Jacob Stuart, 20, tosses a bowl of fries at Fran’s.
The ‘Frantastic 4-piece’ meal for $10.25 at Fran’s Chicken Haven in Boca Raton.
Photos by Libby Volgyes/The Coastal Star
By Jan Norris
Finger lickers take note: Fran’s Chicken Haven is back — back to the original recipe, that is.
The fried chicken institution in Boca Raton, a shotgun style take-out spot in a strip mall that offers chicken straight from the fryer in front of you, has been the buzz on social media since it reopened seven months ago.
Boca Raton High School grads Chris and Jacob Stewart found the spot, Jacob said, after their dad, Mike, noticed it was available.
“We had been looking for a small bar or restaurant to open, and this came open, so we pooled our money and took it over,” Chris said.
Fran’s had been in Boca Raton since 1964 and was a well-loved dive serving what diners on message boards called “the best around.” The neon sign bearing Fran’s name in the window is grandfathered in to the city’s code.
“It was phenomenal chicken,” said Jeffrey Richman, a 20-year Boca Raton resident and a Fran’s devotee. “It reminds you of what your mother made. Comfort food.”
Fran and Joe Gerace had run the take-out spot for 36 years, using Fran’s original recipe for a crispy crust and moist meat — a secret no one will reveal. They retired in 2000 rather than paying a higher rent. For the last 14 years, it has seen a number of owners who bought the recipe along with the lease.
Richman said the first owner after the Gerace’s “fooled around with the formula. She did something to it. It wasn’t the same.”
Longtime customers quit coming, and it was eventually sold to a kosher cook who used it to bake Jewish breads, Jacob Stewart said.
“She tried to make it kosher and really didn’t focus on the fried chicken. It was more of a bread thing for her,” he said. “And she was never open on any schedule. Just whenever.”
It lasted only a long season. Richman went in and saw the hours. “Not open on Friday and Saturday nights? Are you nuts?”
She closed and the property was once again for sale. The Stewart brothers decided to try it, with their dad’s help, and opened last July.
They closely followed the original recipe to recreate a childhood memory. “We used to come here with our Mom and Dad when we were kids. It was great fried chicken,” he said. “We wanted to take it back to the chicken that everybody liked.”
They added a few new sides: fried pickles, hush puppies, corn nuggets, and put on desserts — fried Oreos and fried Twinkies — but the bulk of the menu (fried chicken, shrimp or gizzards and livers) remains the same.
The return of the chicken livers and gizzards was welcomed with huge orders, Jacob said. “The kosher owner didn’t have them, and people who came in here got mad, so we brought them back.”
There are still those looking for a kosher chicken dinner, he said. “We just have to say, ‘sorry.’ But I think the original Fran’s diners are happy we’re here.”
Word of mouth and social media have helped diners find out about Fran’s rebirth.
“We’re doing pretty good,” Jacob said. “We’re going through about 15 (40-pound) boxes a week. So I guess that’s a lot — 600 pounds.”
“People like it, and want us to franchise, so we’re thinking about it,” Chris said. “Maybe we’ll do a food truck, then franchise. Right now, we’re just waiting to see how it goes in season.”
A counter with three stools, and six tables that accommodate 18 along one wall, make for a compact dining area. A refrigerator with serve-your-own drinks sits on the back wall, and behind the counter, the brothers are busy frying chicken and dumping it into the bins, waiting to be scooped into paper baskets for serving.
While the tables are generally full at lunch, the bulk of the business is take-out, Jacob said. People line up on Friday and Saturday nights for the chicken dinners. At $10.25 for a half-chicken dinner with two sides, or $8.25 for a plate of fried livers, it’s a little pricier than Fran’s original. College students and city workers are offered discounts.
Chicken and waffles, and fried shrimp also are options on the menu, but are not as popular as the chicken, straight up.
“It’s great chicken,” said Jonathan Sherry, taking a stool and ordering a breast and wing. He’d been coming in since the early ’90s and is glad the new owners are back to the original recipe. “Old school. No frills. Just like I knew growing up in upstate New York. When I splurge on fried chicken, I come here. Not healthy, but I don’t eat it every day. You come for the quality, not the ambiance. You can’t find anything else like it in Boca Raton.”
“The chicken’s the thing,” Richman said. “I’ve been back every week now, and it’s great. Fran’s phenomenal chicken.”
Fran’s Chicken Haven is at 1925 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Phone: 395-0781.
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