SPOKANE, Wash. — For 83-year-old Bob Hemphill, the day at Chicken-N-Mo starts long before most of downtown even wakes up. Apron on, fryer hot — he’s still running the restaurant he built from nothing.
“I didn’t have any money at all,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I wrote everybody bad checks.”
But grit carried him. He taught himself the recipes customers still swear by — the marinated chicken, the signature breading, the comfort food that turned his restaurant into a Spokane staple.
“Everybody I know that loves coming here would definitely miss it,” said customer Vance McClain. “It is a staple.”
Still, the restaurant now sits in the middle of a downtown that’s fighting to stay alive. Bob sees the boarded-up buildings and slow foot traffic every day.
“Right now, if you have a small business in downtown Spokane, you just might have to give it away,” he said. “Nobody wants to have anything to do with the downtown area.”
That struggle has sparked one big question: Will Chicken-N-Mo stay open?
Bob is torn. He dreams of expanding — “10 more of these… or 20… 30… 50,” he said. But his wife wants him to finally retire. And at 83, he knows a decision is coming soon.
For now, though, Chicken-N-Mo is still open — because Bob still shows up.
“I don’t let the highs get me too excited, and I don’t let the lows get me down,” he said. “Just love everybody.”
And until he makes that call, he’ll keep unlocking the door every morning serving one plate, one person, one sizzle at a time.
COPYRIGHT 2025 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
