Cheshire Chicken Flies to New Coop

By Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
09:56AM / Wednesday, July 30, 2008

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CHESHIRE — The Country Charm Restaurant property is set to be auctioned off on Thursday but the giant fowl that stood on its roof won't be part of the deal.

The fiberglass rooster disappeared from atop the crumbling restaurant building nearly two months ago leaving some to wonder if it had once again been whisked away as a prank or had ended up in an antique shop.

There were no school dares this time. Instead, the 8-foot-odd-tall chicken has gone home to roost, in a way. It's made a safe landing at Rolling Acres Farm, a few miles north of the restaurant where it stood for nearly 40 years.

John and Elaine Daniels bought the roadside attraction from restaurant owner Trent Gaylord after a hand-painted "for sale" sign appeared out in front of the property a few months ago. The Danielses had been interested in bringing the local landmark back to the farm for some time, said Elaine Daniels. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."

The Cheshire Chicken is all spiffed up.

That's because the rooster once stood out on a cement pedestal on Route 8, marking the location of the popular Chicken Stop restaurant owned by John's parents, the late Harvey and Laura Daniels. The restaurant was an outgrowth of the Daniels chicken farm, Rolling Acres. They sold the eatery in 1971 to the Gaylord family — along with their famed broasted chicken recipe and, of course, the big white rooster out front.

John Daniels isn't sure exactly when the rooster was installed; he thinks it was in the late 1960s.

"A guy drove up with a trailer and four or five animals on it. I think there was cow, a couple of chickens," he said recently. "My father bought the rooster."

There've been plenty of tall tales about the rooster: That it was stolen and found in an antique shop months later, that it's been plucked by numerous graduating classes from the area's high schools.

Not so, said Daniels, though it was taken at least once.

The Gaylords moved the rooster from its cement pedestal to the restaurant's roof some years later for its own safety. They added on to the diner, nearly tripling its size, and were perhaps better known for their Saturday night prime rib than the broasted chicken.

But the rooster, a kitschy icon of mid-century roadside America, always looked a little out of place on the revamped and expanded building. And as the property went downhill, so did its trademark fowl. A photographer of roadside memorabilia took a picture of it in 2005, showing the large hole in its side.

Gaylord, who'd been operating it for some time, took complete control of the business run by his parents in 2003; the Country Charm closed in 2004. Though it continued to attract business in later years, patrons spoke of dripping ceilings and squishy floors. (Gaylord has not returned repeated phone calls.)

Gaylord's plans to sell off the property in lots for residential use came to naught and Berkshire Bank recently foreclosed on it. Aaron Posnik and Co. auctioneers will sell off the 6,200 square-foot restaurant, two cottages, garage and 3 1/2 acres at noon on Thursday, July 31, on the premises (750 South State Road).

While the fate of the restaurant is anyone's guess, the future looks bright for the Cheshire Chicken. After spending a few weeks in the barn, the rooster has been patched up and painted and now occupies a prime spot next to the silo. Drivers peering down Rolling Acres' long driveway can catch a glimpse of him.

Full disclosure: This reporter is Harvey and Laura Daniels' great-niece who has always loved the big chicken.

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