Hello everyone. Today I will be talking about Chicken Unlimited restaurants that were very prominent in the 60s and 70s in the Chicagoland area. The chicken was so tasty, and it was very competitive to Kentucky Fried Chicken. The logo featured a chicken with a chef’s hat carrying pieces of chicken in a box. It may sound and looked morbid now, but I thought it was kind of cute when I was younger.
When I lived in the Roseland neighborhood in the early 70s, it was located on the corner of East 111th St and South Michigan Ave. My mother took me and my two brothers on special occasions to eat there. The chicken wasn’t spicy or very seasoned like KFC. I also remembered it wasn’t dry or overcooked. Always juicy. Two side orders were featured on the menu, which was french fries and coleslaw. I never had the coleslaw, but the fries were very hot and crispy. The one that stood out in my memories was my mother giving each of us moist towelettes after our meal was done. We were little then and eating chicken is always very messy.
According to one menu, here are most of the items on the menu that Chicken Unlimited had:
- Chicken Plenty-3 pieces of chicken, french fries, coleslaw, and hot roll.
- Chicken Enuf-2 pieces of chicken, french fries, coleslaw, and hot roll.
- Chicken Ample-8 pieces of chicken.
- Chicken Feast-12 pieces of chicken.
- Chicken Treat-18 pieces of chicken only.
- Chicken Special-24 pieces of chicken only.
- Chicken Unlimited-30 pieces of chicken only.
- Chicken Party-100 pieces of chicken.
- Shrimp Dinner, with the same side orders of the chicken menu.
- Lake Perch Dinner, with the same side orders of the chicken menu.
- Lake Perch Fillets.
- Lake Perch Sandwich
- Whamburger
- Junior Hamburger
- Grilled Cheese
- Jumbo Hot Dog
- Dinner Rolls, Dozen
- Hot Apple Puff for dessert.
Whenever I post something about Chicken Unlimited on my social accounts, everyone remembers the Whamburger. I never had it, although I wished I did because hamburgers are my favorite food of all time. That consisted of two burger patties, lettuce onions, and special sauce. I don’t know if the special sauce was the same as McDonald’s has presently.
My family moved to the Ashburn neighborhood in September 1974. The closest Chicken Unlimited near my house was at West 79th St, east of Cicero Ave in the Scottsdale neighborhood of Chicago. The building at South Michigan Ave in Roseland is still there and is presently a currency exchange.
I reasonably believe that most of the familiar buildings that Chicken Unlimited were conveniently located are still standing. You can undoubtedly tell by the visible rooves of the buildings. Some were converted into currency exchanges, local video stores, private offices, and other specific types of local restaurants.
I don’t know exactly when the restaurants closed or the reason why they did. It could have been fierce competition from KFC, Brown’s Chicken, and Popeyes. They are all still in business. Maybe the owners retired, or the businesses grew extremely fast. If anyone knows, please comment here on my blog or my other social accounts.
One Chicken Unlimited that was opened for a long time and that was located in Eau Claire, WI. I don’t know how long it was there and it was closed around 2012, according to the internet. They were also located in California and other states. But it seems like that it had numerous locations in the Midwest.
It’s a darn shame that Chicken Unlimited is no longer around. It was a special place for me and my family to enjoy a meal that was very good in its day. Even in social media like Facebook, it is still discussed and people are commenting about their memories. Thank you. Pete Kastanes-Admin for Vanished Chicagoland Facebook Page.