Restaurant news: Flagler County restaurant says goodbye after 68 years
An iconic Flagler County restaurant has closed its doors after serving the community for nearly seven decades.
The Chicken Pantry, located at 602 E. Moody Blvd. in Bunnell, is now closed, following a social media announcement put out by Flagler Restaurants, an online restaurant directory for the Flagler Beach, Palm Coast area. Following a note previously taped to the eatery’s door that detailed its temporary closing, many locals held out hope that the restaurant would pull through.
Though no specific details were provided regarding the closure, the same Flagler Restaurants social media post noted an upcoming auction of the restaurant’s décor, among other items, later this week, diminishing the community's hope of a re-opening.
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“Bunnell's iconic Chicken Pantry Restaurant closes after 68 years!” the Facebook post read.
“Its equipment and inventory, including the collection of roosters, will be auctioned on Friday (03/29).”
The iconic eatery began serving customers in 1956 and has since gone through a variety of ownership and location changes, ultimately landing at its current location — a former Pizza Hut in Bunnell — where it had maintained its vast menu of fried chicken, pot pie, flapjacks and other Southern comfort food selections.
Most recently, the local restaurant was forced to undergo a temporary closure after a late January inspection published by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation found three high-priority violations, including “six live roaches along pipes underneath dish pit” and “Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food.”
Following the restaurant's recent closure, several social media users took to Facebook to express their disappointment in the comments.
"Food prices kept going up. Hard for a mom and pop to survive," one user said, with another stating, "Chicken Pantry will be missed by all who enjoyed their delicious fried chicken, cornbread and other treats ... hopefully in the next few days someone will purchase this iconic historic restaurant and bring it back to a new location!"
According to a “short notice auction alert” posted on estatesales.org, The Chicken Pantry auction will begin online at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 29, with bidding ending at 2 p.m. the same day.
“Don't miss this extraordinary opportunity to own a piece of Flagler County's culinary history!” C&C Auction and Liquidation LLC said in a Facebook Post.
“The iconic Chicken Pantry Restaurant, a beloved local treasure, is closing its doors and we are auctioning off the entire contents of the restaurant. This is your chance to bring home a part of this legendary establishment.”
According to the same post, interested customers can register to bid and view auction items at ccauction.hibid.com. Several items up for auction include a collection of roosters, tableware, utensils, appliances and more.
The News-Journal was unable to reach the Chicken Pantry for comment before the publishing of this article.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Chicken Pantry permanently closes Bunnell restaurant
