Horace Bullard (1938-2013) was an entrepreneur who founded the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

based Kansas Fried Chicken chain, and later acquired properties in an ambitious proposal to revitalize Coney Island.

Business ventures

Bullard started Kansas Fried Chicken, named after

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...

, when he was unable to secure a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. Bullard was from East Harlem, and of African American and Puerto Rican heritage, and infused flavors from these communities. The successful franchise eventually closed, though it has a legacy in the many unaffiliated

Kennedy Fried Chicken Kennedy Fried Chicken and Crown Fried Chicken are common restaurant names primarily in the New York–New Jersey, Philadelphia, Delaware and Baltimore areas of the United States, but also in nearby smaller cities or towns along the Northeaster ...

restaurants that grew up afterward, largely started by people in the Afghan American community. Bullard used some of his restaurant profits to accumulate properties in Coney Island, with an aim of reviving its amusement industry. He bought the Shore Theater and the

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

, and developed a plan for a new

Steeplechase Park Steeplechase Park was a amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Steeplechase Park was created by entrepreneur George C. Tilyou in 1897 and operated until 1964. It was the first of the three large amusement parks built on Cone ...

in 1985 that was initially projected to cost $55 million, and that earned the support of the

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...

administration. The succeeding Giuliani Administration was less supportive, and pushed the old Steeplechase site to be a minor league baseball stadium, which is known today as

Maimonides Park Maimonides Park (formerly MCU Park and KeySpan Park) is a minor league baseball stadium on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. The home team and primary tenant is the New York Mets-affiliated Brooklyn Cyclones o ...

. Giuliani also controversially ordered the demolition of the Thunderbolt without notice to its owner Bullard.

References

External links

Interview with Ita Bullard - wife of Horace - conducted by the Coney Island History Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullard, Horace 1938 births 2013 deaths African-American businesspeople American chief executives of food industry companies American entertainment industry businesspeople American people of Puerto Rican descent American real estate businesspeople American restaurateurs Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Businesspeople from New York City Fast-food chain founders People from East Harlem 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people