent name-dropping in movies like Jackie Brown and Swingers, and, in 2011, a visit from President Obama. ( He ordered the No. 9, which would be renamed “The Obama” soon after.)

What is the Roscoe lawsuit?

Despite Roscoe’s rich history, its lawsuit points to longstanding racial tensions within the Los Angeles restaurant industry — tied to issues of immigration, exploitation and social mobility. As Daniel Melero Malpica notes in his dissertation, Indigenous Mexican Migrants in the City of Los Angeles, the L.A. restaurant industry has long been seen as a site of mobility for recently arrived immigrants and the commercial kitchen is a space where advancement can occur through collaboration across informal social networks.

What is the draw of Roscoe's?

So what’s the draw? For many tourists and first-time visitors, it’s undoubtedly the novelty of the restaurant’s signature combination, the salty-sweet-savory flavor profile and the meeting of textures in the crispy fried chicken and the fluffy waffle. But for others, it’s the familiarity of the food they like best. Tynitra Wilson grew up in the San Fernando Valley and fondly remembers her first trip to Roscoe’s with family and friends: “The greens [are] very similar to the way my family makes it, and that’s the first time I’d had greens like that in a restaurant.” For others, Roscoe’s is an essential late-night stop, the only way to finish an evening out. As a longtime resident of nearby Glendale, David Okonyan made frequent visits to the original Hollywood location after concerts at the Fonda Theater, just a few blocks away. “That was back when I was cool,” he says. Roscoe’s might mean something different to each visitor, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t think of it with affection.

When were chicken and waffles invented?

Harlem legend holds that the chicken and waffles combination was invented in the 1930s by Joe Wells, the owner of Well’s Supper Club in Harlem (also where Nat King Cole had his wedding reception, in a neat generational link to Roscoe’s). Wells served the pairing to feed jazz musicians who would get off work between dinner and breakfast hours–too late for dinner and too early for breakfast. However, as Miller writes in Soul Food, German settlers were serving waffles topped with chicken and gravy in early 19th-century Pennsylvania, and cooks in Southern kitchens — most of them enslaved African Americans — substituted the fried chicken that was already becoming a Southern staple.

Why is Roscoe's a political prop?

But perhaps because of its fame, politicians have also used Roscoe’s as a political prop — holding press conferences outside in order to burnish their credentials with black voters while attacking their rivals. And it’s the place mayoral and presidential candidates from both sides of the aisle visit to signal their knowledge of black culture and their commitment to black Angelenos. Whether Roscoe’s likes it or not, it has become a symbol of all that Los Angeles says and does not say about its racial stratifications.

Where is Roscoe's in Hollywood?

It’s tucked just north of Sunset Boulevard on Gower. On your first pass down Sunset you might only see a flash of pink neon cursive and a throng of people crowding on the sidewalk. Another look and you’ll see the famous sign: a rooster with wings outstretched in front of a round waffle and emblazoned with the restaurant name.

Who sued Roscoe's for unfair treatment?

In 2013, Roscoe’s — perhaps one of the most prominent black-owned businesses in Los Angeles — was sued by a former employee named Daniel Beasley. Beasley, a black man, claimed that Latino managers gave preferential treatment to Latino employees — including unfair treatment, issues with shift scheduling and ultimately, his dismissal. The fees and damages awarded to Beasley — $3.2 million total — make up a significant part of the $14 million and change in estimated debt cited by Roscoe’s parent company East Coast Foods in its bankruptcy filing.

Where did the famous chicken and waffles originate?

To speak of Roscoe’s, one must first acknowledge the restaurant where Hudson first ate the dish: Wells Famous Home of Chicken and Waffles in Harlem, New York. Harlem has long been accepted as the native habitat for fried chicken and waffles, thanks to its origin story. During the Harlem Renaissance era, the story goes, jazz patrons were getting out of clubs in the wee hours of the morning. They were hungry, but that time of night was too late to have dinner, but also too early to eat breakfast. Joseph T. Wells, a marketing-savvy entrepreneur, seized on the market opportunity and popular demand by creating a fried chicken and waffles as a dinner-breakfast hybrid. In 1938, he opened his eponymous restaurant and live music venue which locals called “Wells Supper Club” and “Wells.” Wells’ story is fantastic, but it’s not true.

Where did the chicken and waffles come from?

People in the U.S. have been eating fried chicken and waffles since the 1700s, and at least a century earlier in Europe. German immigrants brought a creamed chicken and waffle tradition with them and transplanted it in rural Pennsylvania.

Why did Thomas Jefferson have fried chicken and waffles?

By the early 1800s, notable southerners like Thomas Jefferson had fried chicken and waffles for breakfast when they entertained others, especially for a special occasion. Enslaved African Americans gained expertise making the dish because they were the principal cooks for wealthy southerners. For the next 100 years, southern elites gorged on fried chicken and waffles until the early 1900s when the dish became less fashionable. That decline in popularity created the cultural space for Wells to create and disseminate his enduring creation myth. Wells’ restaurant closed in 1982 when he became ill, and he died in 1987. His widow, Mrs. Ann Wells, tried to revive the restaurant in the 1990s, but after a short run, it closed permanently. That left Roscoe’s as the only notable restaurant showcasing fried chicken and waffles.

When did people start eating fried chicken and waffles?

People in the U.S. have been eating fried chicken and waffles since the 1700s , and at least a century earlier in Europe. German immigrants brought a creamed chicken and waffle tradition with them and transplanted it in rural Pennsylvania. They earned the nickname “Pennsylvania Dutch” though they should have properly been called “Pennsylvania Deutsch.” By the 1790s, this rural dish got a cosmopolitan vibe when it became fashionable in Philadelphia restaurants. The dish made its way to the American South, and the creamed chicken was substituted with fried chicken.

Why did Hudson put Roscoe's in bankruptcy?

Hudson has been on both sides of business litigation, as a defendant and a plaintiff. The former because of a successful employment discrimination case brought by an African American employee at one of the restaurants. The $3.2 million judgment in favor of the employee caused Hudson to put the four Roscoe’s locations that he didn’t own into bankruptcy. As a plaintiff, Hudson sued someone in Chicago, Illinois who opened a “Rosscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles,” adding an extra “s” to the name, a similar logo, and similar menu items. Chicagoans flocked to the restaurant believing it to be an outpost of the L.A. restaurant. They settled out of court a day after Hudson filed a trademark infringement lawsuit.

Who thought fried chicken and waffles were crazy?

Once upon a time in Los Angeles, people thought the idea of combining fried chicken and a waffle as a meal was absolutely crazy. Herbert Hudson thought otherwise.

Is Roscoe's a movie?

More than any other African American-owned restaurant, Roscoe’s has become part of popular culture, especially in motion pictures. The restaurant has gotten a mention in films including: Tapehead (1988), Swingers (1996), Jackie Brown (1997), Rush Hour (1998), Soul Plane (2004). In 2004, Roscoe’s got more than a mention on the big screen: It got its own eponymous feature-length film. “It’s the true story of how Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles was created,” Cuba Gooding, Sr., told the Los Angeles Times in 2001. “I play one of the gangster types (named Fast Black) that I watched growing up, which is different from the drive-by-shooting, suicidal-drug-using, murderous-type kids they have today.” The film debuted in 2004, and it’s safe to say, it didn’t get the same amount of love from moviegoers as customers give the restaurant. In a strange circle of life moment in 2007, Cuba Gooding, Jr. aided someone shot outside of a Roscoe’s location while he waited for a carryout order.

Overview

Trademark infringements

In popular culture

Notable incidents

See also

External links