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Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant Shut Down Over Cockroach Infestation

YUCK!: Roach Infestation Shuts Down Famed Theme Park Restaurant
Ed Mazza
By 

Overnight Editor, HuffPost

Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, the famed eatery near the entrance of the Knott's Berry Farm theme park, was shut down for more than 7 hours on Thursday because of a cockroach infestation, according to local media reports.

The Los Angeles Times reports the restaurant was shut down at 2 p.m. and reopened at 9:30 p.m. after what the theme park called an "isolated structural incident."

“The issue was contained to utility areas and had no impact on food preparation or guest dining areas,” spokesman Jason Soyster told the paper. “Knott’s remains committed to delivering safe, enjoyable experiences at all of its attractions, shopping and dining locations.”

CBS News reported earlier that the roaches had been spotted during a routine inspection by the Orange County Health Care Agency and that the restaurant's permit has been suspended until an exterminator arrives to take care of the infestation.

Mrs. Knott's opened in 1934, several years before the theme park debuted. At the time, the main business of what was then called Knott's Berry Place was selling berries and jams.

"Today, the Chicken Dinner Restaurant seats more than 900 guests at a time, serves more than 1.5 million guests each year, and is the largest full-service restaurant that serves chicken as its main course," according to information on the company's website.

The mainstays of the menu are the items first served by Mrs. Knotts in 1934: chicken, biscuits and boysenberry pie.

The restaurant has a 3.5-star rating on Yelp and an average of 4 stars on TripAdvisor.

Knott's Berry Farm welcomed more than 3.6 million visitors in 2013, according to the Themed Entertainment Association.

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Do Your Research
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Popular Rides First
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