PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON

Michael Rhynes (above) and Corwin Alexander own Mr. Charles Chicken and Fish on Statesville Avenue. The eatery is home of the “Po’ Boy.”

    If Corwin Alexander had his way, customers could get haircuts at Charles & Son Barbershop, eat at Mr. Charles Chicken and Fish and get their car cleaned.

Two out of three isn’t so bad.

“All we need is a carwash,” Alexander said, laughing. “We used to have a (mobile) detailer in the back of the building …but if only we had room back there.”

Alexander and Michael Rhynes own Mr. Charles Chicken and Fish on Statesville Avenue, right next door to Charles & Son Barbershop, which Alexander’s father, Charles, owns.

The barbershop has been there 23 years. Next door was once home to a beauty shop, but in 2006 Rhynes and Alexander turned it into an eatery.
Rhynes said Charles was so gracious to provide him and Alexander with the financial support to start the business, they named the restaurant after Charles.

Alexander, who cuts hair at the barbershop next door with his father, is more of a silent partner and Rhynes is more hands-on.

The specialty at Mr. Charles Chicken and Fish is the “Po’Boy.” Three wings, potato wedges and a roll. The cost is a whopping $3.25.

“This is the home of the Po’Boy,” Rhynes said. “You may not be doing well in your pocket, but you can still be able to get a homey meal.”

That is mostly what customers stop in for. Alexander says the barbershop’s trash cans are usually full of white Styrofoam boxes from the restaurant.
“The (barbershop) customers go (next door) before or after they get their haircut,” Alexander says. “We have a lot of containers in there from next door.”

Shenna Miller-Dade stops by for the chicken at least once a week. She comes for the wings.

“It’s fresh,” Miller-Dade said. “The food is good and it’s affordable.”

Steven Hayes has the same idea.

“The taste is so good,” he said. “I’ve been coming here ever since (Rhynes) been open.”

Of course, the menu is not limited to chicken and fish. There are also hamburgers, hot dogs and pork chop sandwiches, along with sides like fried okra, gizzards, livers, coleslaw, potato salad and baked beans. Someone even makes the cake and sweet potatoes pies.

Rhynes arrives at least two hours before opening to prepare the food. The chicken marinates at least 24 to 36 hours before it’s cooked. The wedges are sliced, seasoned, battered, and fried as well.

For customers like Bobby Jones, the chicken is still the reason he visits Charles’.

“The chicken is good and tasty,” Jones said. “It’s some of the better-tasting chicken in the city.”

Though Rhynes wanted to be a basketball coach, he has fell into his role as an entrepreneur. His grandmother used to own a restaurant on Oaklawn Avenue called the Soul Bowl. It closed in the 1970s.

“I’ve been around food all my life,” Rhynes said. “I had a milk crate and I rang up stuff on the register.”

It seems as if it worked out for the best though. Rhynes coaches youth sports in his spare time. He is the head coach of the Beatties Ford Road Saints, a football team in the Beatties Ford Youth Academic and Athletic Association.

“I think we’re blessed. I call it favor,” Rhynes said. “People can get chicken and fish anywhere. We just run a clean business and treat our customers well.”

For more information, call (704) 333-0455.

Comments