Bobo's Chicken Shack

Bobo's Chicken Shack is a Black-owned soul food restaurant at 532 Joseph Ave in Rochester, NY. Owner Devon "Bobo" Crittenden opened the restaurant around 2014, drawing on recipes passed down from his grandmother, who hailed from Alabama. Before launching the business, Crittenden spent eight years working at the University of Rochester's School of Medicine and Dentistry. The restaurant operates as a casual, walk-in-only spot in the heart of the Joseph Avenue corridor on Rochester's northeast side.

The menu centers on Southern comfort food with plates that include two sides, rice, sauce, and sweet bread. Main dishes include:

• Fried chicken with a house-made sweet and smoky sauce
• Fried pork ribs
• Chicken wings
• Oxtails
• Cajun shrimp over rice
• Haddock fish

Sides rotate but typically feature mac and cheese, collard greens with ham hocks, and candied yams. The sweet bread — a vanilla pound cake — comes with dinner plates. Combo dinners generally range from $12 to $21. Bobo's also offers catering services. No alcohol is served on the premises.

Bobo's Chicken Shack is known for its grandmother-recipe fried chicken and a house-made sauce that balances sweetness with smoke. Crittenden sources fresh ingredients from the nearby Rochester Public Market, shopping there daily when the market is open. The restaurant has maintained a steady presence on Joseph Avenue for over a decade, growing from a personal venture into a neighborhood fixture in the 14621 community.

The restaurant sits on Joseph Avenue, a north-south corridor through Rochester's northeast side that runs through the 14621 area code neighborhood. The Rochester Public Market on North Union Street is a short drive south, and the Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance — housed in a restored 1928 synagogue at 692 Joseph Ave — is a few blocks north. Street parking is available along Joseph Avenue. Hours have varied over the years, so calling ahead at (585) 285-2881 is recommended to confirm current times.