Coon Chicken Inn

Coon Chicken Inn was an American chain of four restaurants founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Burt in 1925, which prospered until the late 1950s.  The restaurant's name contains the word "Coon", considered an ethnic slur, and the trademarks and entrances of the restaurants were designed to look like a smiling caricature of an African-American porter.   The smiling capped porter head also appeared on menus, dishes, and promotional items.  Due to change in popular culture and the general consideration of being culturally and racially offensive, the chain was closed. 

The first Coon Chicken Inn was opened in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah in 1925.  In 1929, another restaurant was opened in then-suburban Lake City, Seattle, and a third was opened in the Hollywood District of Portland, Oregon, in 1931.   A fourth location was advertised but never opened in Spokane, Washington.  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.   It's 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 2941 S. Highland Drive closed in 1957 and is now a parking lot. 

In popular culture
A fake advertisement for the restaurant is shown in the 2004 mockumentary C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America where it is depicted as being successful in a fictional timeline where the Confederacy defeats and annexes the United States in 1864 with the help of the United Kingdom and France.  

A Coon Chicken Inn advertisement is a plot device in Ghost World, a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff.   Unlike the actual chain, the restaurant chain in the film changed its name to Cook's Chicken to hide its racially insensitive past, and was still in business in modern times. 

See also
 Sambo's restaurant chain
 List of chicken restaurants

References

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