As you are stumbling down the streets of Binghamton toward the corner of Main Street and Clarke Street, a scent fills the air. Your booze-filled stomach begins to tingle as the aroma of fried chicken fills your nostrils. As you get closer to the corner, you see it: the red and white sign reading ‘Kennedy Fried Chicken.’
Every weekend students stumble to Kennedy Fried Chicken for late night food. A drunken student must be determined to eat tasty chicken to have the power to walk 1.15 miles and past the food offered near Downtown Binghamton.
The main draw of the establishment is the food that is made fresh after a short wait. The greasy delights are inexpensive and served with unlimited hot sauce, a personal favorite of mine. Every patron has their favorite meal from Kennedy Fried Chicken. It may be the chicken fingers, Jamaican beef patties or the mint ting-a-ling ice cream.
Ben Ocean, a junior sociology major, said his favorite dish at Kennedy Fried Chicken is the fried chicken with a biscuit that comes in a small box.
‘I like [Kennedy Fried Chicken] because it is open at any time of the night and it is always delicious,’ Ocean said.
Though the food brings in the customers, the atmosphere of Kennedy Fried Chicken also helps to draw people in. Furnished with just three tables, the store is typically overcrowded on a weekend night.
As the workers at the establishment serve you food from behind bullet-proof glass, the patrons often fight for a spot in line.
Known for its unpredictable events, Kennedy Fried Chicken never has a dull moment.
Kennedy Fried Chicken may be known to college students for its quick and cheap chicken and biscuits, but according to police reports in the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Kennedy Fried Chicken is known as a nuisance to the citizens of the City of Binghamton.
This past January a 27-year-old man was indicted and later plead guilty to attempted second-degree murder after firing six shots into a crowd outside Kennedy Fried Chicken.
According to a report published by the Press & Sun-Bulletin in January, over the past three years more than 100 calls have been made to police regarding Kennedy Fried. The reports ranged from assaults to robberies, and even reports of men carrying loaded handguns.
The January report, by Brian Liberatore, also says that in order to ease the safety concerns of the residents and city officials, police have stepped up patrols in the past few years.
‘There’s usually an officer that sits in the parking lot across the street,’ Robert Bidwell, a resident of Clarke Street, was quoted as saying in January. ‘He comes across the street, usually radios for backup and they tell people to get in their cars and get out. And they do leave, but then slowly they start coming back again.’
Kennedy Fried Chicken is also known for some ridiculous events that leave its patrons with stories about their experiences there.
Looking back on his experiences at Kennedy Fried Chicken, Binghamton alumnus Tony LiPetri said, ‘One time I was at Kennedy Fried Chicken with a bunch of drunk friends and found a dime bag of weed on the floor.’
When reached for comment about the events that unfold there, the workers at the establishment refused to comment.