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Here’s what the Market Basket rotisserie chicken house is up to this Halloween
For the second year in a row, Michael Marotta will present trick-or-treaters in his Maynard neighborhood with the chance to secure not only a treat by way of candy, but also dinner in the form of a Market Basket rotisserie chicken.
Chicken or candy? Rotisserie or Reese’s? It’s not an offering trick-or-treaters might expect on Halloween night. But if you’re Michael Marotta’s neighbor, you might just be counting on it.
For the second year in a row, Marotta will present trick-or-treaters in his Maynard neighborhood with the chance to secure not only a treat by way of candy, but also dinner in the form of a Market Basket rotisserie chicken.
A Facebook post inspires chick or treat
The idea to offer Market Basket rotisserie chickens – aka “America’s last great bargain,” as he referred to them in an interview with Boston.com last year – started as a joke with a social media post on a town Facebook page.
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Marotta had wanted to encourage a little more trick-or-treating traffic in his lesser-traveled part of the neighborhood, so he “made an off-the-cuff joke where I said something like, you know, I wanted to hand out rotisserie chickens, but my wife vetoed that.” Instead, he said, the household would offer full-size candy bars.
The post quickly took off with community members showing their support for the idea and encouraging the family to go ahead and distribute chickens, so Marotta followed through and ended up sending at least two of roughly 20 trick-or-treaters home with Market Basket specials.
Marotta emphasized that this was at the time – and continues to be now– all in good fun.
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“Obviously, I realize how absurd all this is as I as I talk about it,” he joked in a recent follow-up call with Boston.com.
“It was such an off-the-cuff, spontaneous idea last year that just kind of, you know, blew up a little bit,” he said.
Spin or play for a chicken this Halloween
In the past year, since word about Marotta’s chick-or-treat move spread via social media and coverage by publications like Boston.com, the Maynard resident has become known around his neighborhood and places like the local post office and, of course, Market Basket as “the chicken man.”
Since people have continued to ask about his Halloween plans, Marotta decided to lean into the chicken love again this year.
Instead of outwardly offering rotisserie chickens to trick-or-treaters, he plans to present them with a game involving a prize wheel or corn hole board, in which people can play to win a chicken, if they so desire.
Candy, of course, will also be available to all.
Additionally, Marotta plans to dress up as fictional character and “Chicken Man,” Gus Fring, from the TV series “Breaking Bad” and its prequel, “Better Call Saul.”
He doesn’t know what to expect in terms of how many people may actually show up, so he said he’ll pick up as many fresh rotisserie chickens as he can at Market Basket on Thursday.
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If only a few people show up, “then I’m eating chicken for the next like month,” he said with a laugh.
“I’m very well aware of how ridiculous all this is,” Marotta added. “But Halloween is ridiculous. It’s supposed to be fun, and if people find some humor in it, then it’s worth it.”
As was his intention last year, Marotta hopes that his community sees this as a light-hearted gesture. Recognizing that the news cycle has been heavy, particularly in the lead up to next week’s election, he said “everyone is just kind of on edge,” and so, he hopes something like this can bring a little laughter and sense of community to the neighborhood.
Marotta does wonder if other homes will pursue nontraditional offerings for trick-or-treaters this year, joking “after all the attention that this got last year, will they be handing out Cornish game hens this year? What’s the thing? Full pizzas or something like that? That’s pretty fun to think about.”
So Boston.com wants to know, readers. Are you planning to offer something other than traditional candy this year? Let us know in the form below:
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