The Chicken Hut

Restaurant, Caterer, Chicken restaurant in Durham, NC

Address

3019 Fayetteville St, Durham, NC 27707, Durham, NC, 27707

Phone

(919) 682-5697

Website

chickenhutnc.weebly.com

About The Chicken Hut

The Chicken Hut has served Durham's Fayetteville Street corridor home-cooked Southern meals since 1957, making it one of the city's longest-running family restaurants. For lunch, Monday through Friday from 11:30am to 2:00pm, the kitchen turns out a rotating daily menu built around Southern staples: fried chicken is on the stove every day, alongside dishes that change by weekday, such as Monday's baked spaghetti, BBQ chicken, meatloaf and neck bones; Tuesday's BBQ ribs, smothered pork chops and salmon cakes; Wednesday's country smothered chicken and pig feet; Thursday's homemade chicken and dumplings and smothered pork chops; and Friday's oxtails and Salisbury steak. Fried trout, fried shrimp and fried fish round out the weekly rotation. Beyond the daily lunch counter, The Chicken Hut runs a full catering operation for events large and small, offering party trays of fruit, vegetables, cheese and crackers, drumsticks, meatballs and mini sandwiches, plus entree trays of fried, baked or BBQ chicken, chicken and dumplings, stuffed chicken, salmon, fish, shrimp, ribs, pork chops and chitterlings. Catering sides include mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, rice, collard greens, green beans, okra, candied yams, dinner rolls and hushpuppies, with cobblers, cakes and banana pudding for dessert. The restaurant sums up its identity with the tagline "Proud to Serve and Support Our Community Since 1957," reflecting nearly seven decades of continuous service to the same Durham neighborhood. Customers can find The Chicken Hut and stay current on offerings through its active Facebook, Instagram and Yelp pages.

The Chicken Hut started life in 1957 as The Chicken Box, opened by the late Claiborne Tapp Jr. on what was then Pine Street — now South Roxboro Street. Its original sign billed it as “The Chicken Center of the South,” advertising nationally advertised roasted chicken, seafood, sizzling steaks, orders to go, delivery, free parking and a banquet room. In the late 1960s the city of Durham demolished the entire block using urban renewal funds. The Chicken Box moved to Fayetteville Street and became The Chicken Hut, and it has been there ever since — which makes it, by its own account, the second oldest continually operating restaurant in Durham. Nearly 70 years on it is still in the family, owned today by Peggy Tapp and Claiborne Tapp III. What is served has not been reinvented: home-cooked Southern plates from a rotating daily menu, lunch only, Monday to Friday from 11:30am to 2:00pm, with catering for events of any size. The restaurant’s own line for what it does is unfussy — come in, share a good conversation, share fellowship, share a great meal.

Services

• Catering for small and large events
• Weekday lunch service

Photos