In 1938, a newly widowed Black woman stepped off the train in Saratoga Springs, New York. Her name was Hattie Austin Moseley. She had only $33 in her pocket, no family nearby, and the heavy burden of the Great Depression pressing down like a storm. But what she carried with her was stronger than circumstance: a cast iron skillet, recipes from her Louisiana childhood, and an unyielding will to survive.
Born in Louisiana, Hattie faced loss early—her mother died giving birth—and she worked hard as a domestic and in restaurant kitchens to make ends meet. When she arrived in Saratoga, she turned her Southern cooking into her salvation.
She opened Hattie’s Chicken Shack, a modest stand open 24 hours a day, serving fried chicken, cornbread, biscuits, and the kind of comfort food that warms the soul. It didn’t take long before people lined up—locals, tourists, jockeys, musicians. Word of her warm heart and golden fried chicken spread far beyond upstate New York. Jackie Robinson came. So did Cab Calloway. Even Mikhail Baryshnikov was a fan.
Within a year, she’d earned enough to open a full restaurant. And she didn’t stop there. Hattie worked tirelessly, showing up in the kitchen well into her 90s. She finally retired at age 92—but by then, she had created something far greater than a restaurant. She had created a legacy.
As of 2013, Hattie’s Restaurant was still going strong—still serving her legendary chicken, named the best in America by Food & Wine magazine.
Hattie Moseley didn’t just feed people—she lifted them. With every plate, she served dignity, hope, and joy. Her story is a reminder: when love meets grit, something beautiful always rises.