OXFORD, Miss. — Chicago has its deep-dish pizza, and foodies flock to Philadelphia for Philly cheesesteaks. Down in New Orleans, the po-boy has a long and storied history. In Oxford, the iconic food most identified with the town is the humble chicken on a stick.
Chicken on a stick has been an Oxford tradition for decades, drawing long lines of University of Mississippi students, alumni and visitors at the 4 Corners Chevron on South Lamar Boulevard and University Avenue. The midnight delicacy is particularly popular during football season, when the store works overtime to keep up with the demand.
“This is my first time,” said Chelsea Ulrich, a game day visitor from Denver. “And this is the best chicken I’ve ever had.”
The 2025 season, which included a rare eight home games, not counting the matchup with Tulane, intensified the demand. After each game, happy fans poured out of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and down South Lamar to stand in lines snaking out the door for something hot, comforting and unmistakably Oxford.
The rush peaked at midnight. Despite the wait, the atmosphere outside the gas station dripped with jubilation and game-day energy, punctuated with spontaneous bursts of "Hotty Toddy." Throngs of fans and rivals passed the time by dancing to the music, singing along to familiar songs and joking with strangers in line.
One night following a Rebel victory, a group of female students began singing “chicken on a stick,” prompting dozens of people in line to echo the phrase in unison.
“I will be coming here 'til I die,” said Reid Hines, a wide receiver for the Rebels from 1986 to '90. “If you haven’t had chicken on a stick, you are missing out.”
The recipe for these delectable deep fried chicken tenders dates back to former owner James “Jim” McPhail, who created the item following a fan suggestion to skewer chicken the same way as shrimp. McPhail experimented with different batters and cooking methods and hit upon a winning recipe. The delicacy became popular with Ole Miss students looking for a late-night snack, and word quickly spread.
Ownership of the station changed hands several times until 2010, when Collierville, Tennessee, businessman Rafiq Rupani purchased it and continued the tradition.
“I knew about the chicken on a stick,” Rupani said. “But I just never knew it was that crazy.”
Rupani said he has never run out of chicken on a stick during his 15 years of ownership. “I don’t care what I have to do,” he said. “I’ll make sure I have chicken.”
“It’s not too pricey, it’s easy to eat, it’s always seasoned well and you know exactly what you’re getting,” said Timothy Spivey Jr., a 2024 Ole Miss graduate. “Plus, they have it ready when we want it.”
Rupani has kept the operation largely unchanged, declining suggestions to modernize or expand.
“Sometimes you change and everything just goes away,” he said. He also keeps the recipe simple. “No potatoes, no onions, no pickles — none of that. People want to just experience the chicken.”
For many customers, the appeal lies in the consistency and the sense of tradition. Alumni come back and say it’s endearing to taste the same flavors they remember from their college years, Rupani said. Incoming freshmen discover it with the kind of excitement that turns one late-night visit into a routine.
But the late-night tradition of chicken on a stick is more than just food. It’s memory, place and community.
As Rupani puts it simply: “It’s the spot. This is the spot.”
Leah Finley, a high school student from Tipton County, Tennessee, enjoys a chicken on a stick outside 4 Corners Chevron after the Ole Miss-Tulane football game on Sept. 20. She was joined for the game-day weekend by her boyfriend, her parents and her sister, Riley Finley, an Ole Miss student.Fans and visitors line up outside the 4 Corners Chevron convenience store close to 1 a.m. after the Ole Miss-Washington State game on Oct. 12, waiting to indulge in a late-night deep-fried snack. Oxford Police Department officials work to control the crowd and often engage in light conversations.Rafiq Rupani (left), owner of the 4 Corners Chevron, tends to the steady line of customers on Oct. 12. Rupani has owned the station for more than a decade and a half, becoming the guardian of the popular Oxonians' late-night snack. 'I knew about the chicken on a stick,' Rupani said. 'But I just never knew it was that crazy.'Rafiq Rupani’s hot counter, which never runs out of food during peak hours, offers more than chicken on a stick. Customers can choose from a display of corn dogs, potato logs, egg rolls, pizza sticks, crispitos and other fried items. But the chicken stands apart; it is the only item assembled and hand-breaded in the kitchen, requiring more time and attention than the other quick-serve foods. While waiting in line, customers often peer through the glass to take in the display, sometimes snapping photos of the warming station during the late-night rush on Nov. 16.Customers gather under string lights beside a mural painted by former Ole Miss art student Pete Eckert at 4 Corners Chevron following the Ole Miss-LSU game on Sept. 27. Eckert, who lived near the gas station and often visited, created the mural in 2024 as a gift to owner Rafiq Rupani. He told Rupani, 'I want to do something for you,' as an appreciation 'for always being a friend.' Eckert first sketched the design on paper and brought it to him 'little by little,' Rupani said. After the store closed at 2 a.m., Eckert returned with a projector to trace the artwork onto the fence, working over several nights to make it 'really be specific about Oxford and chicken on a stick.' He later flew his mother from Washington, D.C., and the two spent a 16-hour day painting the mural together.Rafiq Rupani prepares chicken on a stick in the kitchen at 4 Corners Chevron on Nov. 21. During rush hours, especially on game day Saturdays, all four commercial fryers run nonstop. At full capacity, the fryers produce about 50 pieces of chicken at a time. To keep a steady flow of hot food, Rupani and his workers estimate demand and cook several hundred pieces before the line stretches out the door.Mary Preston March (left), Kristian Reed and Amelia Watson enjoy their chicken on a stick outside 4 Corners Chevron on Sept. 13. The three grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and met in high school. Reed went on to attend Ole Miss, while March and Watson enrolled at the University of Arkansas. Reed’s friends visited Oxford for the first time for this year's Ole Miss-Arkansas game, and after the game she introduced them to chicken on a stick. The Rebels won the game 41-35.Fans and visitors gather outside 4 Corners Chevron on Nov. 16. Owner Rafiq Rupani said he realized the scale of game day Saturdays during his first football season. 'I knew it was gonna be busy, but when I saw the crowd at night, I was like, "Oh my God,’"'he said. Rupani said he took the moment 'in a positive way,' deciding his role was to manage the rush while keeping the experience that chicken on a stick had already created. 'I just need to make sure I manage this the right way,' he said. 'The taste of the chicken, the store being clean, the availability of products and, most importantly, customer service — that’s my No. 1 thing.'Timothy Spivey Jr. (left), a 2023 Ole Miss graduate; Raven Graves, a 2025 graduate; Dee Williams, a 2023 graduate; and Ajene Buchanan and his girlfriend, Nesha Morrow, toast their snacks and drinks outside 4 Corners Chevron on Oct. 12, after stopping for chicken on a stick following the Ole Miss-Washington State game.
