Eugene Jung and his partner weren’t just looking for a good business location when they brought their restaurant to Madison Boulevard.

At least for Jung. He was looking for a community relationship and found just that with Champy’s World Famous Fried Chicken, partly because of the pandemic.

The arrival of COVID-19 about 17 months after the opening of Champy’s allowed Jung to get off the road from his day job as a software salesman for IBM.

“One of the positives of the pandemic,’’ he said, “was I’m usually traveling 150-180 days a year. The pandemic allowed me to stay here not only to dig in with the restaurant but the community itself.’

Champy’s, which is based in Chattanooga but is not a franchise, also has a location at the concessions area of Toyota Field.

A self-described “kissing babies and shaking hands’’ entrepreneur who had never worked in a restaurant before, upped his efforts during the pandemic shutdown to branch out beyond the walls of Champy’s to build bridges.

During the shutdown, for example, he bought his skeleton curbside only staff meals from all surrounding eateries.

“I want all the restaurants around here to be wildly successful,’’ he said as a large lunch day crowd filled into Champy’s after the shutdown was lifted.

Jung, 46, has previously only worked in business. His brother-in-law approached him about opening a restaurant and they decided to go with Champy’s instead of a chain.

Next was finding a location. Jung, whose family settled in Atlanta from Korea when he was 4 years old, had considered Kennessaw (Ga.) among 15 other locations including the Bahamas, which would prove impractical. Madison, and the former Buffalo’s site, proved to be the final destination.

Eugene Jung opened Madison’s location of Champy’s on July 03, 2019

A fast-food franchise wasn’t an option.

“We’d always talked about doing something like this,’’ Jung said. “We wanted to do something we believed in.’’

Champy’s in Madison opened July 3, 2019. Jung said business was “very, very good’’ until the pandemic hit. Then a funny thing happened — business not only continued to be brisk but might have gotten better.

“We had built a strong following,’’ Jung said. “There’s a lot of housing right down here on Zierdt Road. We were really the only sit down bar with food (nearby) and we had captured a lot of those customers.

“During the pandemic they did a great job of supporting us. They would order dinner for their family and would tip extraordinarily, like for a $25 order they’d tip $50 or $100.’’

Jung said the tips were high because customers wanted to show their appreciation for the curbside service. Champy’s only closed during the shutdown for two days after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

Otherwise service continued. Chicken is only part of the vast menu. Sausage cheese pickles and Mississippi Delta tamales are the signature dishes.

“Cars were lined up for orders to go, which was great,’’ Jung said. “People were like, ‘Here’s $100, thanks for being open.’ It was great. Build relationships in the community. That’s kind of my thing.’’

Servers made so much in tips one was able to replace a wrecked car with the money she made.

“We were lucky,’’ said Jenny Helft, Champy’s general manager. “I think it went smoothly (during the shutdown), considering.’’

Being off the road, and “networking,’’ allowed Jung to develop relationships with his neighbors. He became good friends with staff and owners at surrounding restaurants and businesses and others including Madison schools, of which his store makes regular donations.

Jung said he’s become pals with the likes of Mayor Paul Finley and city council members. Champy’s, along with the city council, Old Black Bear Brewing Company and Chuckwagon BBQ are hosting a festival in downtown Madison on October 23 with performer Rodney Atkins scheduled to headline.

“It’s sort of like (Huntsville’s) Whistlestop,’’ Jung said. “That wouldn’t have happened if I wouldn’t have been able to get into the community.’’

The festival is all part of Jung’s motto.

“Pay it forward, pay it back,’’ he said.

Photo Credits: Steve Babin Photography