JJ Fish & Chicken expands in Middle GA, opens second restaurant in less than 6 months

A Chicago-based restaurant chain known for its fried fish and chicken sprinkled with a white lemon pepper seasoning just opened its second Middle Georgia location.

In May, JJ Fish & Chicken made its debut in Middle Georgia at 66 Spring St. in Macon in the former Pizza Hut spot.

Less than six months later, JJ Fish & Chicken opened its doors at 4351 Pio Nono Ave. in Macon in late November in the former Shark’s Fish & Chicken building near Interstate 75.

“We had plans to open another one, but when we saw how good we were doing and that business was good, we kind of moved the process a little bit faster,” said Hamza Awawdeh, manager of the Pio Nono location.

At JJ Fish & Chicken, customers can expect made-to-order fish from catfish and tilapia fillets to shrimp and oysters to perch, trout and whiting as well as chicken breasts, wings, tenders, thighs and legs. Chicken gizzards and whole catfish are also on the menu.

“Everything we have is fried and cooked fresh,” Awawdeh said.

A zesty, salty punch

The fish and chicken are sprinkled with a lemon pepper seasoning that delivers a zesty, salty punch.

Sides include hush puppies or zucchini, mac & cheese bites, onion rings or corn nuggets, okra or mushroom, crab bites, fries, chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, coleslaw and jalapenos poppers.

A customer favorite at JJ Fish & Chicken restaurants is the $12.99 tilapia and wings combo that includes two pieces of tilapia, three wings, fries, coleslaw and a drink. Substitutions for any side order are 99 cents. The chicken tender combo also is popular.

JJ Fish & Chicken is also known for its hand-squeezed lemonade, with the option of adding an extra pump of flavor from kiwi to mango to blue raspberry to watermelon.

In addition to a variety of dinner and combination orders, the menu offers large order options, including up to 21 pieces of tilapia, 50 pieces perch, trout or whiting and up to 100 chicken wings.

An assortment of cake slices are also available from silky red velvet to strawberry delight made by E’Vans Bake Shop, which Awawdeh described as a small mom-and-pop shop in Atlanta. Freshly-made banana pudding is another dessert option.

History

In March 1982, James J. Green founded what was then JJ Fish, a small restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Chicago where Green sold fresh fish and charged $1 to fry each fish in his “secret” batter, according to the company website.

Today, there are more than 130 JJ Fish & Chicken restaurants, with nine others in the Atlanta-area.

“We started expanding and expanding, and we came to Georgia, and now we’re trying to set a foothold in the area here,” said Alaa Hassan, regional manager for JJ Fish & Chicken.

Folks who travel often between Macon and Atlanta likely are familiar with JJ Fish & Chicken, but for others, the restaurant chain may be new to them, Hassan said.

“They go to Atlanta and come back, they travel frequently. Some of the local people, they don’t know about it,” Hassan said. “So, that’s what we’re trying to attract: the local people to know more about us. Because the more people know … if this guy knows, he’s gonna tell his friends and that’s how we are looking to expand our company.”

JJ Fish & Chicken may open a Warner Robins location down the road.

“That is in the long term picture and that’s what we’re hoping for,” Hassan said. “We’re just trying to establish the name itself here.”

Hours for both Macon locations are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Both offer dine-in, takeout, a website order online feature, and delivery via DoorDash.

This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 1:54 PM.