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The End of an
Era
By Tiffany Beumer-Kester
For the last seventeen years of my life I have been known as the
“Chicken Kitchen II” girl. The beginning of those years were spent
playing outside, waiting for my parents to get off work, or building
cardboard castles around ‘the old lady’.
In 2006 I accepted my first real job at the age of thirteen. Since then
it has been a crazy ride. Not only have I learned uncountable life
lessons, but I have made some life long friends. Chicken Kitchen II has
not only been a family business to me, but it has been my life.
My grandfather Al Beumer opened what was then named ‘The Chicken Koop’
in 1963 at 920 Front Street. In 1965 the name was changed to Chicken
Kitchen. At the time the restaurant was located in the showroom of his
plumbing and heating business. With a sand and gravel lot on one side,
and electric motor repair shop on the other. Across the street sat a
junkyard and welding shop. Next to that…the community stock yards.
Then in 1973 he moved the business to 675 Wagner Ave. , where Farmers
State Bank sits currently. He had expanded the Chicken Kitchen with a
160-seat CK cafeteria.
Chicken Kitchen II was opened by my parents, Kevin and Angela Beumer,
on July 25,1999. As Geoffrey Chaucer once said ‘all good things must
come to an end.’ My family has had an amazing ride, but the time has
come. Due to my dad, Kevin's severe back pain that he has dealt with
all of his life; we have decided to retire from the business. It has
become too much watching him suffer through the years.
We cannot give enough thanks to our amazing loyal customers for all of
their support over the years. We have been privileged to get to know
each and every one of you, and are proud to call many of you our
friends. We couldn't have made it this far without some of our
fantastic employees past and present.
First and foremost thank you to Marge Ryder! Not only did she work for
Al November 1973-August 1976, she has been with us since opening day
back in 1999. She has become like another grandma to me, and is now a
part of my family. She made sure I was occupied as a kid, and has
shared so many life lessons and stories with me; those I will cherish
forever.
There are so many others that dedicated several years with us. They are
not our coworkers, they are now family. Tiffany Beumer-Kester, Stacy
Martin-Bruner, Justine Gantt-Berry, Brittany Martino-Melton, Lian
Gantt, Corrine Goddard, Chelsea Berning, Amanda Solon, Ces Subler,
Krista Ignaffo, Chrissy Warner-Hoyt, Tommy Thompson, Treva Taylor, and
so many more! This has been one of the hardest decisions we've ever had
to make as a family. We hope that the community realizes this hasn't
been easy for us. We have no doubt that we could have gone on for
years. We will be in business for the last time on Thursday August 18,
2016. Although we are closing; if a passionate determined buyer came
along, we would consider selling our knowledge, equipment, and recipes.
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