>>12994Coon Chicken Inn was a small restaurant chain in the American West from the late 1920s through the 1950s. The restaurants were known for their entrances, which featured the head of a winking, grinning, grotesquely caricatured black man wearing a porter's cap. The words "Coon Chicken Inn" were written on teeth framed by oversized red lips. Visitors entered through a doorway in the middle of the black man's mouth. The menu included southern fried "Coon Chicken" sandwiches and chicken pie, as well as hamburgers, seafood, chili, and assorted sandwiches. Blacks (especially ones with very dark skin) were employed as waiters, waitresses, and cooks.