Posted on: 29/05/2008 

In little over 6 years, Wendy McCrory has transformed a franchise which was a quirky concept into a solid business venture. Gus World Famous Fried Chicken had a slow start, but the eatery is now a successful business and has had national acclaim. The restaurant was recently named by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Inc. Magazine as one of the 100 fastest growing inner-city companies nationwide.

In little over 6 years, Wendy McCrory has transformed a franchise which was a quirky concept into a solid business venture.  Gus World Famous Fried Chicken had a slow start, but the eatery is now a successful business and has had national acclaim. The restaurant was recently named by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Inc. Magazine as one of the 100 fastest growing inner-city companies nationwide. 

David G. Latimore, president of the ICIC, said: 'We are delighted to celebrate businesses like Downtown Gus's Fried Chicken that are playing a critical role in urban communities throughout the country. These high-growth businesses help create jobs, income and wealth for local residents, and they prove our belief that the most effective way to create economic equality in America's inner cities is to focus on sustainable business growth and investment.'

The restaurant was the only business in Tennessee on the list, at No. 93 and McCrory was pleased and surprised by the honor: 'It took a long time to get going and a long time to get it right, but things are great now. This is an amazing honor, and I think it reflects how wonderful our employees are and the attention they give to our customers. And, of course, the chicken. There's an art to making tasty chicken and people know they'll get that at Gus's.' she said

With over 1,000 customers every day, Gus's is a thriving business, which means a lot of chicken; last year the restaurant cooked more than 65 tons.

'It's unreal', said Mercedes Hawkins, operations manager, 'There's a lot of work, no doubt about it, but it's almost unbelievable how much we sell. The volume of chicken we do is crazy and it just keeps getting better.'

Gus's has had a growth rate of 129 percent since 2003, with a lot of business from Downtown workers during the week and from both locals and tourists at the weekends. Word of mouth is the only advertising McCrory needs and even celebrities such as Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Timberlake drop in to enjoy a meal, as McCrory comments: 'They've both been in here a lot. We treat them like regular folks, and I think they appreciate that. This is just a little down-home chicken joint and everybody feels comfortable here.'  This evidently includes the three dozen employees, several of whom have worked for McCrory almost from the start. Steve Morris began his employment at Gus's five years ago and says it's the best place he's ever worked: 'It's like we're all part of a big family and everybody here looks out for everybody else. We work hard, but it's fun and we get paid well and there's never a dull moment.'

Nominations and applications are currently being accepted for next year's Top 100 list. Although Gus's was the only representative from the volunteer state this year, ICIC leaders would like to see that change next year, as Latimore explains: 'Although Gus's is the only Memphis restaurant on the 2008 Inner City 100 list, we know there are many more successful stories for Tennesseans to tell. We encourage those inspiring urban entrepreneurs to apply for the 2009 Inner City 100 list.'  Companies may apply directly or be nominated by an outside source and in order to qualify must employ at least 10 full-time worker and have over half of its operations located in an economically distressed urban areas.  The company must also show a five-year operating sales history of at least $200,000 in revenue for the first year of consideration, an increase in year five sales over year four sales and fifth-year sales of at least $1 million.