Dylan Brogan
Esperdell McGee Jr., Espeyona McGee and Eunice McKennie staff the new Park Street restaurant.
McGee’s Chicken, 1920 S. Park St., has only been open a month but is already doing brisk business on Madison’s south side. So says pastor Esperdell McGee Jr., proprietor of the new fried chicken restaurant. “It’s been all word of mouth. Just people saying, ‘Hey, they got some good food.’”
McGee’s Chicken has an expansive menu that offers far more than just fried chicken. Gyros, catfish, Italian beef, rib tips, pork chops and gizzards are also available. Side dishes include macaroni, greens, spaghetti, dressing and yams.
McGee is the pastor of Miracles of Life Outreach Ministries. He says the idea for the restaurant came after parishioners started selling dinners to help the church. “The demand came for more, so we took it to the next level and are making it into a business,” says McGee. “Ten percent will still go straight to the church.”
Right now, volunteers are staffing the eatery, but McGee hopes to be able to bring on paid staff soon. “We want this place to be a safe haven for the community. Somewhere you can sit down and enjoy the air [conditioning], use the Wi-Fi to do homework. On Fridays, we plan on doing some spoken word and poetry,” says McGee. The restaurant is in the former Taco Bell on Park Street. It was briefly the Sephardic Jewish restaurant Noosh, which closed in December after a dispute with the landlord.