Chris Pappas is slated to become the first openly gay man to serve in the U.S. Senate. But when it comes to making history, Pappas and his family know how to wing it.
That's because Pappas comes from a family not unfamiliar with nation-altering firsts: his grandfather invented the chicken tender.
The story has been told several times over the years to several different outlets: Pappas' family restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, would use boneless chicken breasts, but each day they'd be left with leftover strips. So Charlie Pappas – Chris Pappas' grandfather – began frying them.
Chris Pappas is one of the co-owners of that restaurant, the Puritan Backroom, which has been in his family for four generations.
The restaurant – and its claim to fame
a la chicken tenders – may have played a role in his successful bid for a New Hampshire U.S. Senate seat. On the campaign trail, one of Chris Pappas' key running points was affordability, which he capitalized on with his experience as a small-business owner.
Political strategists also said that Pappas' visibility as a business owner in the state's largest city helped develop his political career. Pappas, a Democrat, has been a U.S. representative for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District since 2019.
After defeating former Republican Sen. John Sununu for the seat, he even held his victory speech at the Puritan Backroom, the site of his family's first history-making feat decades earlier.
How chicken tenders became a Pappas family staple
To trace the chicken tender back to the Pappas family, first look back to the early 20th century. Chris Pappas' great-grandfather, Arthur Pappas, and his friend, Louis Canotas, immigrated from Greece to the United States in 1906, eventually settling in Manchester, according to reports from The New York Times and New Hampshire Magazine.
In 1917, the two men opened a candy store in downtown Manchester called the Puritan. Eventually, by 1974, the business had moved to a new location and opened a restaurant, the Backroom. By that point, Arthur Pappas' son, Charlie Pappas, was running it.
While the restaurant sold boneless, skinless chicken breast, they didn't know what to do with the small leftover pieces of chicken, Arthur Pappas – Chris Pappas' father and third-generation owner – previously told outlets including the Times, New Hampshire Magazine and Concord Monitor.
"(We) didn’t know what to do with them but decided to fry them up and try them out and sell them as chicken tenders," Arthur Pappas told the Concord Monitor in 2023.
Like any staple comfort food, it can't be said with absolute certainty exactly when and how the first chicken tender was created. But Arthur Pappas, apparently armed with extensive research, told the Concord Monitor that all signs point to their beloved eatery.
"I don't know if Colonel Sanders is still around to consult, but we were a pioneer with respect to fried chicken tenders," Chris Pappas said in a January episode of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's podcast.
Do the original chicken tenders live up to the hype?
All reports indicate the tenders were, and still are, a huge hit for the restaurant. Locals even went so far as to name Manchester the Chicken Tender Capital of the World in 2023.
Arthur Pappas told the Times that the Backroom's famous recipe includes soaking the chicken in a pineapple juice marinade and serving it with the restaurant's version of duck sauce.
On a typical week, the kitchen fries about four tons of tenders – or five tons during the busiest times of year, Arthur Pappas told the outlet.
New Hampshire-based political strategists who spoke with USA TODAY, when asked whether they have tried the famous tenders, were dumbfounded at the suggestion that they had not.
"Have I had them? I have them every time I go there," said Jim Demers, a New Hampshire Democratic political strategist.
"Of course I have. I've been in New Hampshire for 35 years now," said Mike Dennehy, a New Hampshire Republican political strategist.
The restaurant, which is part of a larger complex including a reception hall, offers the tenders in regular, spicy, buffalo or coconut.
"They're hard to explain other than they don't taste like, you know, something you might prepare at home out of the freezer. They truly are delicious," Demers said.
Dennehy, acknowledging that he's "one of the few" who would describe the tenders as good but not great, described them as thin and not as crusty as he typically prefers.
Chris Pappas' restaurant experience was on his campaign menu
Chris Pappas has leaned into his background as a small-business owner as he's pursued his political career.
"It's part of what anchors my public service," he said on Beshear's podcast.
"And when you've run a small business, it's often hard for you to really appreciate where the business stops and where the community starts," he continued. "I mean, you are just very much a part of the community, and that's the way that our four-generation family restaurant business is here in the city of Manchester, New Hampshire."
Both political analysts USA TODAY spoke with said Chris Pappa's profile as a business owner probably helped propel his political career.
"I think it really did serve as the foundation of (Chris Pappas') interest in politics – that he got to hear people's stories," Demers said.
And while Dennehy suggested Chris Pappas' big win is primarily part of the midterms' blue wave, he said the restaurant probably increased his familiarity with voters.
"Chris Pappas is a very much a known quantity in New Hampshire," Dennehy said. "Obviously, coming from the largest city, and a family-owned landmark like the Backroom restaurant, it is super important for defining yourself as a successful candidate for office."
But the chicken tenders are just a small piece of the big picture, especially when it comes to the Backroom, Dennehy said.
"Honestly, the food there is good, and I mean, if I were Chris Pappas, I'd be slightly offended that people only know it for chicken tenders," Dennehy said.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on Instagram @bymelinakhan and TikTok @melina.khan2.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Pappas' election made history. Chicken tenders played a role
