The Chicken Hut, Durham’s oldest Black-owned eatery, gets landmark status
After six decades of serving the hungry in Durham, the Chicken Hut has been officially recognized as a piece of the city’s living history.
In a unanimous vote Oct. 6, the Durham City Council granted the Chicken Hut local landmark status. The restaurant is known as Durham’s oldest, continuously run Black-owned business.
The Chicken Hut, at 3019 Fayetteville St., has been owned by the Tapp family since 1957, when it was known as the Chicken Box, getting its start as a concession stand along N.C. 55 by siblings Claiborne Jr., and Julia Tapp.
Durhamites recognize the restaurant for its freshly cooked Southern foods like ox tails, baked chicken, chitterlings, meatloaf, fried seafood and neck bones, and sides like macaroni-and-cheese, collard greens, yams and hushpuppies.
But, the eatery is best known for its fried chicken.
“Our fried chicken is cooked hot, fresh when you walk in,” said Tre Tapp, the current owner, in a Discover Durham interview. “We get in here at 4:30 in the morning. Nothing’s prepped the day before, so everything’s fresh cooked daily. We cook with a lot of love.”
The restaurant also holds a significant spot in Durham’s history as a hub during the Civil Rights Movement, providing meals to jailed protesters and supporting local civil rights groups.
Last month, the Chicken Hut was awarded a $50,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express to fund renovations and expansions, and recognize its historic preservation. Preservation Durham has been working for years to get the Chicken Hut local landmark status, according to the group.
Landmark status honors the Chicken Hut’s history, architecture and cultural importance. Properties designated landmarks are taxed at 50% of the property’s value to help the owner keep them in good condition, according to Karla Rosenberg with the city’s Planning and Development Department.
After voting, the City Council members stood up and applauded Tapp and the supporters who filled the council chambers. Mayor Leo Williams, a fellow restaurateur, recalled eating at the Chicken Hut as a college student at N.C. Central University.
“I know when you put your heart, your love, your soul into it, you’re doing more than just serving food on a plate. You’re telling the community, ‘I love you,’” Williams said. “There’s nothing more personal than that.”
A back-up plan
Every day, the menu at the Chicken Hut changes with something new and delicious. Eaters select their items in a cafeteria line before sitting down to eat inside the restaurant or taking plates to go.
“We have people that come in and say they’ve been coming since they were little kids, and they’re 65 years old,” said Tapp, the son of Claiborne Jr. “My mom always said, it’s not about the money, it’s about giving back.”
At the meeting, a few residents recalled how the Tapp family and the Chicken Hut played a role in their lives. Christopher Logan, a local caterer, said he started working for Peggy Tapp, Claiborne Jr.’s wife, years ago.
“I remember my first time catering,” Logan said. “I tried to pick up two pans of spaghetti. Both pans fell. [Peggy] said, ‘Chris, don’t worry about it. We have a backup plan.’ She called somebody at the Chicken Hut and had them bring over four more pans, and right then, I knew that she was a nice, sweet lady.”
In 1961, the Chicken Hut began operating at 410 S. Roxboro St., known then as Pine Street in Hayti, and got two delivery trucks and 10 employees. But soon after, the city’s urban renewal plan and the construction of the Durham Freeway began to take shape and destroyed many Black-owned homes and businesses.
The Chicken Hut was forced to move again but stayed on the southside, moving further to 3019 Fayetteville St., less than a mile from N.C. Central University. The Chicken Hut would operate out of this location for the next 59 years.
“The Tapps overcame the socially devastating impact of urban renewal to build an innovative architect-designed building in a rapidly evolving business district for African Americans in Durham and continued to expand their business and its broader social mission,” Preservation Durham wrote in their application.
‘My parents worked so hard’
Councilwoman Chelsea Cook remembered being appointed to the City Council and being asked what the best meal in the ciy was.
“I said the Friday ox tails at the Chicken Hut,’” Cook said. “I just want to say, for what it’s worth, I think going on Fridays is maybe the worst decision, because then you have to choose between the chicken and the ox tails.”
Councilman Carl Rist thanked the Chicken Hut for bringing people together “on some tough issues,” and Councilman Mark-Anthony Middleton said he was “excited about casting” the vote for local landmark status.
“Harlem has Sylvia’s where our leaders met, in Atlanta it was Pascal’s, and Durham has The Chicken Hut,” he said.
At the meeting, Tapp thanked the council and Preservation Durham, saying he wished his parents were still living to witness it happen.
Growing up, he said, his Thanksgivings were spent at homeless shelters where his family served meals.
“That’s what’s engraved in my heart,” he said. “My parents worked so hard.”
“So much blood, sweat and tears. They had so much of a passion to give back. ... We love the city of Durham, and now I’m just so happy that we’ll forever be a landmark,” he said.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 10:23 PM.