James “Chicken” Herman, 64, and his wife, Lauren, 27, live above Kung Fu Necktie, next to the Neon Clown Dream Lounge. He owns both North Front Street venues. The building is also where they met. They got engaged on local television in October 2025 and married at City Hall this year, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Their 37-year age difference is far outside the national norm.
The couple was profiled by reporter Zoe Greenberg for The Philadelphia Inquirer’s “Life Partners” series on non-traditional relationships across the region. The profile says Lauren started a conversation with Chicken at Kung Fu Necktie.
Kung Fu Necktie remains a stop for touring acts. Hoodline reported on a Lauren Ash pop-punk tour stop at the venue.
A Venue Becomes a Home
Chicken’s nickname dates to his time as an artist in New York City in the 1990s, the Inquirer’s profile says. He opened Kung Fu Necktie in September 2008 in the space of a former neighborhood bar called The Penalty Box, according to Philadelphia Magazine. The venue is a dive bar with high ceilings and tables made from reclaimed bowling alley lanes, according to Scoundrel’s Field Guide…