The "Chicken in the Rough" concept is said to have originated in 1936 when a bump in the road upset a box lunch of fried chicken as Beverly and Rubye Osborne were driving west from Oklahoma to California. When Rubye picked it up from the road, she commented "This is really eating chicken in the rough." Returning home, they started a restaurant serving fried chicken "in the rough," eaten with the fingers as no silverware was supplied. The name "Chicken in the Rough"and the design showing a rooster standing in a clump of grass with a broken golf club were trademarked. As business grew, a special grill to efficiently cook large quantities of chicken was developed. Osborne built several restaurants in Oklahoma City and began licensing other restaurants to use his concept. By 1950 there were 250 Chicken in the Rough franchises.
The contest mentioned on the back of the Chicken in the Rough postcard sounds like a great marketing idea and seems to have gone on for a number of years. There are some variations of both the front design and the wording on the back of Chicken in the Rough postcards. I wonder whether anyone ever won the prize and whether any of the postcards mailed to the office still exist.
At the present time, the Chicken in the Rough concept seems to be barely alive, but looking for new outlets.
The contest mentioned on the back of the Chicken in the Rough postcard sounds like a great marketing idea and seems to have gone on for a number of years. There are some variations of both the front design and the wording on the back of Chicken in the Rough postcards. I wonder whether anyone ever won the prize and whether any of the postcards mailed to the office still exist.
At the present time, the Chicken in the Rough concept seems to be barely alive, but looking for new outlets.
I find trivia fascinating! Thanks for sharing this tidbit
ReplyDeleteI pity the guy who visited 24 of the places, then ran out of stamps...
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun concept, and what a neat card!
It's a beautiful card and a great marketing idea. i have to say, it sounded pretty good to me...chicken and shoestring potatoes, jug honey and hot rolls. Yum! There's something strange about the roosters foot though (the left one)...not toes.
ReplyDelete