Harold’s Chicken and Ice Bar to Open in Duluth

Opening in the Pleasant Hill Square shopping mall, this will be the Atlanta area’s third location of the Chicago-born eatery.
Photo via Instagram.

Harold’s Chicken is a Chicago institution. Harold Pierce opened the first location in 1950 in South Chicago out of necessity as fast food chains usually avoided predominantly Black neighborhoods at the time. 

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Though legal hurdles prevented his business from expanding in the 50s, his food has since spread far past its South Chicago origins, reaching across the country. In 2012, Atlanta got its very own outlet in Harold’s Chicken & Ice Bar, opened in Edgewood by April “Bobbie” Robinson and Tarryn Rutherford. A second location in Marietta soon followed.

Now, a third Harold’s Chicken & Ice Bar is coming to Duluth this September, an Instagram page for the location confirms. The restaurant will open in the Pleasant Hill Square shopping mall, next to Nvague Hair Salon.

Like the other locations in the Atlanta area, the Duluth location will put a spin on the original Harold’s Chicken, adding a sit-down atmosphere to the concept along with a full bar. 

Though the Atlanta locations feel more like sports bars, they still serve the same signature chicken, fried to order in a mix of half beef tallow and half vegetable oil. They also still bear the history of the original location as “one of the few examples of a thriving fast-food chain that was owned by, and primarily served, the Chicago African-American Community,” Harold’s Chicken & Ice Bar’s website states.

Paul Kim

Paul Kim

Paul Kim is a senior at NYU studying Journalism and Public Policy with a minor in Food Studies. A Korean-Taiwanese American born and raised in Atlanta, Paul holds a special appreciation for the diverse food city that Atlanta has become in the last few years. Paul especially loves Korean food because they don't use cilantro in their dishes. Paul hates cilantro.
Paul Kim

Paul Kim

Paul Kim is a senior at NYU studying Journalism and Public Policy with a minor in Food Studies. A Korean-Taiwanese American born and raised in Atlanta, Paul holds a special appreciation for the diverse food city that Atlanta has become in the last few years. Paul especially loves Korean food because they don't use cilantro in their dishes. Paul hates cilantro.

4 Responses

  1. Ah, there has been a Harold’s Chicken and Ice bar on Old National for quite a while and a Harold’s Chicken carry out in the same center, so two locations on Old National in the Black part of town.

    1. There’s also one on Windy Hill. I’m not sure if the Windy Hill location and the takeaway location on Old National are under the same ownership as the other 3, but this new location is definitely not the third one in the Atlanta area. There are more!

  2. Can’t wait for this to finally open. Being from Chicago and living in Lawrenceville, the other locations are to far for me. I love Harold’s back in Chicago and make sure to have some every time I am home. Hope this lives up to its name.

  3. I would like to known the Owner, I work in this pleases doing ceiling grid and tile the GC never pay me I call Email Tess never respond ( Lucky)

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