Chicken, cherished memories at Al’s Chickenette’s 65th anniversary

By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Participants in Al's Chickenette's pie eating contest Sunday; photo courtesy of Jesse Jensen — Participants in the Al’s Chickenette pie-eating contest Sunday. *Photo courtesy of Jesse Jensen*

Al’s Chickenette celebrated 65 years Sunday with a “Chicken Party” including a cherry pie-eating contest, games for the kids, a car show, free cake and, of course, lots of chicken. Most importantly, the celebration honored a restaurant holding a lot of history and memories for many people.

Randy Pfeifer has lived in Hays all his life was there to celebrate the event with this wife and 15-year-old daughter. He said he has been coming to Al’s since he was kid. When he heard of the anniversary celebration, he said he had to attend.

“Well, you always like to see things last and stick around,” Pfeifer said, “especially historic things. That is a problem for most towns, where all that stuff dies off. … This has been around a long time.”

Jane Kohtz, Hays, was there to celebrate with her husband.

“Al’s Chickenette will always hold a fond place in all our hearts. It was here when I went to school in the ’70s and even before that,” she said.

Hays Mayor Henry Schwaller enjoyed the celebration, as well.

“It is an amazing thing. No other restaurant in Hays has the history and tradition of Al’s Chickenette. In fact, very few restaurants in Kansas can boast such a long legacy,” he said.

The restaurant was established by Al and Lucille Beiker on April 23, 1949. The restaurant is on its fourth owner and was even closed for a short time last year, causing what current co-owner Caroline VonLintel caused “a collective gasp” throughout Hays and surrounding towns.

The closure is when VonLintel and co-owner Gary Reiman took over the restaurant and hired VonLintel’s daughter, Lacey Ward, to manage the restaurant. Ward said the 65th celebration was a success.

“The whole thing was a just a really cool event,” she said. “There were a lot of people and so there were so many stories … a lot of cool stories about this place.”

Customers at Al's Chickenette 65th Anniversary Celebration Sunday — Customers at Al’s Chickenette 65th anniversary celebration Sunday.

Ward said some of those stories included first dates and first jobs.

“You know, it is not just a restaurant – there is a lot of history here and I love my job and I love there was a new generation of people here – it’s awesome,” Ward said.

VonLintel agreed that Al’s Chickenette is no ordinary restaurant.

“It is not just a restaurant. It’s a family,” she said. “There is just such a heart here with this restaurant. It has such a heartbeat, for sure.”