{"id":1215,"date":"2026-06-05T06:05:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:05:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:05:02","slug":"the-famous-gas-station-fried-chicken-in-south-end-is-back-heres-why-it-left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215","title":{"rendered":"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve wandered into the Shell station<\/a> at the corner of East Boulevard and South Boulevard lately and found yourself wondering what happened to the fried chicken, you\u2019re in good company.<\/p>\n

Read more Outside Charlotte, a family-run furniture store is closing after nearly 80 years<\/a><\/p>\n

For a brief stretch, The Chicken Store \u2014 a gas station chicken counter that has earned praise from both CharlotteFive<\/a> and Southern Living<\/u><\/a> \u2014 seemed to vanish. The fryers were quiet, the chicken was gone and customers kept asking the same question.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would walk in here all the time wondering where the chicken was,\u201d manager Kaushal Prajapati, who took over the Shell in December, told CharlotteFive.<\/p>\n

The good news for regulars is that the chicken has returned. The better news, according to Prajapati, is that the operation behind it has gotten an overhaul.<\/p>\n

The disappearance wasn\u2019t the result of a closure so much as a reset.<\/p>\n

Prajapati said the restaurant paused operations while undergoing a rebrand and making changes aimed at improving the customer experience. Under the previous setup, customers would order at the counter and then wait there for their food, often creating a bottleneck for people trying to buy gas station essentials like chips, beer or a lottery ticket.<\/p>\n

Now, customers have a designated pickup area, creating a smoother flow through the store. Other upgrades are underway, as well, including replacing drink machines that Prajapati said were left in less-than-ideal condition by previous management.<\/p>\n

Read more NC grocer\u2019s expansion wave around Charlotte area continues. New store date set<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re changing a lot of things in here to make it better for customers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for longtime fans, the changes stop short of the recipe.<\/p>\n

The menu remains devoted to fried chicken and little else.<\/p>\n

Customers can order meals built around breasts, wings, thighs, legs or tenders, most of them priced between $7-$10 and served with a side and a roll. Larger groups can opt for family-size chicken boxes, with the biggest meals still coming in at under $50.<\/p>\n

Prajapati believes the restaurant\u2019s reputation starts with the quality of the product itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing about our chicken is that it\u2019s never frozen,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get it fresh every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The menu branches out occasionally, offering Buffalo wings, fish plates, mini tacos and old-school Southern staples like gizzards and livers. Dessert options include banana pudding and cookies, and Prajapati said additional specials \u2014 including ribs and turkey breast sandwiches \u2014 are on the way.<\/p>\n

Read more After months of planning, why NC State football won\u2019t play Virginia in Brazil<\/a><\/p>\n

So far, customers seem pleased with the return.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t had any complaints yet,\u201d Prajapati said.<\/p>\n

Location: Inside the Shell gas station, 201 E. Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

Cuisine: Southern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fans can rejoice: Charlotte\u2019s gas station chicken counter reopened with menu favorites, family boxes and improvements to streamline orders and pickups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nThe famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fans can rejoice: Charlotte\u2019s gas station chicken counter reopened with menu favorites, family boxes and improvements to streamline orders and pickups.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T06:05:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T06:05:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215\"},\"wordCount\":475,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215\",\"name\":\"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T06:05:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1215#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"Fans can rejoice: Charlotte\u2019s gas station chicken counter reopened with menu favorites, family boxes and improvements to streamline orders and pickups.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-06-05T06:05:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left","datePublished":"2026-06-05T06:05:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215"},"wordCount":475,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215","name":"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-05T06:05:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/aa148f4478e5f90f6b43d415b3adcada.jpeg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1215#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The famous gas station fried chicken in South End is back. Here\u2019s why it left"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}