email: roadarch@outlook.com

Chicken Cars

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Gene's Fine Food
Union, SC
Gene's Fine Food was once a drive-in but later focused on indoor dining. The restaurant started out as a Little Mint location. It has been Gene's since around 1968. The chicken head was installed on this 1969 Dodge pick-up since the mid-1970s. It features a voicebox to make clucking sounds. There was a tail in back until at least 2007. However, the tail was missing when I took this photo in 2009. Gene's is closed around 2020 but the chicken truck is still parked at the back of the lot. For more, see this website. [map]

Krekel's Custard
Mount Zion, IL

2009:
2024:
These two Krekel's Custard chicken cars are modified 1993 Cadilac Broughams. The chicken attachments were originally created in 1972 by Paul White, a Kentucky sculptor. Krekel's ordered four of them for each Decatur location. These two cars are the only ones left. Originally, the cars had speakers and made a clucking noise with the push of a button. The chicken's red eyes could be lit at night. This location also has a bull statue. For more, see this website. [map]

Larz Chicken Shack
Freeport, IL
The Larz Chicken Shack no longer exists but this rooster-topped Cadillac was still parked in town when these photos were taken in 2008. It might have originally been used by Krekel's Custard (see above). There used to be a rooster statue at Larz Chicken Shack as well. This Chicken Car was still there in 2015 but gone by 2018. It was moved to another location in town where by 2018, the tail and head were installed on a Chevrolet. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Chicken Cadillac [gone]
Farmington, MO (later Bonne Terre, MO)
This Chicken Cadillac was parked at Blackwell Motors which had several elephant statues and a couple of bull statues as well. These photos are from 2010. By 2018, this location had closed and all of the statues had been moved to the company's location in Bonne Terre, MO which already had some animal statues. That location closed in 2021 and all of the statues were gone. The paint job on this Chicken Car suggests it may have come from Krekel's (see above).

Chicken Cadillac [gone]
Bandera, TX (later Kerrville, TX)

2011:
2018:
This Chicken Cadillac was located at the Church's Chicken restaurant in 2011. It was previously located in Kerrville, TX. By 2016, the car was back in Kerrville. The chicken was installed on a later model Cadillac with the same plates. The tail hung off the trunk on the smaller car. The chicken car was gone by 2021.

Chicken Cadillac [gone]
Oklahoma City, OK
This Chicken Cadillac was parked on the lot of Bob's Car Korner. These photos are from 2012. It was still there in 2019. By 2020, a wood pallet business had moved in and the car was gone.

Chicken El Camino
Doolittle, MO (now St. Robert, MO)
This Chicken El Camino had been parked at Cookin' From Scratch since at least 2006. It was removed around 2021. The chicken car is now in storage at the Uranus Fudge Factory in St. Robert, MO. [map]

CITGO station
Irvington, AL

2010:
2020:
These Roosters are installed at a CITGO gas station which features Ms. Billie's Chester Fried Chicken. These statues have been here since at least 2006. The car is an early 1970s El Camino. By 2020, the statues and car were in rough shape. [map]

Indy Chicken [gone]
Indianapolis, IN

2010:
2012:
The Indy Chicken was created by Orval "Ducky" Love in the 1970s. Love had a car rental business called "Love Rent a Bent Car". He bought the chicken from a fried chicken restaurant which was using the statue on top of its delivery vehicle. Love installed the chicken on the roof of a hearse and began renting it out as a party wagon. Soon, Love had a small fleet of vehicles with statues on their roofs. These statues included a pig, a duck, two other chickens, a clown, and a birthday cake. I believe the business closed sometime in the 1980s. The Indy Chicken car was sold and rarely driven. In 2007, the car was used during the "Bart Lies" campaign to defeat Mayor Bart Peterson. In 2010, the interior of the car was damaged in a fire. An Indianapolis police officer was arrested for setting this fire and several others in town. The chicken was not damaged and was moved inside the owner's store, Antiques on the Corner (photos above). In 2011, the owner reinstalled the chicken on a new vehicle which is used as a limousine service. In 2021, the owner was putting the chicken on a new car. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Chicken Limo
Indianapolis, IN
The Chicken Limo was inspired by the Indy Chicken. John Barker, the chauffeur and business owner, had this car made in 2007. He is considering expanding to Tampa, Scottsdale, and Los Angeles. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

Chicken Shack
Hermosa Beach, CA
The Chicken Shack chicken car has been here since around 2009. The owner bought the head and tail in Peru. [map]

S.S. Juan Pollo [gone]
San Bernardino, CA

2013:
2008: 2013: 2020:
The S.S. Juan Pollo was located at Juan Pollo's corporate headquarters which doubles as a McDonald's museum. Apparently, the rooster is or was sometimes replaced with these Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat, and Tasmanian Devil statues. The car had been repainted and rechristened as the SS Chicken Boat by the time of the 2015 Doo Dah Parade. By 2019, the car was kept in private storage. It is still used in parades. There are still at least two roosters at the museum. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map] [second row photo from 2008 thanks Glenda Campbell]

More Chicken Cars:
northeast AR? [gone?]
Santa Monica, CA: 1, 2
Lakewood, CO [gone]
Chicago, IL [gone?]
St. Louis, MO
Gulfport, MS [gone; ca. 1995 photo thanks Dana Myers]
Cincinnati, OH [map]
Hennessey, OK [moved to Nashville, TN - now gone]
somewhere in Tennessee
Chicken Dinner Candy trucks: 1, 2, 3 (various cities)
Palenque, Mexico

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