Don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight! – Part 1

Since I did a big post on Kentucky Fried Chicken a few weeks ago, it only seems right to pay tribute to the chicken that crossed the road into the city of Lorain several years before the Colonel: Chicken Delight.

I’m sure many of you remember the location of Lorain's Chicken Delight outlet at 2229 W. 21st Street.

(I did a very brief blog post on Chicken Delight back in May 2009 here when I was writing about pizza).

According to a history of the chain on Wikipedia, it was actually founded the same year as rival poultry pioneer Kentucky Fried Chicken. But for many years, Chicken Delight was the dominant chicken chain.

Here’s a visual feast of vintage Chicken Delight images, including early promotional material and memorabilia, plucked from the internet from various sources for your enjoyment. Tomorrow, we’ll look at some vintage local ads.

Early franchising brochure

Vintage Chicken Delight ashtray

Who can forget the iconic Chicken Delight delivery vehicles with the mascot on top?

The mascot (who has no problem serving up his own tasty kind on a platter) was featured prominently on matchbooks and in ads.

1967 magazine ad