MANCHESTER, N.H. – Manchester is well known as the Chicken Tender Capital of the World, and that fact was celebrated on Thursday afternoon with an event honoring 50 years of the dish’s existence at the place of its creation: the Puritan Backroom.
The event was organized by Wicked Joyful, a project of Manchester resident Nick Lavalee seeking to celebrate the unsung people and wonders of the Queen City as well as nostalgic pop culture through a variety of events, collectibles and more. Lavallee, also well known as the “Mayor of Tender Town,” has brought national recognition to Manchester’s role as the birthplace of the chicken tender. It’s his hope that people will travel to Manchester solely due to its fame surrounding the dish, and not just to the Puritan, but to all restaurants in the city offering their own versions.
“We are the chicken tender capital of the world and I think more people should know about this. This is definitely something that can boost tourism, boost the local economy,” said Lavallee. “I mean, people travel to New Haven, Connecticut for the tomato pie, why wouldn’t people travel to Manchester for the chicken tenders? If Philly is the home of the cheese steak and Chicago is home of the deep-dish pizza, Manchester is the home of the chicken tender.”
In addition to members of the “Jersey Shore” reality TV program, the event drew a stream of chicken tender fans looking to reminisce on tender memories from days gone by and maybe develop some new ones with an order of tenders, all the while maybe taking a break to do the chicken dance.
Chelsea McIlven stopped by with friends, looking back on her time working at the Puritan from 2003 to 2020. While she won’t rub it in the face of wait staff when she sees the chicken tender on the menu of a restaurant somewhere else in the world, she admits that she’s proud that she worked at the place that invented it.
“It’s kind of cool, I’ve mentioned it a few times to people that I’m from the Chicken Tender Capital of the World and some people recognize it, and when people do, they’re like ‘Manchester?’ Yeah!” she said.
Kathleen Paquette came to the Puritan with her husband on Thursday without even realizing the event was going on until she got there. Of course, she ordered the chicken tenders, but she had not known the chicken tender’s backstory until this visit.
“We’ve always had several choices of really good chicken tenders (in Manchester), but I didn’t know we were first or famous. It’s cool,” she said.
Puritan Manager Victoria Riese says a “significant percentage” of the Puritan Backroom’s business comes from the chicken tender and is thrilled with the work Lavallee has done to celebrate Manchester’s role with the chicken tender as a whole versus the Puritan’s local reputation for the cuisine it pioneered.
“Until Nick Lavalee began working on getting (Manchester) recognition as Chicken Tender Capital of the World, I never really realized how special chicken tenders are to our city. I just thought about how we’re known for it here, how people come to the Backroom for our chicken tenders, a mudslide (cocktail) and maybe some ice cream,” she said. “I just really like the attention being paid to Manchester overall because this is a really good little city we have here.”