February 4, 2026 – It only makes sense that the origin story of Nashville’s now-signature food item would be connected to the Negro Leagues.
The combination of a good piece of fried chicken and a requisite amount of heat has made Nashville Hot Chicken the feature of menus, business enterprises, festivals, and eating contests across the city and around the country. It has warmed – sometimes overheated – the palates and spirits of the community, and it all goes back to one family, and to the Negro Leagues.
Kim Prince, the great-great niece of the founder of Prince’s Hot Chicken — the original hot chicken — visited with the Nashville Stars Baseball Club in January and drew a flavorful line from Prince’s story of Negro Leagues baseball in Nashville.
“I don’t actually have an official title … you can simply call me a “Prince” or even “Hot Chicken Royalty,’” she told us. “More than a title, my goal is to see our 90-year family legacy reach a century and for the world to experience the fiery fried chicken that started with the Prince family here in Nashville.
“And if you know anything about Nashville Hot Chicken, you know that Thornton Prince started the business in 1936,” she told us. “But just as interesting is that his brother, my great-grandfather Boyd Prince, played plenty of baseball in Nashville in the era of the Negro Leagues.”
Showing a picture (above, left) of Boyd Prince in uniform next to her grandfather, Bruce Lee Prince – the father of the current Prince’s Hot Chicken owner Andre Prince – you can see that Boyd Prince could play. Kim beams as she talks about her family, chicken, and baseball and the significance of the Stars’ plan to bring Major League Baseball and honor the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum heritage
“We don’t know what team my great-grandfather played on,” Kim said, “but we do know he played at Sunset Park in Nashville, and he was a passionate and dedicated player in Nashville’s Negro Leagues baseball scene.”
Today, living and working in Los Angeles, Kim is a restaurateur, serving as the founder and Co-Owner of Hotville Chicken and the DulanVILLE Food Truck as well as a Co-Founder of RE:Her, which works to accelerate growth and economic mobility for women business leaders in the food & beverage industry. In addition, she has been a Chef Corps Relief Team member with World Food Kitchen since 2020.
As one of the many Prince family members who spent time during this recent and very cold Nashville storm delivering Prince’s Hot Chicken as well as food from World Central KitchentoAmerican Red Cross shelters across the community, Kim sees her and her family’s role as contributing to the growth and vitality of Nashville and all its citizens.
“At the end of the day, I just consider myself a servant who is blessed to share my family’s contributions to the culinary scene,” Kim stated. “The athletes and the fans of the teams my great-grandfather played for are an integral part of our city’s history. These Nashville ballplayers tell a multi-generational story about this community that is important for us to know and for us to celebrate. I am excited to see how Prince’s Hot Chicken and our entire family can be part of the Stars’ initiative. Most important, I am excited to see the Nashville Stars take the field here again. I know my great-grandfather and all the family will be very proud.”