If you were to ask someone, “What is the most Southern food?” a likely response might be “fried chicken.” So it’s no wonder that literally all of the famous fast food fried chicken spots you know and love (KFC, Popeye’s, Church’s, Raising Cane’s, and Zaxby’s, to name a few) were started in the South. But hiding down on Mobile Bay is something better than any of those brands, and just like the Piggly Wiggly, MoonPie, or Cheerwine, it has a name you won’t soon forget. If you’re ever road tripping in Alabama, you have to swing by a Foosackly’s drive-thru for chicken fingers, fries, sweet tea, and homemade sauces that are better than any national chain’s. Like their motto says, “You can’t fake the Foo.” Meet Foosackly’s Foosackly’s, or the Foo, as Mobilians call it, was founded in 2000 by Will Fusaiotti and Eric Brechtel, two college buddies who went to LSU together. What started as a small chicken finger joint on University Boulevard in Mobile would turn into 16 locations across Alabama and nearby on the Gulf Coast in Pensacola over the next 25 years. And it’s still growing: A location in the greater Birmingham area is coming soon, and as a Mobile native living in Birmingham, I couldn’t be more excited. There are a few things we Mobilians don’t ever shut up about. First, that Mardi Gras started in Mobile, not New Orleans. Second, that our own lingo (it’s a wharf, not a pier; it’s a hugger, not a koozie; and it’s an ice chest, not a cooler) is somehow better than the way people speak in the rest of the country. And third, that Foosackly’s trumps any chicken tenders anywhere (and it’ll cure any hangover, not that I know from personal experience). What Makes Foosackly’s So Special? To make it almost three decades in business, the product has got to be good. At Foosackly’s, every menu item is made from scratch. “Everything is made fresh daily, nothing pre-packaged here!” says Chief of Staff Chris Morgan. “Hand-battered fingers, house-made sauces, fresh-squeezed lemonade. everything is done in-house!” I would be willing to bet that none of the chicken places I mentioned at the top of the page can make that claim. The menu is simple, just the way it should be, with boxes that come with chicken fingers, fries, cole slaw, toast, and sauce. You can also get a salad or sandwich featuring the signature chicken fingers and even add queso or bacon to your fries. In my opinion, the homemade sauces truly make Foosackly’s stand out amongst the others. Foo Sauce is the one you picture when you think “chicken finger sauce,” and their Real Honey Mustard is my personal favorite behind Foo Sauce. They also have house-made Buttermilk Ranch, Jalapeno Ranch, Sweet & Spicy Kung Foo, Smoky BBQ, and Classic Buffalo sauces. And you can’t leave the Foo without an ice-cold sweet tea or lemonade, or a combination of both. Foosackly’s caters to crowds small and large, which is another reason why it’s so beloved. Even at some of the dressiest Mardi Gras balls in the city, you’re guaranteed to find debutantes and knights alike gathered around a table full of Foosackly’s. Whether perched on a sterling silver platter for masked revelers post-parade or picked up in the always-packed but fast-moving drive-thru line after school, there’s not a wrong way to eat Foosackly’s. But no restaurant can make it this long on good fried food alone. “We feel that our focus on people-both our crew members (Foo Crew) and customers-sets us apart from chicken brands and others in the Quick Service Restaurant space,” Morgan Says. “One of our main tenets as a company is ‘People Matter Most.’ And he’s right. Foosackly’s is so beloved by the people of Mobile because it loves us right back. Chick-fil-A might be famous for its employees saying “my pleasure,” but you won’t find more polite staff than at the Foo. And homesick Mobilians? It’s sure to be on their list of “musts” when they come in town (no offense to Mama’s home cooking). “There are Mobilians, as well as students at the universities in Mobile (USA, U of Mobile, Spring Hill College), who have moved far away to other places who consistently beg us to open in their new place of residence,” Morgan says. “There probably isn’t one state in the country where someone hasn’t asked us to open!” Like I said, it was big news for me personally that Foosackly’s is opening a location in Birmingham so that I can finally get my fix anytime I have a craving. Where Did That Name Come From? Founder Will Fusaiotti’s last name isn’t the easiest to pronounce, so his high school friends nicknamed him “foo sack.” Foosackly’s it is! Where Is It Located?.
https://www.southernliving.com/foosacklys-chicken-mobile-alabama-11854941
The Alabama Chicken Finger Chain That Locals Have Been Obsessing Over For 25 Years
