Emily Carter
The Coon Chicken Inn was a chain of restaurants founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Burt in 1925. The first restaurant was opened in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, and by 1931, two more locations had opened in Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The restaurants were known for their fried chicken and unique architecture, including a 12-ft-tall caricature of an African American man's head as the front door. The name Coon Chicken and the associated imagery were considered offensive and racist by the African American community, and the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the restaurant in 1930. Despite the controversy, the Coon Chicken Inns prospered until the late 1950s. Today, the original locations of the restaurants are occupied by different businesses, but memorabilia from the Coon Chicken Inn is still sought after by collectors.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of restaurants | 3 |
| Locations | Salt Lake City, Utah; Lake City, Seattle; Hollywood District, Portland, Oregon |
| Founders | Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide "Addie" Burt |
| Year founded | 1925 |
| Year closed | 1957 |
| Logo | A "Coon," or a racist caricature of an African American male with a porter's uniform, a winking left eye, and enlarged red lips |
| Logo usage | Menus, dishes, promotional items, silverware, paper products |
| Cuisine | Fried chicken |
| Notable incidents | In 1930, the NAACP filed a lawsuit against Coon Chicken Inn, claiming the restaurant's name and iconography amounted to "libel and defamation of a race." |
| Popular culture references | Ghost World (2001 film), C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004 mockumentary) |
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What You'll Learn
- Coon Chicken Inn was a fried chicken restaurant chain founded in 1925
- The chain was founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Burt
- The restaurants' entrances were designed to look like a smiling caricature of an African American porter
- The chain was closed by 1957 due to its racially offensive nature
- The Coon Chicken Inn featured in the 2001 film *Ghost World*
Coon Chicken Inn was a fried chicken restaurant chain founded in 1925
The restaurants featured a 12-foot-tall grinning caricature of a Black man's head as the front door and were filled with Black stereotypes inside. The logo of the Inn was on every dish, silverware item, menu, and paper product. The restaurants' names and imagery were considered racist and offensive, with the NAACP filing a lawsuit against the chain in 1930, claiming libel and defamation of race. Despite this, the chain prospered until the late 1950s, with the Seattle branch remaining open until 1949.
The Coon Chicken Inn is now known as a symbol of racial bigotry, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. The buildings that once housed the restaurants are now occupied by other eateries, and genuine Coon Chicken Inn items are popular in the Black Memorabilia market.
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The chain was founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Burt
Coon Chicken Inn was an American chain of three restaurants founded by Maxon Lester Graham and his wife Adelaide "Addie" Burt in 1925. The first restaurant 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.
The chain was founded by Maxon Lester Graham, who was born on June 17, 1897, and demonstrated a flair for business from a young age. He vigorously promoted the Coon Chicken Inn, utilising roadside restaurants, novelty architecture, and automobile convenience to attract customers. Graham also created the "'Coon head' gimmick", featuring a caricature of an African American male, to attract customers. The logo was featured on everything from the entrances of the inns to dishes, silverware, and paper products.
Adelaide "Addie" Burt was Maxon Lester Graham's wife and co-founder of the Coon Chicken Inn chain. While there is limited specific information about her, it is known that she played a significant role in the business. After the chain closed in the late 1950s, Maxon and Addie retained the properties and leased out the buildings to other restaurant operators.
The Coon Chicken Inn was known for its fried chicken and unique atmosphere. However, it also gained notoriety for its use of racist imagery and stereotypes. The restaurants featured a 12-foot-tall grinning caricature of a Black man's head as the front door, and the interiors were filled with racist iconography. The name "Coon Chicken" and the associated imagery were considered offensive and were the subject of protests and a lawsuit by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the local African American newspaper, The Northwest Enterprise. Despite the controversy, the chain prospered until the late 1950s, when it was closed due to changing social attitudes and increasing recognition of its offensive nature.
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The restaurants' entrances were designed to look like a smiling caricature of an African American porter
The Coon Chicken Inn was a chain of restaurants founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Burt in 1925. The first restaurant was opened in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1925, with subsequent restaurants opened in Lake City, Seattle in 1929, and the Hollywood District of Portland, Oregon, in 1931. The restaurants were known for their ubiquitous logo of a "Coon," or a racist caricature of an African American male, which was based on nineteenth-century minstrel theatre and early twentieth-century advertising. This caricature was featured prominently on the restaurant's entrances, trademarks, menus, dishes, and promotional items.
The entrances to the Coon Chicken Inn restaurants were designed to resemble a giant version of this caricature, with a grinning, stereotyped Black man's head serving as the front door. The logo featured a porter's uniform, a winking left eye, and enlarged red lips that exposed the words "Coon Chicken Inn" etched on the rows of white teeth. This image was also used on various items inside the restaurant, such as plates, forks, menus, and placemats, as well as on promotional items such as matchboxes, children's fans, and spare tire covers. The logo was even incorporated into the name of certain menu items, such as the "Baby Coon Special" and the "Coon Fried Steak."
The use of this caricature as the entrance to the restaurants sent a clear message of racial hostility towards African Americans. While the restaurants' advertisements and articles made no explicit mention of African Americans, the offensive imagery was more than enough to convey a sense of discrimination and announce the North End's hostility towards the black community. This blatant display of racism led to protests from the African American community, with the Seattle branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Seattle's African American newspaper, The Northwest Enterprise, threatening legal action for libel and defamation of race as early as 1930.
The Coon Chicken Inn restaurants represented a form of programmatic or novelty architecture, a style that emerged with the rise of roadside restaurants and the convenience of automobile travel. This style of architecture aimed to capture the attention of passersby with unconventional and attention-grabbing designs. In the case of the Coon Chicken Inn, the use of the racist caricature as the entrance served as a gimmick to attract customers in the competitive landscape of roadside restaurants. Despite the offensive nature of the imagery, the restaurants initially thrived and were considered a success, reflecting the normalised nature of racial bigotry during that era.
The Coon Chicken Inn restaurants eventually closed by 1957 due to changing social attitudes and a growing recognition of the cultural and racial offensiveness of their branding and imagery. Today, the original locations of the restaurants are occupied by different establishments, and genuine Coon Chicken Inn memorabilia has become highly sought-after by collectors worldwide. The story of the Coon Chicken Inn serves as a reminder of the senselessness of racial prejudice and the importance of recognising and learning from this disturbing part of history.
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The chain was closed by 1957 due to its racially offensive nature
Coon Chicken Inn was a chain of restaurants founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Burt in 1925. The chain consisted of three restaurants located in Salt Lake City, Utah, Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The restaurants were known for their fried chicken and unique architecture, which featured a 12-foot-tall caricature of an African American man's head as the entrance. The same caricature, a racist portrayal of a Black porter with enlarged red lips and a winking eye, was also used as the logo and appeared on menus, dishes, and promotional items.
Despite the blatant use of racial stereotypes and imagery, the Coon Chicken Inn chain thrived in the 1920s and 1930s. This era saw an increase in the use of typecast Blacks in popular culture, and the emergence of roadside restaurants with novelty architecture designed to attract patrons. The restaurants were advertised as providing a "pleasurable change from the ordinary café," with good food and a cheerful atmosphere.
However, the chain's racist name and iconography did not go unchallenged. As early as 1930, the Seattle branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Seattle's African-American newspaper, The Northwest Enterprise, protested the opening of the Seattle Coon Chicken Inn, threatening a lawsuit for libel and defamation of race. The African-American community in Seattle recognized the imagery as a display of racial hostility and a symbol of the North End's hostility towards Blacks.
By the late 1950s, changing social attitudes and a growing recognition of the chain's offensive nature led to its decline. The Coon Chicken Inn chain closed by 1957, unable to continue in an era that increasingly rejected such explicit displays of racial bigotry. The buildings were leased out to other restaurant operators, and today, the former locations of the Coon Chicken Inn are occupied by different eateries, serving as a reminder of a regrettable chapter in American history.
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The Coon Chicken Inn featured in the 2001 film *Ghost World*
The Coon Chicken Inn was a fried chicken restaurant chain with locations in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Portland. The restaurants featured offensive caricatures of Black people on their promotional materials and buildings, and the word "coon" in their name is a racial slur. Despite this, the chain was popular and prospered until the late 1950s.
The Coon Chicken Inn was featured in the 2001 film *Ghost World*, directed by Terry Zwigoff. In the film, an antique promotional poster for the restaurant is used as a plot device. The poster features the same offensive imagery that was used by the real-life restaurant chain.
The inclusion of the Coon Chicken Inn in *Ghost World* highlights the tragic reality of racial prejudice in the past. The film, set in the present day, depicts a world that has moved on from the blatant racism of the mid-20th century. The characters in the film, played by actors including Steve Buscemi and Scarlett Johansson, navigate a world that is still grappling with racial injustice, but in a more subtle and insidious form.
The Coon Chicken Inn serves as a reminder of how far society has come in terms of racial equality, while also serving as a warning of the dangers of racism and the impact it can have on communities. The film *Ghost World* uses the inn as a symbol of a bygone era, reflecting the complexities of race relations in the United States and the ongoing struggle for equality and justice.
The inclusion of the Coon Chicken Inn in popular culture, such as the film *Ghost World*, also raises questions about the representation of racism in media. While the film uses the inn as a symbol of a racist past, it is important to consider the impact of such imagery on modern audiences, especially those who have been historically marginalized or affected by racial discrimination.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Coon Chicken Inn was a chain of restaurants founded by Maxon Lester Graham and Adelaide Addie Burt Graham in 1925. The first restaurant was opened in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1925.
The Coon Chicken Inn was controversial because of its use of racist imagery and stereotypes. The restaurants' trademarks and entrances were designed to look like a smiling caricature of an African American porter. The "'Coon head' logo" was featured on menus, dishes, promotional items, and even delivery vehicles.
The Coon Chicken Inn chain prospered until the late 1950s, with the original location in Salt Lake City closing in 1949. Due to changing cultural attitudes and recognition of the offensive nature of the branding, the restaurants were closed by 1957.
