Percy Pennington "Frenchy" Creuzot Jr. (May 28, 1924 – June 6, 2010) was a restaurateur who founded

Frenchy's Chicken Frenchy's Chicken is a restaurant chain in Houston, Texas selling Louisiana Creole cuisine. It was established in 1969 by Percy "Frenchy" Creuzot Jr. In 2010 Allan Turner of the ''Houston Chronicle'' wrote that the original location, still opera ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

.Creuzot, Percy Pennington Jr. (Frenchy)
" ''

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''. Retrieved on May 1, 2014. Due to his success, he became known as "the

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

Colonel Sanders."PERCY 'FRENCHY' CREUZOT: A CREOLE HIT

Archive
. ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

''. April 30, 1985. Retrieved on May 1, 2014.

Life and business

On May 28, 1924, Creuzot was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. His father, Dr. Percy P. Creuzot Sr., was a doctor. Creuzot Jr. served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and received an

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

in 1946. In 1949 he graduated from the Hampton Institute, now known as

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

. In the 1950s he worked as an insurance agent. Creuzot stated he was losing money selling insurance, so he moved to Houston. In Houston Creuzot initially wanted to establish a Louisiana-style sausage business, but he found that it would be more costly than he originally believed because the Texas and federal authorities had increased regulations on those types of businesses. He arrived in Houston in 1965.Turner, Allan.
Frenchy's founder Percy Creuzot dies at 86
(Obituary). ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. June 7, 2010. Retrieved on April 21, 2014. Herff-Jones Jewelry, an

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

-based manufacturing company of high school graduation supplies hired Creuzot as a salesperson for the black high schools in Houston. On the side, Creuzot sold New Orleans-style sno-balls. After desegregation allowed employees to serve schools of any race, the company reduced its workforce and laid off Creuzot. Creuzot found that his new job at the

Texas Workforce Commission The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Texas that provides unemployment benefits and services related to employment to eligible individuals and businesses. For employers, TWC offers recruiting, retenti ...

did not pay enough to "buy the grits and grease" and he "wanted to live a little better." Creuzot established Frenchy's in 1969. Prior to the opening of the restaurant, Creuzot was not known by the nickname "Frenchy". He gained the nickname "Frenchy's" because people associated the name of the restaurant with him. By 1985 Creuzot had purchased property in Galveston. On Sunday June 6, 2010, Creuzot died of a stroke, at age 86. His funeral was held at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. His grave is located at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Houston.

Philanthropy and other efforts

Creuzot constantly supported

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

(TSU).

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Bill Clements appointed Creuzot to the board of regents. He eventually was elected vice chair, and he served for twelve years. He also served on the board of directors of Catholic Charities. In addition he was a member of restaurant associations at the Houston, Texas, and national levels and he also was a member of the Houston Citizens Review Board. In 1986 Mayor of Houston

Kathy Whitmire Kathryn Jean Whitmire (née Niederhofer; born August 15, 1946) is an American politician, businesswoman, and accountant best known as the first woman to serve as Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of t ...

appointed Creuzot to be one of the 16 members of her "Visions for Houston" panel.Levinson, Brian. "Frenchy's Restaurants files for Chapter 11 protection." ''

''. Friday, May 1, 1987. Business p. 1. Retrieved on May 1, 2014. Available at Newsbank, Record Number: HSC0501459764. It may be accessed online using a

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 18 ...

library card. Creuzot had an affiliation with the Greater Houston Visitors & Convention Center, and he was a member of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

(NAACP). He was a member of the Knights of St. Peter Claver and the fraternities

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

and Sigma Pi Phi. Creuzot gave money to Hampton University, TSU, the NAACP, the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, and

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

Personal life

He married Sallie Coleman in 1947 and had three children: Percy III, Angele, and John C. Percy III became the owner of the original Frenchy's, and for a period Angele operated a Frenchy's on South Shepherd in Neartown.Boisseau, Charles. "Black-owned firms run gamut from struggle to success." ''

''. Monday, July 29, 1991. Business p. 2. Available at NewsBank, Record Number 07*29*799745. Available online from the

with a library card. John C. Creuzot became a state district judge; as of 1994 John lived in Third Ward.Rodriguez, Lori. "GOP reaches out to Dallas minorities/Dem ties a hindrance in Harris County." ''

''. Sunday December 11, 1994. Section A News, p. 1. Available from NewsBank, Record Number HSC12111243932. Available with a library card from the

website. "Like Shannon, Canales says minorities need a foot in both camps. And even African-American state District Judge John C. Creuzot, who was not on the ballot this year and is the lone surviving Democratic minority on the bench, says a party switch "is always a possibility." ..reuzot, who hails from Houston's Third Ward and whose mother, Sally, still operates Frenchy's Chicken on Scott and Wheeler, boils down the Harris County dilemma to a historical alignment of minorities to the Democratic Party that is hard to sever." Creuzot also had 3 sisters, Alexa Delahoussaye, Hortense Turner, and Martina Cox. After his death, he was survived by his sister Martina, wife, and children.

References

External links

* Coleman, Monica.
Remembering Percy Frenchy Creuzot Jr.

Archive
. ''

Houston Defender The ''Houston Defender'' is an African-American newspaper published weekly in Houston, Texas. The newspaper was established October 11, 1930 by C. F. Richardson Sr., who was also publisher of the ''Houston Informer''. The Defender served as a co ...

''. June 14, 2010. *
Percy P. Creuzot, Jr.

Archive
. '' Houston Intown''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Creuzot, Percy 1924 births 2010 deaths Businesspeople from Houston Businesspeople from New Orleans Louisiana Creole people Hampton University alumni African-American businesspeople American restaurateurs 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople United States Navy personnel of World War II African-American Catholics Knights of Peter Claver & Ladies Auxiliary 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people

Life and business

Philanthropy and other efforts

Personal life

See also

References

External links