Knott's hires its pie-stealing coyote to replace Johnny Rockets

January 27, 2026, 2:35 PM · Johnny Rockets is closing at Knott's Berry Farm. And one of the park's villains is taking its place.

Knott's announced today that the Johnny Rockets restaurant in Charleston Circle will close April 15. Taking its place will be Crafty's Kitchen - a new venture from the pie-thief coyote in the Knott's Bear-y Tales ride next door.

Crafty Coyote might be trying to move on from stealing boysenberry pies, but he certainly seems to have found a ready supply of chickens. The new restaurant, which opens this summer, will serve chicken tenders, wings, and "a take on chicken and biscuits," according to the park. The slide-tray cafeteria set-up also will offer a variety of "sassy pup sauces."

The restaurant also will serve boysenberry pie milkshakes that Crafty promises will use responsibly sourced - not stolen - pies.

"Crafty's Kitchen is the previously shuttered factory cafeteria of the Beary Factory, and Crafty Coyote has decorated his new place with mementos of his villainous days while also showcasing inspiration for his newfound turn at making an honest living," Knott's said in its announcement. "The walls will be lined with playful mug shots, wanted posters, and blueprints for Crafty's wacky fryer inventions, blending Knott's Berry Farm nostalgia with a fresh, contemporary vibe."

Why the change? Perhaps not coincidentally, the parent company of Johnny Rockets filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Johnny Rockets used to have restaurants at more than a dozen U.S. theme parks, thanks to sharing an owner with Six Flags years ago. Those have disappeared, and the Johnny Rockets at Universal Studios Hollywood's CityWalk is gone now, too, being replaced by a Korean BBQ.