Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA – What in the world would anyone in Maryland know better about frying chicken than a true Southern chef?

Southerners might have this question ping-ponging around in their brains when they see a sign on a restaurant, in a Southern city no doubt, that says “Maryland Fried Chicken.”

The opening, June 23, of Maryland Fried Chicken in the former location of the Shark Tales restaurant by Title Pawn on North Ashley Street helped to resolve the mystery.

Maryland Fried Chicken, you see, was targeted at Maryland customers, but by Southern cooks, the Valdosta store’s co-owners and brothers Joshua and Jeremiah Horne explained.

Maryland Fried Chicken started in Florida in the late 1950s when an existing restaurant called Constantine’s decided to target Maryland residents who were transplanted to the Orlando area where Lockheed Martin had recently relocated a manufacturing plant from the northern state, bringing with them a crew of Maryland layoff survivors, Jeremiah Horne said.

“They believed that if they changed their name to ‘Maryland’ from ‘Constantine’s’ that those Maryland transplants would show up to eat,” Horne said. “It worked. That restaurant is still open.”

The Hornes, both graduates of the University of Georgia, started their career with Maryland Fried Chicken when Jeremiah partnered with another fellow to open a store in Thomasville.

The Thomasville store is still open, but Jeremiah saw opportunity knocking when he found out Valdosta and its growing metropolis had no Maryland Fried Chicken.

He and brother Joshua took over the former lease on Shark Tales, cleaned it up, installed new carpet, new cooking equipment including the needed deep fryers that meet Maryland Fried Chicken standards, refurbished the outside to match the company’s colors, installed new signage with the company logos, and finally opened its doors officially on June 23.

They cook their chicken the way the chain has done it for 30 years, and include typical sides of mashed potatoes, baked beans, potato salad, French fries and more to go along with a menu of wings, hot wings, two and three piece dinners, family sized dinners, chicken livers and gizzards and more.

It’s been a huge hit ever since Valdostans found out they had another fried chicken restaurant to choose from, the Hornes said.

“We’re doing 700 to 800 pounds of chicken a day,” said Joshua Horne. “It’s unbelievable. We haven’t even got our seafood menu up yet, which is coming in a few weeks. The customer response is fabulous. They’re just blowing our doors off.”

The Hornes make a point to stop at customers’ tables to see how they like the food.

“Great potato salad,” one customer says. “Kinda of like my mom’s.”

“Those French fries are so delicious,” another reports.

“I’m with the Valdosta Touchdown Club. You’ll see my crew driving in here after I tell ’em about this,” another man says. “Just look for the black and gold driving up.”

The red roofed eatery and its spanking new sign on North Ashley Street can’t be missed by passersby. And if you’re a fan of Southern fried chicken, you won’t want to miss it either.



Q: How fresh is the chicken you cook daily?



A: Jeremiah Horne: It’s never frozen. We get it in every day.



Q: What’s the secret ingredients to Maryland Fried Chicken?



A: Joshua Horne: I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. I’d have to kill you if I told you. Just kidding.



Q: How many people do you employ?



A: Jeremiah: We have 25 mostly full time people on board right now. There’s been a huge interest from people needing jobs, and we so appreciate their support and interest.

Joshua: Our first day open, we didn’t even have a sign up and we had hardly gotten everyone trained. So we opened the doors just to see what would happen. We got swamped very fast. By the time 1:30 p.m. rolled around, our crew, who had never worked together, hardly knew each other, had done a fantastic job. They were amazing.

Jeremiah: I believe we have the best food service crew in Valdosta. They came out of the gates ready to work.



Q: What’s been your most popular dish?



A: Jeremiah: Our fried chicken wings have been so popular that we had to create a menu item for a five-wing dinner.

Joshua: This town loves chicken wings. They are selling like crazy!



Maryland Fried Chicken

Address: 1701 North Ashley Street

Owners: Jeremiah and Joshua Horne

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Sunday closed but will open soon on Sundays too.