Say hello to Lo-Lo Jr’s, the newest restaurant in the White family fried chicken empire – AZCentral

"Lo-Lo's" means one thing in metro Phoenix:hot, crispy fried chicken. So when a store front popped up on Van Buren Street with a sign reading "Lo-Lo Jr's," questions started to fly.

Yes, it is the same Lo-Lo's restaurant family, this time run by Larry White III, the son of Larry "Lo-Lo" White and great grandson of Mrs. White, the Southern food chefand owner of Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe on Jefferson Street.

"I just wanted to help continue my family legacy," Larry Jr. says, sitting in a red booth inside his newly opened fast-casual restaurant.

The space, currently quite bare, features a row of booths, a few bar stools and awalk-up order window whereLarry Jr. cooks chicken and fries for customers.

Lo-Lo Jr's first day of business was Wednesday, Jan. 29, and the restaurant is in a soft open phase. Larry Jr. says he hopes to have a grand opening in about a month.

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The White family hasbeen cooking Southern food in Phoenix for decades, since Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe opened in 1964. The restaurant quickly became known for its fried chicken, pork chops, oxtail and catfish. Although Mrs. White now takes more of a backseat role, the restaurant is still open every day.

Her grandson, Larry White, known to his friends and family as "Lo-Lo," worked in the cafe, busing tables until he was old enough to help in the kitchen.

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In 2002, heopened Lo-Lo's Chicken &Waffles using many of his grandmother's tips to create his own recipes. Now the restauranthas locations in Scottsdale, Gilbert and the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Larry also runsMonroe's Hot Chicken, which opened in downtown Phoenix last year.

An affinity for food runs in the family. Another of Mrs. White's grandsons, Christian Buze, has opened multiple locations of his Southern restaurant Root and Soul in downtown's DeSoto Central Market and another in Scottsdale. Both locations have since closed, buta third may be in the works.

Larry's son, Larry White III, also worked at Lo-Lo's as a server and then a manager before branching off to create Lo-Lo Jr's.

"I was working there since I was a kid," he says. "I just love serving people, giving them a smile."

On a chilly Wednesday afternoon, a worker donning ahard hat and orange vest walksinto the new spot. While looking at the menu, he jokesaround about wanting Mrs. White's oxtails before ordering some chicken.

"She was just in here yesterday," Jr. replies, chatting about his great grandmother whileloading the customer's to-go box with extra spicy sauce.

The new restaurant is in its early days, but name recognition is drawing customers inside. Larry Jr.and one employeechatwith friends through the order window at the new fast-casual joint as chicken sizzles in the fryer behind them.

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Larry Jr. learned the spice mixes and recipes from his family, and soonhe says, he'll hang their pictures on the walls.Currently, the restaurant is a work in progress, he says of thelocation just east of the I-10.

"I love this spot," Jr. says about the area. "But it could do with some life, some good golden, Southern fried chicken."

While Lo-Lo Jr's has an extensive menu listed on its website, Larry Jr.is starting off with a condensed version of essentials.

The menu includes:

The restaurant is currently open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and Larry Jr.hopes to expand to include late night dining to catch the "after club crowd." But for now, he sticks to serving lunch and dinner.

Details: Lo-Lo Jr's, 2145 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix.lolojrs.com.

Reach the reporter at tirion.morris@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @tirionmorris, on Facebook at Tirion Rose and on Instagram at tirionrose.

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