Paschal’s Foods, Inc.
Paschal’s Foods is proud
to announce the release of their first food product, Paschal’s World Famous
Chicken Batter Mix. Currently the
product is available via the internet at the Paschal’s Foods website, www.paschalsfoods.com, but will be
making its debut in several major grocery store chains in the coming
weeks. Director of Sales for North
America, Lee Barker anticipates brisk sales of the product by people nostalgic
for the down home goodness of Paschal’s chicken. The original recipe was developed over 50
years ago by Robert Paschal in a small soda shop unequipped with a stove. To offer the house specialty, Robert prepared
the fried chicken at home and then had it delivered by taxi to the
restaurant. Later the Paschal brothers
acquired larger space across from the original location and fried chicken
continued to be the restaurant’s biggest draw.
Today Paschal’s Restaurants continue to thrive at
Paschal's new restaurant
savors history
Original Atlanta icon defied racial
divides, drew celebrities
Mae
Gentry – Staff
(Atlanta
Journal-Constitution)
Alongside the fried chicken, candied yams and corn muffins,
two Atlanta icons are serving up a slice of history at their new restaurant, a
spot whose predecessor was "the eating place and meeting place" of
the civil rights movement.
Herman Russell,
71, and James Paschal, 79, opened Paschal's at Castleberry Hill three months
ago. The new spot, near the Georgia Dome and the
Gov. Roy Barnes
and his wife, Marie, were on hand for opening night. Mayor Shirley Franklin
hosted her literary club in an upstairs dining room. Coretta Scott King
celebrated her 75th birthday there. Johnny Cochran called the other day to make
dinner reservations for himself and his TV anchor daughter, Tiffany.
"It's
unbelievable," Russell said. "We haven't done any advertising."
The story of
Paschal's is the story of
The men behind
the new venture are
"Paschal's
did not fail," said
Their new
restaurant, within walking distance of the original Paschal's Restaurant and
Motor Hotel, owes its popularity as much to its historic roots as to its menu.
During the '60s, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights
activists met at Paschal's to plan strategy.
The new
Paschal's is designed to mirror the neighboring
Colorful
abstract art contrasts with African-inspired decorating details, such as the
authentic mudcloth on the wall between the bar and the dining area.
In its heydey
The old Paschal's
started in 1947 as a sandwich shop on what was then known as Hunter Street, a
commercial strip in the heart of the city's black community.
In 1959, James
and Robert Paschal moved their business across the street and expanded it.
Eventually, it had a full-service restaurant, banquet rooms, a 120-room hotel,
and a jazz club that drew national acts.
In its 1960s
heyday, Paschal's was the place to be for blacks as well as whites.
"We
operated an integrated facility in a segregated community," Paschal said.
"On our license was printed 'for colored people only,' but we violated
those city ordinances."
In 1996, with
Robert's health declining, the Paschal brothers sold the property to
Robert Paschal
died in 1997.
Herman Reese,
an education consultant, began patronizing Paschal's in the 1960s and remembers
when it was "the center of black activity in
"I think
the new Paschal's represents the new
Indeed, black
--- and white --- urban professionals meet regularly at the new Paschal's to
network, socialize, and talk business and politics, just as "the old
guard" did in the past.
Russell has
wanted to franchise Paschal's Restaurant for four decades, and he's moving
toward his goal. There are two at
Original
retains charm
The newest
Paschal's, across the street from HJ Russell & Co. headquarters at Fair
Street and Northside Drive, is part of Russell's $200 million Legacy at
Castleberry Hill project. It includes mixed-income apartments, lofts, retail
shops and an extended-stay hotel.
Winter
Properties Chairman Bob Silverman dined at the new Paschal's recently and was
so enthusiastic about the place, he took a few business associates there the
next day. He has high praise for Russell's commitment to revitalizing the area.
"What he
has done is so very special," Silverman said. "He has stayed in the
neighborhood. He has built that marvelous complex and built that beautiful
headquarters there. And he sensed, correctly, that that neighborhood needed
housing and some restaurants."
While the old
Paschal's fed generations of hungry souls, the new restaurant filled a different
void, Martin says. He calls it "the first first-class, white linen,
sit-down restaurant in the black community."
While it's
packing them in, the new place is not likely to replace the original, which
Reese believes "will retain its charm and character for people who
remember the old days."
During last
month's commencement and reunion activities at the AU Center, visiting alumni
who knew about the old Paschal's got wind of the new restaurant. James Paschal
said he was surprised to see customers he remembered from decades ago at
Castleberry Hill.
But Mae Armster
Kendall, a former University of Georgia professor who is writing a book about
the Paschal brothers, wasn't at all surprised and told Paschal jokingly,
"Some came crippled and some came lame, but they all came looking for the
Paschal name."
Paschal, who
will be 80 in October, still heads to "work" at the new Paschal's
nearly every day. As he wends his way through the room, patrons stop him to say
hello or shake his hand. His hard-working joint-venture partner gets the same
response.
"If you
ask our wives, they think we have holes in our heads," Russell said.
"They wonder why we're not fishing or over in
