Mr. Fries Man's Durham restaurant will shut its doors for good after service on Saturday, Nov. 21, ending a five-year run near Brightleaf Square. The chain announced the closure through an Instagram post that did not explain the reason behind the decision.
The restaurant at 1105 W. Main St. is the brand's only location in North Carolina, according to The News & Observer. The outlet reports it has reached out to Mr. Fries Man by phone and email and is still awaiting a response about why the spot is closing. Per WRAL, the restaurant had served the Durham community for five years before this closure.
A Menu Built Around Saucy Wings and Loaded Fries
Mr. Fries Man built its reputation on saucy chicken wings and loaded french fries, and the Durham location's online menu reflected that focus, offering chicken wings along with fried or grilled chicken in several sauce options. The fries came piled with toppings ranging from barbecue bacon ranch chicken to lemon garlic crab and shrimp, the kind of indulgent combinations that helped the Durham restaurant earn a spot on the News & Observer's 2024 list of the 50 best local places to eat french fries.
In its closure announcement, Mr. Fries Man said the Durham venture became much more than a business, noting it had served customers, built relationships, created jobs and become part of a supportive community. The statement did not address what prompted the shutdown, and the Gaps and Cautions around this story mean no cause can be reported beyond that silence.
How the Durham Shop Came To Be
The Durham location was opened by two local women, according to a Downtown Durham business directory. North Carolina Weekend names those franchise owners as Jaquetta Bratley and Safiyyah Williams, who brought the concept to the Brightleaf district.
Accounts differ on when Mr. Fries Man itself began franchising. The News & Observer reports the chain got its start in California roughly a decade before publication. The Downtown Durham directory states the owners behind Mr. Fries Man began franchising in 2020 after three successful years running a single location, while North Carolina Weekend reports that co-owner Craig Batiste, along with his wife Dorothy, turned the business into a franchise in 2016 starting from a single restaurant in Gardena, California. The two accounts do not agree on the year, and this article does not resolve the discrepancy.
Part of a Rougher Stretch for Durham Dining
Mr. Fries Man's exit adds to a string of recent closures among Durham food and drink businesses. The News & Observer notes that beer bar Pour Taproom is no longer welcoming customers in the city, and soul food restaurant Kale's Kitchen Express shut down its brick-and-mortar location as well.
Kale's Kitchen Express closed its Durham site after more than 10 years in business, telling the outlet in a separate report that the owners decided it wasn't in their best interest to renew the lease on their storefront. That business has continued reaching customers through pop-ups, catering, meal-prepping services and personal chef appointments rather than disappearing from the local food scene entirely. Whether Mr. Fries Man will pursue something similar after Nov. 21 remains unknown, as the brand has not said whether it plans to continue operating in any form once the Durham doors close.
