Harold’s Chicken CEO Kristen Pierce-Sherrod dies at 55

Kristen Pierce-Sherrod, the CEO of Harold’s Chicken Shack and co-founder of the Chicago Children Equestrian Center, has died, according to a statement released Wednesday by the chain and the therapy organization. She was 55.

“The family extends their sincere gratitude for the outpouring of prayers and condolences,” the statement said.

Mrs. Pierce-Sherrod was also the daughter of the chain’s founder Harold Pierce, who developed his restaurant chain’s logo of a hatchet-wielding man chasing a chicken after establishing it in 1950. He died in 1988, and she had carried her father’s legacy at the legendary chicken spot in the years since.

Mahdi Ashkar, owner of the Loop Harold’s location, said she was a “phenomenal business woman” who relished in continuing her father’s legacy by heading the prolific chicken shack.

“It was very important to keep the legacy going from her father,” Ashkar said. “She was really loving about the business. It was very personal for her that the business kept growing through the family.”

Mrs. Pierce-Sherrod often went to the Loop location to shoot videos and commercials, Ashkar said. The future of Harold’s leadership is unclear in the wake of her death. Some customers returned to the restaurant after seeing news of her death.

“We have some people coming in saying ‘I want to come in and buy some Harold’s just because I’ve seen this [news] and it’s been a while,'” Ashkar said.

Mrs. Pierce-Sherrod is credited with ushering in an era of national expansion for the chain. Harold’s locations span from California to Minnesota to North Carolina, according to their website.

Mrs. Pierce-Sherrod and her husband also co-founded the Chicago Children Equestrian Center after years of running community events and recognizing the “empowering impact of equine experiences on low-income youths,” according to the group’s site.

Funeral arrangements will be released at a later date, the family said.