Kukuruku Crispy Chicken is a locally owned restaurant with three locations in the Memphis area. It’s Filipino-style fried chicken.
But when I first heard about the restaurant, “kukuruku” drove me crazy. I couldn’t remember where I heard that word before. I could hear some comedian saying “kukuruku” in a sing-song voice back in the ’70s or ’80s, but I couldn’t remember who it was. I thought it might be in the lyrics of “Mrs. Robinson” or “I Am the Walrus.” But those are different words.
Then my colleague, Bruce VanWyngarden came to the rescue. He sent me a video of the old SCTV episode, “The Great White North.” “Coo loo coo coo, coo coo coo coo” was the opening duck call-like greeting delivered by the show’s hosts, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. That was the word I thought was “kukukuru.”
“One of my favorite skits,” VanWyngarden says. “My friends and I used that signal when we were at camp with our kids and wanted to sneak off for a beer.”
However, the SCTV skit wasn’t why Roque “Rocky” Estipona, Kukuruku Crispy Chicken founder of the Memphis chain, used the name.
It’s what people in the Philippines call “the sound of the rooster in the morning,” says Estipona, who is from Manila. Sort of their version of “cock-a-doodle-doo.”
He says, “To me, it’s a reminder to thank God it’s a new day for us. A new hope. A new beginning.”
But it also has another meaning. “‘Kuku’ means ‘crazy’” in the Philippines.
His grandmother, who owned a buy-and-sell business in Manila, taught him “to be a businessman,” Estipona says.
She encouraged him because he was the one of her 18 or so grandchildren who was interested in business. “She trained me when I was 6 years old that the key for a successful business is, number one, know what product your customers will be into. Know what product will click.”
His grandmother told him to “create something different. Something that is not common.”
Number two was “treat your customers right. If they are not sure of your product, let them try it for free.”
In 1995, Estipona, who also is a physical therapist, moved to Memphis, where he became co-owner of Still Waters Home Health Agency.
He got into the chicken business in addition to his Still Waters business after meeting Danilo Pumarega on LinkedIn. Pumarega is founder/owner of the Kukuruku Crispy Chicken brand. The franchises are in Canada and the Philippines. Estipona, who was trying to diversify and get into the food business, invited Pumarega to Memphis. He told him, “Let me taste the product, and then we’ll go from there.”
Estipona was impressed when he tasted the chicken. “It’s a rich flavor. Like a more lemongrass flavor.”
Some fried chicken is “superficial” because the taste is in the skin, Estipona says. But the Kukuruku chicken flavor is “down to the bone.”
And it’s also “very crispy.” Estipona thought this “Filipino version of fried chicken” would be great for the local Filipino community as well as “the entire community of Memphis.”
And, he says, “We meticulously prepare the chicken. We don’t freeze it.” The chicken is marinated in a combination of herbs, dipped into butter, and “fried to perfection.”
He also sells a Filipino version of spaghetti, which includes a sauce made from a blend of sweet herbs. It’s made with long noodles, which, according to an old saying in the Philippines, stand for long life, Estipona says.
Estipona opened his first restaurant in July 2023 at 950 US-64, Suite 102, in Lakeland, Tennessee. “The first few weeks we had to put up the sign, ‘We’re closed for business,’ because we ran out of chicken.”
Last May, Eleanor Capellan opened a Kukuruku Crispy Chicken franchise location at 5985 Stage Road, Suite 9, in Bartlett, Tennessee. Then, two weeks later, Estipona, along with his business partner, Paul Bundalia, opened another location at 3358 Poplar Avenue.
In two or three months, Estipona will open a Kukuruku Crispy Chicken in Cordova, Tennessee. He’s looking at future locations in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and maybe Florida, where, he says, there is a big Filipino population. But, for now, he’s putting a hold on other spots to focus on his Poplar location. “My vision of Kukuruku Crispy Chicken is not to limit it to the Tennessee area but branch out into every state.”
Estipona believes in catering to the customer. “Our main focus is to meet every person’s satisfaction.” He’s open for any advice “to improve the product.”
His Lakeland location also makes halal chicken to cater to the Islamic community, but customers have to order it in advance. It’s “the Islamic way of preparing the chicken or meat according to their religious belief,” he says.
Estipona plans to convert a room in the Poplar location as a place for karaoke. “Filipinos love karaoke.”
As for other food options, Estipona says grilled chicken might be “a good add-on” to “cater to the health conscious.” He already offers a variety of salads for those who want to “watch their diet.”
There’s nothing crazy about the pleasure Estipona is able to bring to customers with his Kukuruku Crispy Fried Chicken.
“My favorite part of it is to see a satisfied smile on their face when they go out of the door,” he says. “To see the client come in and then get out with deep satisfaction, to me, is priceless.”