Long before Walt Disney dreamed of turning an Anaheim orange
grove into the Happiest Place on Earth, there was this berry stand in Buena
Park.
Orange County Historical Society
During the depths of the Great Depression, Walter &
Cordelia Knott kept their 20-acre farm afloat by selling boysenberries out
there along Highway 39. In an effort to increase sales, the Knotts began offering
Cordelia’s homemade jams & jellies along with fresh-picked berries.
But even then Walter & Cordelia weren’t bringing in enough
money to support their growing family. Which is why the Knotts decided to add a
tea room to their farmhouse. Where they hoped to serve tea & jam to
passersby.
Courtesy of the Orange
County Historical Society
But then when the Knotts had trouble filling all five of
those tables that they’d crammed into that tea room … Well, that’s when Walter
suggested that they add Cordelia’s famous chicken to the menu. Which had always
been a favorite with friends & family.
So on June 13, 1934, the first chicken dinner was served at
what was then known as Knott’s Berry Place. And someone must have liked what
was on the menu that day. For the business quickly out-grew that teeny tiny
tea room. To the point where Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant eventually
grew to become seven sprawling dining rooms that could feed 4,000 people on a
typical Sunday night.
Courtesy of the Orange County Historical Society
“And who exactly served all of that chicken?,” you ask. Why
the army of waitresses that Walter & Cordelia hired over the years. Many of
whom return to Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant this past Saturday for a
special 75th anniversary reunion / luncheon.
There were employees on hand from every decade that the
restaurant had been in operation. As music played …
Photo by Alice Hill
… Guests dined on – what else – Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken,
rhubarb and boysenberry pie. And state & city resolutions were read,
honoring the restaurant’s 75th anniversary, Snoopy went from table
to table. Working the room like a well-seasoned politician.
Photo by Alice Hill
But the real guest of honor at Saturday’s event was Marion
Knott, was Walter & Cordelia’s last surviving daughter.
Photo by Alice Hill
During her remarks, Marion said that “… I was afraid that –
when we sold the Park to (Cedar Fair L.P. back in 1997) – that Knott’s Berry
Farm would be a cold plastic corporate place. But I think that they’ve done a
tremendous job of keeping up the warm family atmosphere.”
And given all of the hugs and the tears that I saw in that
banquet hall this past Saturday afternoon, that family feeling really does live
on at Knott’s.
After lunch, Marion and all of the Chicken Restaurant vets
trouped outside for a brief rededication ceremony (which recognized Knott’s
status as an Orange County historic landmark) as well as a group photograph.
Photo by Alice Hill
But for all the Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant employees
who were looking on, this was just another Saturday. And as soon as this 75th
anniversary party cleared out of the
Courtyard, it was back to business as usual. Which – these days – means cooking
up & then serving, on average, 1,000 chicken a day.
And speaking of serving … On June 22nd, as a
special fundraiser for the Cordelia Knott Wellness Center, Mrs. Knott’s Chicken
Dinner Restaurant will be holding a local celebrity server night. So if you’d
like to get in all the 75th anniversary fun as well as help out a
really great cause, drive on out to Buena Park next Monday night.
You’ll be berry glad that you did.