In 1938, a newly widowed Black woman stepped off a train in Saratoga Springs, New York. Her name was Hattie Austin Moseley. She had just $33 in her pocket, no family nearby, and the heavy weight of the Great Depression pressing down like a storm. But what she carried with her was stronger than any hardship: a cast iron skillet, recipes from her Louisiana childhood, and an unbreakable will to survive.
Born in Louisiana, Hattie knew 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 transformed her Southern cooking into her lifeline.
She opened Hattie’s Chicken Shack, a modest stand open 24 hours a day, serving fried chicken, cornbread, biscuits, and comfort food that warmed the soul. It didn’t take long for people to start lining up—locals, tourists, jockeys, musicians. Word of her warm heart and golden fried chicken spread well beyond upstate New York. Jackie Robinson came. So did Cab Calloway. Even Mikhail Baryshnikov was a fan.
Within a year, she had 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 lasting legacy.
As of 2013, Hattie’s Restaurant was still thriving—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 reminds us that when love meets grit, something beautiful always rises.