A flock of uninvited chickens surrounded Jeff McLaughlin and his three grandsons as they enjoyed lunch at a picnic table at Hempfield's Tastyland.
The boys didn't mind.
The freeloading fowl were a highlight of their trip.
“We love the chickens,” said 6-year-old Liam Bitz.
His cousin, Owen Shuey, 7, agreed.
“I'm going to go pet one after I finish this fry,” he said.
Owen tried to keep his word but the chicken had other plans, leading Owen on an unsuccessful chase around the table, much to the amusement of Owen's twin brother, Ethan.
The chickens have been a fixture at Tastyland for years.
They wander over from a neighboring residence and make themselves at home outside the restaurant, sometimes charming customers into sharing their food. But not everyone feels the same as Liam and Owen.
“We had a little incident with a customer that was unhappy with the chickens,” said Tastyland manager Gretchen Kuhns.
Last year, a customer called a health inspector, who visited Tastyland, Kuhns said. The restaurant wasn't cited, but the inspector advised staff not to feed the chickens.
Beginning this year, Tastyland staff will no longer feed the poultry, though customers still can and do, Kuhns said.
“We don't anticipate there being any issues,” she said. “We're just trying to follow what (the health department) said.”
The new policy doesn't seem to have deterred the chickens, which still visit the restaurant every day.
However, there is one absence. Featherstone — the Rooster that led the flock — died recently.
Kuhns said Featherstone was her favorite, and she was very upset when he died. However, Featherstone could be aggressive. The new leader of the flock — Featherstone's son Sonny — is much more mild-mannered, which reduces the chance of future customer complaints, she said.
Most customers are big fans of the chickens, Kuhns said.
“I can't keep my grandsons away from them,” McLaughlin said.
Kuhns predicted Tastyland will continue to get feathered visitors for a long time to come.
“The great majority of our customers love them. We have people who call here sometimes and ask are the chickens here so they can come and see them,” she said.
Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jtierney@tribweb.com, 724-836-6646 or via Twitter @Soolseem.
