A new Knott’s Berry Farm restaurant run by a mischievous coyote will serve a twist on two fan-favorite foods that made the Buena Park theme park famous — fried chicken and boysenberry pie.
The new Crafty’s Kitchen self-service restaurant will open this summer as a replacement for the departing Johnny Rockets burger stand in the Charleston Circle area of Knott’s Berry Farm.
Johnny Rockets will close on April 15 after the annual Knott’s Boysenberry Festival to make way for construction of the new Crafty’s Kitchen.
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The Crafty’s Kitchen menu will offer twists on a pair of Knott’s classics by serving fried chicken tenders and boysenberry pie shakes.
The Crafty’s Kitchen menu will also include crispy wings, chicken and biscuits, fresh-cut fries, loaded fries and homemade pickles. The entrees will be served with dipping sauces.
Concept art of the Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair 4-D interactive dark ride at Knott’s Berry Farm. (Courtesy of Knott’s)
The new restaurant will expand upon the whimsical backstory of Crafty Coyote — the pie-thieving crook from the nearby Knott’s Bear-y Farm dark ride who has given up his outlaw ways to open the new eatery next door.
Crafty’s Kitchen will take over the shuttered Knott’s Beary Factory cafeteria with chef/owner Crafty Coyote developing a menu of quirky culinary concoctions, according to the backstory.
The walls of the restaurant will be covered with Crafty’s police mug shots, wanted posters and blueprints for his wacky fryer inventions.
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The thieving Crafty Coyote is known for pilfering pies on the nearby Knott’s Bear-y Farm dark ride and it appears the Knott’s culinary team has borrowed a few menu ideas from Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers and Portillo’s Cake Shakes for the new restaurant.
The chicken tenders will be deep fried using Mrs. Knott’s chicken dinner restaurant recipe. The milk shakes will be made with slices of boysenberry pie baked daily in the Knott’s bakery.