GJ Fish & Chicken is a fried chicken business.
GJ Fish & Chicken is expanding, according to Startland News.
Family-run fried-chicken restaurants have a long Kansas City lineage: Go Chicken Go’s history traces its start to 1969, when fried chicken, gizzards and livers became popular at the family’s Go Gas. The company says it has remained family-owned and operated for more than 40 years. The comparison is not one of scale, but it puts GJ’s family-led expansion in a longstanding local tradition.
GJ's Kansas City Presence
GJ Fish & Chicken has a Longview location in Kansas City.
Three New Shops, Zero Loans
The current growth spurt began in early 2024, when Modder opened a freestanding GJ in St. Louis. GJ has a 47th St. location and another at 7704 State Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas. Each expansion was funded with his own savings, with Modder creating a separate LLC for every new restaurant and forgoing bank loans entirely as he built up equity to fund the next opening.
GJ’s growth is unfolding in a substantial restaurant market: Missouri restaurant-industry figures count 12,486 restaurant locations and $23.5 billion in restaurant and foodservice sales. Nationally, the association says nine in 10 restaurants are small businesses, placing Modder’s independently financed, multi-location operation within a sector dominated by small operators.
GJ is continuing to expand.
For GJ’s Missouri locations inside Kansas City, opening another restaurant also involves city permitting: Kansas City’s Health Department guidance calls for a selected location and finalized menu, company documentation when applicable, and a pre-opening inspection. The city says a food-establishment permit application must be submitted at least 30 days before a planned opening or ownership transfer—a local requirement distinct from the rules in Kansas City, Kansas, or Olathe.
What's on the Menu
GJ Fish & Chicken serves chicken and fish.
A Hands-On Operation Without Advertising
Across all five existing locations, GJ employs about a dozen workers total, including Modder's parents, sister and an aunt. Modder himself travels to each metro-area location nearly daily to keep tabs on operations.
