When Chef Charles Gabriel was a little boy, he spent his days sharecropping, and his nights helping his mom cook dinner for him and his 19 siblings. Unbeknownst to him, these nights were the training ground that prepared him to become one of New York’s most treasured chefs. With a long career that’s spawned everything from food trucks to head chef opportunities, it’s not surprising that other chefs like Chef Quie Slobert rallied around him when the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to shut down his restaurant Charles Pan-Fried Chicken — a Harlem gem.
Chef Quie Slobert, a long-time admirer of Chef Charles, ran a restaurant and also felt the impact of the pandemic. But one fateful day, while serving food to the homeless, the two men connected, and both of their lives changed. The two of them would go on to revive Charles Pan-Fried Chicken together and open four locations across New York within 13 months. Not only is the restaurant a success, but Chef Charles also earned two coveted James Beard nominations.
“I said ‘Charles, look we did this’ and then he looked at me and he said, ‘Because of you. I wish you had come into my life sooner. When he said that, I was bawling,” said Chef Quie who serves as the business’ chief operating officer.
The challenge: Shifting from an old-school concept to a modern safe haven
Revamping Charles Pan-Fried Chicken required a gentle touch. The business was already beloved around the city, so it needed to remain authentic. “We wanted them to feel the essence of Charles,” Chef Quie explained of the revamp. One of the things that Chef Charles cherishes most? Community. This means the business strives to create and establish pivotal connections inside the restaurant and beyond. As a part of this, the business underwent a full makeover that elevated the restaurant from an old-school concept to a modern brand where customers can feel at home.
“If you go into our restaurant [now]…we serve out of Le Creuset. The idea is that you come into our home, you sit at our table, we put our pots on the table and you dig in,” Chef Quie said. As a part of this home-like experience, Charles Pan-Fried Chicken prides itself on being a safe haven for the community. Each location sports a “safe haven” sticker on the door so that people in unsafe situations know that they can tell a staff member and someone will call 911 on their behalf. “This is important because that’s what Chef Charles did for me, he saved me,” Chef Quie emphasized.
When it comes to the community at large, Charles Pan-Fried Chicken prides itself on giving away food, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas. “We gave away over 400 turkeys and hams for Thanksgiving. We bought over 500 gifts for Christmas. We host soup drives. We give away food to the homeless every month,” he noted. With an in-depth focus on creating community on both sides of the door, the business relies on a suite of tools to help manage operations, creating efficient pathways to deeper community connections. “[All of those things] wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for Square,” Chef Quie added.
The solution: Using technology to facilitate community and deeper expansion
Charles Pan-Fried Chicken uses Square for Restaurants to manage every location, and the ability to see in-depth data around what’s selling well and what’s not helps them make stronger business decisions. “With Square, we can see every single detail,” explained Chef Quie. “That helps us save money and give it back to the community [through food]…We would’ve lost a lot if it wasn’t tracked properly.”
A deeper connection to the community creates more pathways for the Charles Pan-Fried Chicken team to build out the business. The next big expansion for Chef Quie and Chef Charles? Catering. “Caterings are off the hook right now. We do on-site catering, and Square helps tremendously with that,” Chef Quie explained.
I just booked a couple of parties on Square and I’m not even in New York right now. So the tools are everything. Picture Batman’s utility belt. You need that belt to make things happen.”
Chef Quie Slobert → Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, COO
When the Charles Pan-Fried Chicken team isn’t juggling on-site catering gigs around the city, they’re in local schools teaching kids how to cook. “We have ‘Cooking with Shirley’s Son’ which is a program where we go to different schools and teach kids how to cook. We take the time out, and we make it happen because community is the essence of what we do as a brand,” Chef Quie explained. Born out of Chef Quie’s desire to support young adults at Harlem’s local community center during the pandemic, the ‘Cooking with Shirley’s Son’ program allows him to pass along lessons he learned from his mom in the kitchen.
Regardless of where he is in the world or what community initiative the restaurant is supporting, Chef Quie can stay in lockstep with the business. “I could be [anywhere] literally on my phone tracking sales. That helps me know how many employees I need at any given time, so I’m [also] saving money,” he explained.
The impact: Cooking up a sizzling future for the next generation and Chef Charles
The freedom to run his bustling business at his own pace with all the details at his fingertips also allows Chef Quie to bring the community connection in-house. Charles Pan-Fried Chicken focuses on hiring within the community and trains and prepares staff to eventually run their own restaurants. “They’re getting paid to learn what I learned. Anyone who works for Charles Pan-Fried Chicken would know how to open a restaurant in New York City in less than a year. Instead of paying to learn it, they’re getting paid to do it,” he outlined. “All the red tape, all the plumbing, electricity, how to bill, what tools to use — everything.”
Feeding the neighborhood — whether it’s with actual food or with knowledge — is a way to pay it forward because seeing Chef Charles cook for the first time changed the trajectory of his life and led him to the industry. “Charles saved me without knowing he saved me,” he admitted. “So imagine who we’re going to save next.”
Uplifting the community and giving young people ways to keep busy or other outlets to express themselves is ultimately what Chef Quie wants Charles Pan-Fried Chicken to be known for — well, that and the food. “[We want to be known as] more of an outreach program…the restaurants are going to be there. But when you see a Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, you’re going to see a ‘Cooking with Shirley’s Son’. You’re going to see a neighborhood where [kids] come through and learn how to do things. A place where they can go and get off the streets.”
On the way to solidifying Charles Pan-Fried Chicken’s long-term legacy, Chef Quie sees two things for the future: “Charles has to see his name in the lights of Vegas…and Square will definitely be a tool that we use in everything that we do from here on out.”
