Monticello welcomes Kluckers

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Anyone who regularly drives along U.S. Highway 19 South in Monticello has surely been witnessing the steady transformation of Chicken Delite into Kluckers Famous Fried Chicken & More. Service has continued over the months of change, even as the structure's interior underwent major renovations, the exterior features were spruced up and the menu gradually updated.
Then, the old sign rising up from the curb, whose feathery wingspan had greeted travelers and local fried-chicken lovers for countless years, came down and was auctioned off. In its place, the bold new Kluckers sign went up. It was time for the grand opening!
On Thursday, March 23, Kluckers co-owners Karl Weckwert and Michael Keigans were joined at the restaurant by friends, family, business leaders and customers for a ribbon cutting and Business After Five event, both sponsored by the Monticello-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Chamber President Roger Champion read the official proclamation of welcome and presented the honorary framed first dollar.
Then Weckwert, the managing partner, told how he had convinced his longtime friend, Keigans, to bring his restaurant experience into this new venture with him. They had begun to establish a Kluckers in Thomasville, Ga., when Chicken Delite in Monticello came on the market.
“The rest is history,” said Weckwert.
The two business partners shifted their focus at that time to getting the Monticello Kluckers opened, much to the delight of local lovers of delicious fried chicken.
Keigans, who is the operational partner, then spoke to the crowd about what Kluckers is offering now and what's just on the horizon.
“We have been expanding the menu a little bit,” he said. “Eight different flavors of bone-in wings, three dry-rub bone-in wings.”
There are also new sides, green beans, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.
Over about two weeks, Keigans explained, they had slowly merged the Chicken Delite breader recipe into the Kluckers recipe.
“Nobody said, 'Hey, you changed the breader on the chicken!'” he commented. “So, we changed the breader, and before that” – here Keigans paused for effect – “we changed the oil.”
This brought good-natured laughter from the crowd.
“The chicken now, it's crispy, the flavor is a bit bolder,” he continued. “Here in the next three or four weeks we're going to roll out the spicy chicken. It is called the Kickin' Chicken,” which is why the chicken depicted in some company graphics is kicking up one leg.
Keigans says they are continuing to play with other recipes and sauces that may be added later, but the biggest upcoming change is the addition of breakfast.
Kluckers will begin opening on Mondays, giving residents six days a week to enjoy lunch and dinner fare from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Once things are running smoothly with six days of service, they plan to add breakfast, which will shift the start of service time to 6:30 a.m.
“We've found the staff. We have our menu down. So we're ready to go with it.”
With that, Weckwert and Keigans lifted the giant golden scissors and snipped the red ribbon.
Inside, Kluckers had cake and, of course, chicken to officially celebrate the opening and enjoy a social hour with other local business owners. The business partners say they really appreciate the warm welcome they have had in Monticello. Monticello is Kluckers Store #1 in what they hope will one day be a brand they can franchise.