The history of Frank’s Famous Chicken & Waffles in Albuquerque

In honor of Black History Month, KOAT celebrates the contributions, sacrifices, achievements, and legacy of courageous, brilliant African Americans in society, culture, and history. Many of those who have helped blaze a trail and continue to break barriers, while inspiring those along the way. “The Food that moves your soul!” — Frank WillisFrank’s Famous Chicken & Waffles is an award-winning, family-owned restaurant in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, owned by former Lobo basketball star and Los Angeles native Frank Willis.The restaurant, now open for 11 years, is known for its mouth-watering waffles with a hint of cinnamon and its crispy fried chicken cooked to perfection. They also serve a variety of southern-loving dishes.Willis’ undying love for hip-hop and old-school tunes with a south-central Los Angeles twist is one of many inspirations that jump-started his journey to becoming the owner of one of the best restaurants in New Mexico, but it wasn’t a part of the plan, Willis said.Faith Egbuonu: Have you ever felt like giving up?Frank Willis: Every day. (Laughs) No. You know, I always tell people I was built for this.”I originally came here from Los Angeles, played basketball in high school, and I got a scholarship to University of New Mexico and came to Albuquerque in 1991,” Willis said. “It was great. We won two championships. It was a great experience.””I eventually learned to fall in love with Albuquerque and eventually end up staying here for a while, forever, I guess, you can say,” Willis said, as he burst into laughter.The Journey: Life after basketballWillis eventually relocated to Denver, Colorado, for a while after he played basketball at the University of New Mexico for four years, but plans of becoming a professional basketball player didn’t go as planned.“I had injuries and a little bit of frustration. I tried out for the Denver Nuggets, but that didn’t work. I end up stopping, you know, and just tried to get my life organized and figure it out, because basketball wasn’t working out at the time,” Willis said. “I was trying to find my way, trying to go through different jobs and different things, went to work and lost my job.”Pain into Triumph: The ‘Aha’ Moment“I had $150 left from my last job. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”With $150 left to his name, Willis said he decided to take a trip back to Los Angeles, California, with a couple of his friends.“I told them I would take them to Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles. They were like, ‘What’s Roscoe’s?’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ So, of course, we get there, they order like $70 worth of food, and they loved it, but I’m looking around, and a light bulb went off in my head,” Willis said. “It just got me thinking, so the drive back to Albuquerque, I told the guys, ‘When I get back to Albuquerque, I’m opening a chicken and waffles restaurant. So, I took the little money that I had left and went to Walmart and got what I thought I needed for chicken and waffles.”“I started delivering out of my sister’s apartment because I was living with her. At the time, I didn’t have my own. I was really struggling. So, we started delivering out of my sister’s apartment. My sister, ex-girlfriend and I did that for 10 months,” Willis said.Word of Mouth“I started taking pictures everywhere I delivered,” Willis said.“We made a Facebook page. So, every time I delivered to somebody and took their picture, their friends would see it and they would ask them where they got it from. Then, they would call me, sometimes the same day or the next day. I did that for almost a year — about 10 months, and it just blew up from there,” Willis said.“I said, we’re going to call ourselves famous now, because by the time they figure out where we are, we will be famous.”… And the rest is history!“So, 10 months after we started delivery, a family member saw what we were doing, and he gave us some money to start up a brick-and-mortar in 2013. We started it with a shoestring budget, but we had a small building over on San Mateo. It was kind of like a little house, and we worked there for seven years,” Willis said.Frank’s Chicken & Waffles is now located at 400 Washington St. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108.Willis thanks his family, staff, and customers“We have a support system from our customers. When we started, I just thought about making it more about the customers than about us and having a good product,” Willis said. “I took people’s pictures and made them feel special and highlighted them because I always feel like it’s always about them, because if they support us, then I want to figure out ways to show thanks to them and make sure you know it resonates with every customer we have. We’ve just been able to continue to create that over the years,” Willis said.Celebrities“We get a lot of celebrities that come into town, and they want to come in. So, they do drops for us and stuff like that, and that helps us for, you know, popularity reasons. But we just try to do the same thing and stay consistent with good food and good customer service, and I think we’re doing okay,” Willis said.Flavor, Music and SoulIn addition to Frank’s Famous Chicken & Waffles, Willis also owns his radio station above the restaurant, as well as a vinyl store with a wide range of musical selections from old-school tunes to rap and hip-hop.“I have a background in music, radio and producing music. The summer before I came to Albuquerque, I worked at a radio station called KTLA in Los Angeles as an intern, and I got so excited because we got to go to all the concerts and all the events. More than anything, we got to hang out with a lot of comedians, a lot of comedy stores and a lot of comedy shops,” Willis said.“It started with my father. He was in a group called Black Ice, and they had three records back in the ’70s and ’80s, and he had, of course, a bunch of records and a bunch of vinyl. So, that’s where my love of vinyl comes from. That’s why we have a record store up here as well. And with the radio station, I got a love for that, working with a lot of entertainers and a lot of celebrities in that manner,” Willis said.Building a legacy”I want to leave a legacy for my children and for the city of Albuquerque. I just want to make sure we leave our imprint in the city, in the state, and bring something new and exciting to the city,” Wilis said.Words of Encouragement: The Frank-a-delic Way!Despite the obstacles and hurdles, one may face while on their journey, Willis encourages those to never give up. Find a support systemBe persistentStudy your craft“Keep following your dreams and follow what you know is right. I know people say that all the time, but you know, no one can create your dreams the way you can. Find a support system, be persistent, study your craft and learn it to make sure that you can be the best at what you’re trying to do and just do something that makes you happy as well,” Willis said.Fun Fact: Willis plans to open his own licensed cannabis shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico soon. Also, Frank’s Famous Chicken & Waffles food truck is parked by Marble Brewery at Unser Plaza on Thursdays from 5-9 p.m.Visit Frank’s Famous Chicken & WafflesFor more Black History Month stories, visit ProjectCommUNITYAbove: Visit Black-owned businesses in New Mexico