--- a/bin/chef-server
+++ b/bin/chef-server
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 require "rubygems"
 require "merb-core"
 
+Merb::disable :json
+
 # Load chef and chef-server-api from source rather than gem, if present
 $:.unshift(File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../chef/lib/'))
 $:.unshift(File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../chef-solr/lib/'))