The employee of the month at a coffee shop in Paducah isn’t your typical bird. He makes his own schedule and is often difficult to locate, but he is willing to work seven days a week. So how did Titan, become king of the coop?
Barista Toney Little has worked for Etcetera Coffeehouse for seven years. Little says he was the rooster before Titan arrived.
“Oh well I didn’t vote for him, that’s for sure. I don’t know about employee of the month but he definitely helps bring people in.”
Little scoffs at Titan's accolade because he doesn’t feel Titan has a lot of responsibilities. But that’s because there aren’t many expectations.
Titan is a rooster and he belongs to no one.
No one knows where he came from, or where he goes. If he wants to hang around the coffee house as the glorified snack taster, he has to earn his keep.
“Generally just pecking at people’s ankles, tearing up the plants and begging for food. Those are the things we generally hold him responsible for," says Little.
His elusiveness is why people tend to like him and his occasional naughty bought with the recent sedum seed plantings is quickly dismissed.
"It’s beauty, it’s pure beauty. It’s the blue in his feathers, he just flashes his colors and you just look the other way," says Little.
Johanna and Allan Rhodes own the coffee house. Johanna says Titan isn’t the first rooster that has been dropped off in the Lower Town Arts District, but he is the first to stick around... at the local coffee house.
" I guess Titan was chicken number two and he started showing up, this was in November, and I was fascinated! Here's another one? Because nobody knew where they came from...But he would wander over here and of course I decided I needed to feed him," says Johanna.
As many as four chickens are thought to be wandering around the neighborhood. No one claims ownership because the city ordinance states:
“Such fowl shall not be within 300 feet of another's property.”
If you know Lower Town that can be difficult. Not only is community tight knit, the houses tend to be pretty close too.
Lucky for Titan, one of those chicks dropped off, happened to also like blue feathers.
Johanna says about 6 weeks ago a little Banty Hen showed up. "We understood that she was just dropped off at a neighbor's house, that her name was Rose and she also started coming over here. Of course I would feed them."
Johanna describes Rose as a dainty shy little thing. Rumor has it she might be sitting on a nest. The eggs would be welcomed as part of the shop’s weekend quiche special.
"People say "oh, what's that, what's that..." and there he is, he has gotten really social now, Rose is not quite as social. She seems a bit more standoffish. But if we had something to be a mascot I guess he would be," says Johanna.
Toney Little is now designing Titan stickers to sell in the shop. Johanna says the story of the bird has gotten bigger than they ever expected. And while no one knows where Titan got his name or if the shop can expect future offspring, the appeal of the two chickens continues to grow.
