Mary McCall
Cooking is in Isaiah’s McCall’s blood, but so is entrepreneurship. Both bloodlines converge in McCall’s
Chicken and Ribs, the soul food food/southern food take-out-only restaurant that opened in late
September in Sharon.
McCall’s Chicken and Ribs, 810 S. Irvine Ave., is located on the east side of the Penn-Ohio Lottery and
Deli building, which was built on the Masury-Sharon line. McCall said he was attracted to the location
because of the high volume of traffic on South Irvine/Route 62.
“I felt this was a good spot for us,” the Sharon man said.
McCall’s specializes in fried chicken, particularly breast strips, smoked chicken and smoked ribs. Sides
include potato wedges, yams and black-eyed peas.
Isaiah McCall
Many of the recipes and cooking secrets come from Isaiah’s grandmother, Alberta Moncrief, a native of
Mobile, Ala., who relocated to Youngstown. Her daughter, Mary McCall, inspired by the business
acumen of her uncle, David Moncrief, who had a used-tire business, opened McCall’s Poultry in 1987.
She sold fresh and cooked chicken in Youngstown.
“I never really wanted to work for someone else,” said Mary, Isaiah’s mom. “I wanted to just start my
own business. That type of entrepreneurship went into my children.”
“My friends were out having fun, playing basketball, and I was cooking fried chicken,” Isaiah said of his
teenage years. “It just stuck with me.”
Mary opened the original McCall’s Chicken and Ribs in 2005 in Youngstown. Isaiah said he is essentially
bringing back that business, which had closed, in the new location.
“I’m just proud of him,” Mary said of Isaiah. “We partnered in this, but I’m definitely a silent partner. My
son is carrying on the tradition of the business which started in Youngstown.”
The restaurant is staffed primarily by Isaiah, Mary, and Isaiah’s girlfriend, Celeste Hardts. It is open from
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
“So far so good,” Isaiah said of customer response, which has averaged 50 to 100 dinners a night. “It’s
been better than I’ve expected. We hit the ground running.”
The restaurant can be reached at 724-979-4001, and has Facebook and Instagram accounts
