Business & Tech

Chicken on the Roof Grill Takes Down Giant Chicken

Harford County ordered the business on Magnolia Road to remove its signature chicken.

Months after someone filed an anonymous complaint about its inflatable chicken, the Chicken on the Roof Grill has put its chicken into hibernation.

The Joppa restaurant posted a picture of its business sans the large vinyl chicken that usually sits on the roof on its Facebook page on Jan. 6.

The following day, someone asked on the page: "Are you still in business?" because the chicken was gone.

"The Chicken is still in business," replied the restaurant. "The chicken itself is cold, but should be back soon."

An anonymous complaint filed with Harford County last year triggered a citation from the zoning department mandating the removal of the chicken and temporary signage, Patty Janowiak, who owns the business with her husband Paul, told Patch.

"We take it down, and we have no business," Janowiak said of the chicken.

She said that because the restaurant on Magnolia Road is not clearly visible from all points at the nearby US Route 40 intersection, the Janowiaks put up temporary signs along the road promoting "chicken" and "pit beef" to get drivers to turn. Those signs were also included in the citation.

Filing to keep the chicken and temporary signs would incur legal and engineering fees; and at the end of the day, the county could deny the request, Janowiak said. In the meantime, the county ordered the removal of the signs and the chicken.

The appeal process could cost between $10,000 and $15,000, Paul Janowiak told The Aegisstating: "It's almost like a scam....Everybody gets rich off you trying to put a sign up on your property."

The chicken was present on the roof when the Janowiaks purchased the business in 2012 and opened in 2013.

Related: County Orders Chicken on the Roof Grill to Remove Chicken


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