Accomplished restaurateur soars to new heights with third NSB restaurant on the way

Craig Glore Jr., better known as CJ, has worn many hats in his 28 years — restaurant owner, dedicated chef, social media manager and mentor, to name a few.

The accomplished restaurateur owns both Uncle Chicken’s and Uncle Chicken’s Cast Iron Kitchen in New Smyrna Beach, and plans to keep his culinary wheels turning with the opening of his third venture — Uncle Chicken’s Chicken Shack — in a couple of months.

The new restaurant, a simple but repeatedly requested fast-casual concept, will offer a full menu of “good ol' Southern comfort foods,” including smoked mac 'n' cheese, smoked baked beans, collard greens, corn on the cob and, most notably, fried chicken.

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“We’re going to have these huge pressure cookers. We’re going to cook it just like KFC and Popeyes do,” Glore said. “It’s the best way to do it, because it keeps the moisture locked in the chicken.”

With a fully remodeled kitchen, a handful of indoor tables, and spacious interior abound with potential, the new North Dixie Freeway space marks another diligent stride in Glore’s mission to cultivate community through the unparalleled flavors of Uncle Chicken’s.

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At such a milestone, some entrepreneurs would step away from day-to-day responsibilities, focusing more on general oversight.

That’s not the case for Glore.

The tenacious chef, who seemingly pulses with inspiration, isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, often working 60 hours or more each week, training, prepping, cooking and managing a plethora of other tasks behind the scenes.

“If you really want it in life, you just need to put your mind to it and you can have it. It takes time, and you can’t have everything you want. You need to go through challenges,” Glore said.

“It’s not easy. If you think you’re going to go into the restaurant business and it's going to be easy, you’re so mistaken.”

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Glore was just 21 when he took over Uncle Chicken’s, which his father initially opened.

The restaurant, beginning as a food truck in 2014, originally planned to neighbor Port Orange's Aunt Catfish’s, inspiring the playful name we know today as Uncle Chicken’s. When the location fell through, New Smyrna soon opened its arms to the father and son's first brick-and-mortar eatery.

Since its late 2015 opening, the restaurant's become an NSB trademark, renowned for its innovative cuisine, thoughtful service and resolute commitment to caring for its community.

Its pre-paid meal program — which Glore hopes to continue at the new restaurant — is just one example of this commitment. Customers prepay for items and the ticket is placed on the eatery's receipt wall. When a customer in need is looking for a meal, they simply choose a ticket the server provides them with a free, freshly-prepared meal.

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After starting from ground zero with nothing but a paper, pen and vision, the restaurant has gone on to withstand unprecedented setbacks, including numerous hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic, boasting a rare, but undeniable story of maintained success that Glore says has been no small feat.

“I feel like a lot of people are losing concept of work hard and then you can play hard,” he said.

“We literally just started from nothing — started from ground zero taking money out of a savings account, put the deposit down and let’s open shop. For the first two years, I didn’t even take a paycheck.”

Glore went on to describe the first difficult, but triumphant, years of business as the building blocks to some of his most valuable entrepreneurial lessons — most notably being an unyielding commitment to superlative service and cuisine.

“Our main goal is to leave a fingerprint on people,” he said. “If you come to our restaurant, we want you to feel like family or a friend of ours.”

Uncle Chicken’s menu

Starting in the industry at just 16, working at restaurants like Racing’s North Turn and Golden Corral, Glore says a passion for the business had always lived within him. The now seasoned chef says he mastered his skills through years of experimentation and side-by-side work with experienced individuals in the kitchen.

“I literally just figured it out,” he laughed. “I’m a sponge, so I soak up all the information … and I always try to do it the best way I can possibly do it.”

One thing all three of Glore's restaurants will proudly share is taking an elevated approach to classic favorites.

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Uncle Chicken’s eclectic menu, described as “seven food trucks in one,” features Mexican tacos, Greek gyros, classic American barbecue and smoked, layered and sizzling sandwiches, among other homemade items.

The Cast Iron Kitchen, which began years ago as a prep kitchen-turned-food-bank during the pandemic, opened shop as a full-service restaurant in October. The eatery boasts a new menu concept, with each scratch-made dish served in a cast iron pan to maintain its warmth.

The restaurateur, who has his craft down to a science, tells me his meticulous methodology continually produces the caliber of cuisine customers return for, whether that be the award-winning smoked mac 'n' cheese, St. Louis pork ribs, pecan-layered smoked brownies, or fresh-cut fruit milkshakes.

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“We don’t have a fancy electric smoker, we’re throwing wood on there every 30 minutes and keeping it at 220 — the goddess temperature,” Glore said, describing the “low and slow” smoking approach that’s proved victorious at the restaurant.

“Every dish — it's not going to be normal. I try to stand out with it,” he insisted.

“(Our baked spaghetti), I put a whole bottle of cabernet sauvignon in, a little bit of sugar, chop fresh basil and garlic and render in the oil to make my marinara sauce. It’s just different — plus I bake the mozzarella cheese on it.”

For Glore, whether a simple sandwich packaged for a delivery or a twice-baked, crispy pork belly dinner, consistency is the main ingredient in each of his recipes.

“I feel like businesses get to a certain point, and they try to figure out how can they cut corners as much as possible. Like, oh, we’ll just use frozen fries now — less prep, cut back on labor,” he said.

“Well lately, we’ve been going through — yeah this week — 1,000 pounds of potatoes … hand-cut potatoes that we soak in sea salt water overnight.”

The restaurant also boasts one of the most affordable, flavorful steaks in town ($25 8-ounce or $36 16-ounce), hand-cut in house and tenderized to yield a bite “like butter,” while its intricately prepared meatloaf starts with around two hours on the smoker, to the char-grill, then smothered with sauce and into the oven for caramelization.

“It’s a process, but the process leads to super happy customers,” he said.

Looking ahead for Uncle Chicken's

With two restaurants thriving and a third on the way, Glore tells me he hopes to continue keeping morale high within his eateries and serving the community with the same unwavering passion and attention to detail he’s long been known for.

“I just want to be an ambassador and lead by example,” Glore said, illuminating his corner of New Smyrna Beach, one restaurant at a time.

“Whatever task I’m doing, I’m going to try to be the best at it. So, whatever task you’re doing, just try your very, very best at it.”

Uncle Chicken’s Chicken Shack will be located at 626 N. Dixie Freeway in New Smyrna Beach and hopes to open by June, tentatively 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. daily.

Uncle Chicken’s is located at 440 N. Dixie Freeway in New Smyrna Beach. For information, call 386-402-7439. Uncle Chicken’s Cast Iron Kitchen is located at 409 Mary Ave. in New Smyrna Beach. For information, call 386-957-3352 or visit unclechickens.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Uncle Chicken's Chicken Shack to open in New Smyrna Beach