Don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight! – Part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, Lorain’s Chicken Delight outlet was located near the intersection of W. 21st Street and Leavitt Road (State Route 58). Previously, the 2229 W. 21st Street location was the home of United Rent-Alls.

Chicken Delight made its appearance locally around 1964. (It was not in the November 1963 Lorain Telephone directory.) George and Nell Robinson were the owner/operators.

Here’s an early ad (below), one that ran in the Lorain Journal on April 16, 1964.

Here’s a June 5, 1965 newspaper ad from the Journal, as well as a 1965 phone book ad featuring the well-remembered chicken-topped delivery vehicle.

Here’s a 1966 Lorain Telephone book ad, promoting pizza. (I wonder if chicken was one of the choices of toppings?)

Here’s a large 1968 Lorain phone book ad.

And here’s the 1970 Lorain phone book ad (below).

In the early 1970s, the litigation involving the Chicken Delight franchisees and the corporation resulted in many restaurants abandoning the brand and joining other chains. Thus, beginning in the 1973 phone book, Lorain's Chicken Delight store became Chicken Galore. The Robinsons were still the owner/operators, and would continue to be until they retired in 1993.

Here’s the ad from the 1974-75 Lorain phone book.

By 1978, the popularity of the restaurant's pizza apparently resulted in a name change: Chicken 'N Pizza Galore. Here's the phone book ad from that year's directory. Note the "Serving Lorain Area Since 1964" tagline.

But by the time of the 1984-85 Lorain telephone directory, the restaurant was once again listed as Chicken Galore. Its nicely-designed ad featured a Chicken Galore logo that was reminiscent of Chicken Delight with its chef-hatted chicken.

By 1991, the restaurant name had been adjusted once again to reflect the popularity of the ribs. This ad (below) from the phone book that year also included the Chicken Galore mascot: Chicky Galore.

As I mentioned above, original owners George and Nell Robinson retired in 1993. But the business continued on as Chicken & Ribs.

The store remained at the 2229 W. 21st Street location until around 2005, when it was briefly listed in the phone book at 203 W. 9th. The business then moved to 5520 Oberlin Avenue.

The restaurant’s listing disappeared as of the 2008 phone book, bringing an end to the Chicken Delight legacy in Lorain.

Today, Chicken Delight is a Canadian company. A handful of U. S. stores are still scratching out a living, in New Jersey and New York.

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UPDATE (April 15, 2018)
Since this post, I found the Grand Opening ad for the Lorain store. It appeared in the Lorain Journal on Feb. 11, 1964.