New Orleans is a town that loves its fried chicken; where else in the world is there an entire festival dedicated to this crunchy, flavorful delicacy?
While fried chicken can be found a bone’s throw from just about anywhere in the city, few purveyors can match the hands-on, family recipe version found at McHardy’s Chicken & Fixin’.
Since opening the restaurant in 2001, the Mogilles family has had to rebuild twice — once after Hurricane Katrina and again after a 2006 fire. The store’s location at 1458 North Broad St., however, is worth keeping. McHardy’s sits in immediate proximity to four neighborhoods — Treme, Bayou St. John, Seventh Ward and Fairgrounds — as well as in the historic Bayou Road shopping district.
“We get quite a bit of foot traffic here,” noted Alvi Mogilles, co-founder and co-owner, with her husband and son, of McHardy’s. “We get lots of support from the neighborhood, including the new residents moving in,” adding, “We still have a lot of people who don’t mind telling us how far they traveled to get here.”
There’s good reason to cross town — or cross the street — for McHardy’s chicken. The recipe for the batter comes from Mogilles’ mother. Each piece of chicken is washed before frying. The spices are made in-house (and are now being sold in select local grocery stores). Even the cabbage for the coleslaw is hand-sliced.
In short, preparing the food (shrimp, catfish and other items are also on the menu) is something the seven-person staff does with considerable attention and care.
This approach helps greatly in meeting the two main challenges McHardy’s faces.
“There are so many restaurants,” Mogilles observed. “There are so many people who ‘think’ they can fry chicken, even gas stations and grocery stores. It’s a true test of the product we sell.”
In addition, she noted, “Our economy is not robust. It’s not easy for families. But we are still affordable for families to come in and get as close to a home-cooked meal as possible.”
Mogilles’ educational achievements also contribute significantly to McHardy’s success: she earned her undergraduate degree in nutrition, and has a master’s in public health and an executive MBA from Tulane.
“This was not ever my dream, it was my husband’s dream,” she said, explaining that he and their son are the real entrepreneurs in the family. She noted, however, that the business has illuminated a side of her.
“Our customers bring out the people person in me,” she said. “I like meeting the people, hearing their stories.”
This personal interaction, the commitment to personal service, may be the underlying reason that McHardy’s has such a loyal customer base. Whether it’s opening at 5 a.m. on Mardi Gras so people can grab their chicken on the way to the parades, ensuring phone orders are ready on time, or being a favorite source of fried turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas, the restaurant does its best to cater to its clientele.
In turn, satisfied taste buds serve as McHardy’s main form of marketing.
“We’ve never had a large advertising budget,” noted Mogilles. “The product has always sold itself by word of mouth. That’s what sets us apart, taking pride in our quality and consistency, taking pride in how we keep the restaurant, how we address our customers.
“We know so many of them,” she concluded, “and they know us.”
