Coon Chicken Inn was an American

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. ...

of three restaurants that was founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Burt in 1925, which prospered until the late 1950s. The restaurant's name contained the word ''Coon'', considered a racial slur, and the

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

s and entrances of the restaurants were designed to look like a smiling caricature of an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

. The smiling capped porter head also appeared on menus, dishes, and promotional items. Due to changes in popular culture and the general consideration of being culturally and racially offensive, the chain was closed by 1957. The first Coon Chicken Inn was opened in suburban

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, in 1925. In 1929, another restaurant was opened in then-suburban

Lake City, Seattle Lake City is the northeast region of Seattle, centered along Lake City Way NE ( SR-522), 7–8 miles (11–13 km) northeast of Downtown Seattle. A broader definition of the Lake City area includes all the land between 15th Avenue NE and Lake ...

, and a third was opened in the Hollywood District of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, in 1931. A fourth location was advertised but never opened in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

. Later, a cabaret, orchestra, and catering were added to the Seattle and Salt Lake restaurants. The Portland location at 5474 NE Sandy Blvd. closed in 1949 and was converted into another restaurant, and is currently the location of Clyde's Prime Rib. The Seattle location also closed in 1949 and is no longer standing. That address at 8500 Lake City Way is now occupied by The Growler Guys restaurant. The Salt Lake City location at 2960 S. (sometimes listed as 2950 S.) Highland Drive closed in 1957 and is now the site of a furniture store.

Popular culture

An antique promotional poster for Coon Chicken Inn featured as a

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in the 2001

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

film ''Ghost World''. The Company plays a role in the

Alternate History Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

mocumentary C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America from 2004. It is featured in a number of advertisements, and is believed to have heavily outperformed its real life counterpart. It is implied to have replaced

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

and KFC as North America's most known fast food establishment.

References

{{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon 1925 establishments in Utah 1957 disestablishments in Utah American companies established in 1925 American companies disestablished in 1957 Restaurants established in 1925 Restaurants disestablished in 1957 African-American history of Utah Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Chicken chains of the United States Defunct restaurant chains in the United States Defunct restaurants in Portland, Oregon History of racism in Oregon History of racism in Utah History of racism in Washington (state) History of Salt Lake City Hollywood, Portland, Oregon Restaurants in Utah Restaurants in Washington (state) Companies based in Salt Lake City Stereotypes of African Americans Utah culture

Popular culture

See also

References