KC Fry Bros Chicken and Seafood

KC Fry Bros Chicken and Seafood is a takeout-only fried chicken and fish counter at 1419 E 55th St, near Rockhurst University, opened in October 2025 by Hamza Khan, a Pakistani immigrant who learned the trade at J’s Fish and Chicken on Prospect. The chicken is halal, every order gets a heavy dusting of a lemon-pepper blend regulars call “crack seasoning,” and the box-meal menu runs from two-piece whiting combos to hundred-piece wing orders. There are no tables — just a small lounge with a mural of a chicken smoking a cigarette while you wait the ten to fifteen minutes it takes to fry your order fresh.

Description

KC Fry Bros is a fry house in the J’s / Chicken-and-fish tradition of Kansas City’s east side, transplanted to the university stretch of 55th Street near Rockhurst.¹² The format is the classic one: numbered combo boxes with fries, coleslaw, bread and a drink; chicken by the piece from three to a hundred; catfish, whiting and tilapia fillets; large and jumbo shrimp; and a sideboard of hush puppies, fried okra, fried mushrooms, jalapeño poppers, cheese sticks, baked beans, potato salad and banana pudding.³ Family “munchies” boxes — twenty wings and twenty shrimp, twelve pieces of fish, twenty-four pieces of dark meat — come with a large fries and a large slaw, and catering trays scale up to a hundred wings.³

What distinguishes the place, by owner Hamza Khan’s own account, is the bird. The chicken is halal, and Khan told Kansas City Magazine that the halal butchering process, which drains all the blood, changes the flavor; he also folds a barely perceptible amount of turmeric, a nod to his Pakistani upbringing, into the preparation.² Every order is then finished with a generous lemon-pepper seasoning: “People call it ‘crack seasoning.’ Our customers can’t get enough.”² Diners tend to compare the result to Louisiana-style fried chicken because of the bold seasoning.² The Pitch’s Tiffany Watts, eating there the week it opened, found “every single bite was piping hot, crunchy, and seasoned to perfection,” with the lemon-pepper blend “addicting” for its “salty, tangy kick.”⁴

It is not a dine-in restaurant. There are no tables — only a lounge where customers wait while food is fried to order, which takes ten to fifteen minutes.⁴² The small waiting area is decorated with a mural by local artist Whitney Kerr depicting a chicken smoking.² Kansas City Magazine placed KC Fry Bros among five Kansas City fried-chicken spots “worth getting your hands greasy for” in December 2025, two months after opening.²

Ownership and history

Hamza Khan is originally from Pakistan and immigrated to the United States as a teenager.² He worked at a series of fast-food establishments before landing at J’s Chicken and Fish on Prospect Avenue — the multi-location local fry chain — where he appreciated the non-corporate environment and got the idea to open his own spot.²¹ He opened KC Fry Bros with a business partner, whom the Star did not name, in October 2025.¹ The “Bros” of the name is not explained in any retrieved source; whether the partner is a sibling is an open question below.

The Kansas City Star reported the opening on October 14, 2025, noting the location near Rockhurst University, carryout and DoorDash service, and a menu of fried chicken wings, shrimp, catfish and tilapia with mac and cheese, coleslaw, jalapeño poppers, gizzards and cheesecake.¹ “So far it’s a good response,” Khan said of the first days, adding that he hopes to expand to other locations across the metro if the first one holds.¹ The Pitch’s “Dish & Drink KC” column visited the following day and described a “brand-new” takeout spot “focused on serving hot, flavorful comfort food that hits every craving in one box.”⁴

The space

1419 E 55th St sits on the 55th Street corridor a short walk from Rockhurst University and the UMKC campus, the same university stretch of Troost that holds Barbacoa at 55th and Troost.¹ The previous tenant of the storefront is not identified in any retrieved source.

Links

• Website: https://www.kcfrybros.com/
• Menu / ordering (official, Menufy): https://www.kcfrybros.com/order
• Catering inquiry: https://www.kcfrybros.com/catering
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/KC-FRY-BROS-61580119705619/

Menu

Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Source: the restaurant’s own Menufy ordering page at kcfrybros.com/order · Confidence: High for items and base prices (many carry a ”+” for size/option upcharges). Transcribed verbatim, including the restaurant’s own item numbering and spellings.³

Combos — with fries, coleslaw, bread, and drink

• 1. 2 Pieces Whiting ($9.99+) · 2. 2 Pieces Tilapia ($9.99+) · 3. 2 Pieces Catfish ($9.99+)
• 5. 5 Pieces Wings ($9.99+) · 6. 10 Pieces Large Shrimp ($9.99+) · 7. 5 Pieces Jumbo Shrimp ($9.99+) · 8. 3 Pieces Tenders ($9.99+)
• 10. 2 Pieces Breasts ($10.99+)
• 11. 4 Wings & 3 Pieces Tenders ($16.99+) · 12. 4 Wings & 15 Pieces Shrimp ($17.99+)
• 13. 4 Wings & 2 Pieces Tilapia ($15.99+) · 14. 4 Pieces Wings & 2 Pieces Catfish ($15.99+) · 15. 4 Wings & 2 Pieces Whiting ($15.99+) · 16. 4 Wings & 8 Large Shrimp ($15.99+)
• 17. 6 Large Shrimp & 2 Pieces Tilapia ($15.99+) · 18. 6 Piece Large Shrimp & 2 Piece Catfish ($15.99+) · 19. 8 Large Shrimp & 2 Pieces Whiting ($15.99+) · 20. 8 Large Shrimp & 2 Piece Breast ($15.99+) · 21. 8 Large Shrimp & 3 Pieces Tenders ($15.99+)
• 22. 10 Piece Wings ($17.99+) · 24. Gizzards ($9.99+) · 25. 5 Pieces Tenders ($15.99+) · 26. 5 Pieces Legs & Thighs ($9.99+)
• 27. 4 Piece Catfish ($18.99+) · 28. 4 Piece Tilapia ($18.99+) · 29. 4 Piece Whiting ($18.99+)

Chicken (by the piece)

• 3 Piece ($3.99+) · 5 Piece ($5.59+) · 10 Piece ($10.99+) · 20 Piece ($20.99+) · 30 Piece ($29.99+) · 50 Piece ($49.99+) · 75 Piece ($69.99+) · 100 Piece ($94.99+)

Fish & shrimp

• Catfish Fillet ($7.99+) · Large Shrimp ($7.99+)

Sides

• Banana Pudding ($2.99) · Baked Beans ($2.99+) · Potato Salad ($2.99+) · Hush Puppies ($2.99+) · Cheese Sticks ($3.99+) · Jalapeno Cheese Bomber ($3.49+) · Fried Mushroom ($3.99+) · French Fries ($2.99+) · Okra ($2.99+) · Jalapeno Popper ($0.29+) · Hot Sauce 2 oz ($0.50) · Ranch Dressing 2 oz ($0.50)

Family Munchies — with large fries and large coleslaw

• 1. 20 Piece Wings & 20 Piece Shrimp ($49.99) · 2. 20 Piece Wings & 10 Piece Tenders ($49.99) · 3. 10 Piece Wings, 10 Piece Dark & 10 Piece Tenders ($49.99) · 4. 20 Piece Wings & 8 Piece Dark ($56.99) · 5. 20 Piece Dark & 8 Piece Fish ($49.99) · 6. 20 Piece Wings & 15 Piece Dark ($49.99)
• 7. 40 Piece Shrimp ($39.90) · 8. 24 Piece Wings ($36.99) · 9. 24 Piece Dark ($32.99) · 10. 12 Piece Fish ($39.99) · 11. 15 Piece Mix Chicken ($29.99) · 12. 8 Piece Fish & 20 Piece Shrimp ($44.99)

Desserts & beverages

• Cake ($3.99) · Cheesecake ($3.99) · Banana Pudding ($2.99)
• Water ($1.00) · Soda Can ($1.29) · 2 Liter Soda Bottle ($3.99)

Catering trays

• 1. 50 Piece Whole Wings & 50 Piece Dark & Half Pan Fries ($129.99) · 2. 100 Piece Dark, 25 Piece Fish, Half Pan Fries & Half Pan Coleslaw ($199.99) · 3. 25 Piece Fish & 50 Large Shrimp & Half Pan Fries ($119.99) · 4. 30 Piece Wings, 30 Large Shrimp ($109.99) · 5. 30 Piece Wings, 30 Party Wings & Half Pan Fries ($89.99) · 6. 100 Piece Wings, 50 Piece Party Wings & Half Pan Fries ($189.99) · 7. 50 Piece Wings, 25 Piece Fish & Half Pan Fries ($134.99)

Sources

Footnotes

1. Jenna Thompson, “New Kansas City fried chicken and seafood restaurant has opened,” The Kansas City Star, 2025-10-14 (syndicated via Yahoo News) (original: kansascity.com) — Confirms: owner Hamza Khan, from Pakistan, opened with a business partner; prior work at J’s Fish and Chicken; location near Rockhurst University; opening hours 10:30–10 Mon–Thu, 10:30–1 a.m. Fri–Sat, 10:30–midnight Sun; carryout and DoorDash; menu items (wings, shrimp, catfish, tilapia, mac and cheese, coleslaw, jalapeño poppers, gizzards, cheesecake); “So far it’s a good response”; hopes to expand across the metro. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. Tyler Shane, “KC knows its way around a bird. Here are 5 spots serving fried chicken worth getting your hands greasy for,” Kansas City Magazine, 2025-12-13 — Confirms: “KC Fry Bro’s,” 1419 E. 55th St.; owner Hamza Khan, originally from Pakistan, immigrated as a teenager; fast-food jobs, then J’s Chicken and Fish on Prospect Avenue; halal preparation and its effect on flavor; lemon-pepper seasoning and the “crack seasoning” quote; turmeric; Louisiana-style comparison; extensive seafood menu; small dining area with a Whitney Kerr mural of a chicken smoking; 10–15 minute wait; fried okra and fried green beans. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

3. KC Fry Bros — official online ordering page (Menufy). Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: every item and price in the Menu section; address with ZIP 64131 and map pin 39.0268, -94.5683; carryout/delivery hours Mon–Thu 10:30–9:45, Fri–Sat 10:30–12:45 a.m., Sun 10:30–11:45; “Online Ordering Coming Soon!” banner; “Powered by Menufy.” ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Tiffany Watts, “Dish & Drink KC: Golden bites at KC Fry Bros and bookish sips at Afterword Tavern & Shelves,” The Pitch, 2025-10-15 — Confirms: “brand-new” chicken and seafood spot at 1419 E 55th St, 64131; takeout-only with no dine-in seating and a lounge to wait; lemon-pepper “crack” seasoning; items tasted (fried chicken, tenders, shrimp, catfish, hush puppies, mozzarella sticks, fried mac-and-cheese bites, okra, fries; ranch, honey mustard, hot sauce); “every single bite was piping hot, crunchy, and seasoned to perfection.” ↩ ↩² ↩³