Fried Chicken Wednesday

Z6, one of the dining halls on campus, decided to separate themselves from the rest when they started Fried Chicken Wednesdays.  

With golden fried chicken along numerous sides, Z6 dedicated one day out the week to soul food. This tradition began decades ago, and is one that will most likely continue, even as UWG progresses.  

“Oh, Fried Chicken Wednesday has been around for a long time,” says Adolfo Velasquez, Production Manager of Z6. 

It has been more than 20 years since the tradition of Fried Chicken Wednesday began at UWG and it has become one of the main attractions for those who come to visit the university. The full Z6 menu on Fried Chicken Wednesdays includes fried chicken, green beans, squash, macaroni and cheese, glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, cornbread and rolls.   

 Z6 starts serving chicken around lunchtime, which starts at 2:30 p.m., and they close it down and open it back up for dinner at 4:30 p.m. The bulk of the students come around dinner time when they have just finished classes and are ready to eat.  

 “All chicken is ordered by Monday for prep on Tuesday,” says Velasquez.  

 Being that many of the students on campus come specifically on Wednesday to have a taste of the fried chicken, there are steps to making Wednesdays successful. Velasquez orders 800 pounds of chicken each time to ensure that they have enough.  

 The chicken is seasoned and marinated on Monday in preparation for frying on Wednesday. With hundreds of students coming to Z6 to eat, it may seem hard to actually calculate the correct amount of food to cook.  

 “I compare how many students come on Wednesday each week. I sometimes compare the numbers two weeks in advance,” says Velasquez. 

 The numbers are compared and calculated to ensure that they have the correct amount of food for the students that come through there. One of the negative feedbacks that Z6 receives is that they run out of chicken. 

 “The students complain about us running out of chicken, but what they don’t understand is that we don’t run out, we just have to fry more and that takes a minute,” says Velasquez. 

 Overall, the positives of Fried Chicken Wednesdays outweigh the negatives.  

 “One thing I know for sure is that Fried Chicken Wednesday will always be around,” said Velasquez.  “Most students look forward to Fried Chicken Wednesdays.”