MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken has become a staple for tourists and locals in Memphis.
It’s been featured three times on the Food Network for its sweet, spicy chicken.
You will find out-of-town visitors most anytime you go. People like Wendy Dorsey from Miami, Florida.
“This is a popular spot so I said I’d come try it,” Dorsey said.
Lou Martin started with a turkey leg truck, Turkey Express.
You may have seen it and tried the savory fowl at the Mid-South Fair or other festivals starting in the 90′s.
The business was great until Martin realized he owed thousands of dollars in back taxes.
“I really didn’t want to sell because I knew I had one of the hottest things on the ground but I’m either going to sell it or lose it because I don’t have $18,000 to pay the state,” he said.
After repaying the state, Martin decided to invest in himself. He opened this restaurant on Millbranch 21-years-ago using a chicken recipe handed down by his great grandmother, Rose Gillespie.
“Bingo! We gonna do fried chicken,” Martin said.
Uncle Lou knew we had a good product and he knew it could be a success but he came dangerously close to losing everything.
“But I remember days I was in here from nine in the morning until eight at night and there’s only $36 made,” he said.
He points to an article calling him a dreamer who never gives up and a mentor worrying about his future.
That’s when he got the call that changed everything.
“Right about then, the Food Network called and I was literally in tears...,” he said.
What happened? A sea of change.
Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood.
Trending stories:
Uncle Lou has been on the Food Network three times.
His sweet spicy love now has a national reputation. Does he deliver? Let’s ask our friends from Miami.
“Mmm this is delicious,” they said.
What’s next? Lou says boneless is the future and he’s perfecting it.
“We use a premium tenderloin of right at a 2-ounce tenderloin and marinated in the corruption with my secret sauce we marinate for in “corruption” for 48 hours,” he said.
It’s all come together.
Today, Lou said he is debt-free and looking into franchising his Sweet Southern-style but he wants others to learn from his mistakes.
He advises young people to:
“Go and get your own education. Don’t do it the hard way like I did because you’re going to pay for that education and the school of hard knocks Is a little bit more expensive!”
©2022 Cox Media Group