Six months in as the newest in-store restaurant at the Exxon on Delaware Avenue, Penn’s Restaurant is doing quite well.
The restaurant’s name was unfamiliar in this part of the state. Originally, it was even a foreign concept to What a Combo President Ben Craddock.
“I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘I grew up on Penn’s because I used to to go the state fair in Jackson’ because they always had chicken on a stick,’ ” Craddock said. “And I’m thinking, ‘Huh? What fair?’ But now, living (in Jackson), I get it. It’s so well known in Mississippi, so we’re going to try and develop it ourselves now.”
What a Combo Inc., a sister company of Craddock Oil Co., is over a wide variety of chain restaurants at C-Stores throughout the region. Its offerings include Subway, Krystal, Church’s and its own barbecue chain, Sweet Daddy’s.
Chicken-on-a-stick is a popular item at Penn’s, but it is rivaled by the restaurant’s fish and seafood offerings. And that, Craddock said, was a new venture.
He grew up a stone’s throw from a fish house, and aspired to own one of his own some day. The idea became a reality when the company transitioned from the Church’s Chicken restaurant — which replaced Krystal — and needed a fresh idea.
“I’ve always been intrigued by fish,” Craddock said. “And I always said I’m going to own my own catfish place one day. And now I do.”
The chain’s history and menu also intrigued him. Penn’s has been around for about 35 years, and is well-known in central and north Mississippi, as well as Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.
More importantly, with 22 franchise’s, Craddock said the Penn’s company has doubled in size in the last year. His company is also considering opening a Penn’s in Batesville in the near future.
The Penn’s menu is expansive, with fried offerings including chicken, fish, shrimp, green tomatoes, dill pickles and string beans, among other items.
For the health-conscious, the grilled menu includes chicken, catfish and shrimp and wild rice on the side. The restaurant also offers crawfish, oysters and other seafood.
Penn’s also offers burgers, funnel cakes and homemade desserts, with all menu items made from scratch.
“We have a huge menu,” he said. “It caters to all types of people. “If you have a little money or a lot of money, Penn’s will feed you.”
The restaurant is running a chicken on a stick special through the end of the month, with a combo including the chicken, fries and a drink for $4.29.
“We’re going to try to do a special monthly for the customers that do have to watch what they spend,” Craddock said. “If they’re like me with three kids, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
And when customers begin their New Year’s resolutions in January, the special will likely switch to something on the baked or grilled menu.
The restaurant also caters for “50-to-5,000 or more” people. The food is prepared on-site in the Penn’s cooking trailer. Customers can place catering orders by calling 877-857-5055.
Penn’s also offers “party platters” for groups of 50 or less.
The restaurant has also reached out in philanthropic efforts, including a joint effort between the parent company, based out of Jackson, and the local restaurant. The two combined to raise more than $1,600 for the McComb Lions Club at the club’s horse show.
The restaurant-convenience store pairing has come a long day since Craddock’s father, Craddock Oil founder Ron Craddock, matched a Dairy Queen with the convenience store formerly located a block west of the Exxon 25 years ago.
When the patriarch started the What a Combo side of the company a few years later, the restaurants were limited and largely viewed as an extra source of income to compliment the business and offset an down month. That has also changed.
“We’ve gotten to be so big for food that we can stick our chests out during a staff meeting because we hold our own,” Ben Craddock said.
Craddock wasn’t sure if he’d join the family business when he graduated from Ole Miss with a criminal justice degree and minor in coaching in 2000. He also served as the football team’s deep snapper.
His father told him to get a degree so he would have something to fall back on if he didn’t like working with his father and brother, David.
With Ron Craddock three years retired, David Craddock now runs Craddock Oil.
Ben Craddock hasn’t regretted the decision to join — and stay with — the family business.
“We love it,” he said. “We’re a tight-knit group. My father has laid a great foundation for us. “
