Frenchy's Chicken to expand nationally, replace iconic Scott St. building

A three-piece meal served with beans and rice at Frenchy's Chicken. A three-piece meal served with beans and rice at Frenchy's Chicken. Photo: Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise, Photo Editor Photo: Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise, Photo Editor Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Frenchy's Chicken to expand nationally, replace iconic Scott St. building 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Frenchy's, Houston's homegrown, Creole-style fried chicken shack, is going big time.

The chicken chain that started on Scott Street near the University of Houston - and is responsible for the Cougar "freshman 15" -has plans to open 500 franchise restaurants coast to coast in the next 10 years.

Frenchy's currently has 33 locations in southeast Texas, from Beaumont to Katy and The Woodlands.

"We have five new Frenchy's under construction, 10 more on the drawing board for 2016, and the ultimate goal is 500 restaurants. The first one outside of Texas will be in Atlanta," Frenchy's president Percy Cruezot III said Monday.

Cruezot's late father, Percy Cruezot II, opened the orignal Frenchy's in 1969. His son, Percy Cruezot IV, is the vice-president of quality control and new product development.

(The first Percy Cruezot was a dentist in New Orleans.) The restaurant specializes in Creole cooking.

"Creole cooking uses milder seasonings than Cajun-style food," Cruezot II said. "Cajun-style food blows you away with heat. Creole cooking blows you away with flavor."

Frenchy's also announced plans to tear down the original restaurant at 3919 Scott St. next year and replace it with a modern, larger building.

"The building is old and very limiting. We think Houston deserves a new building that will allow us to serve more customers in a better, more efficient manner," Cruezot II said.

Frenchy's bread pudding was created by the original owner's wife, Sallie, and has been on the menu since Day 1. The most popular item on Frenchy's menu is the five-wing special.