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Kentucky Fried Chicken (page 1)

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Sanders Court & Café
Corbin, KY
model depicting Court & Café in 1940
In 1930, Harland Sanders, later "Colonel" Sanders, opened a Shell gas station in Corbin. In 1931, he moved across the street to a Gulf station. He then entered into a long-term arrangement with the Pure Oil Company and opened a restaurant. This was probably a similar deal to the one worked out with the Village Inn. By 1937, he was operating the full-scale motel and restaurant complex called Sanders Court & Café. During this time, he developed a secret recipe for fried chicken which would become world famous.

When I-75 bypassed Corbin, Sanders, at the age of 66, took his chicken recipe on the road. He convinced other restaurants to add his chicken to their menus in exchange for a few cents each time it was sold. This quickly turned into franchising and Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. Within seven years, there were 600 locations. Today, there are more than 10,000 locations worldwide. In 1991, the company's name was changed to KFC. Around 2005, the name was changed back to Kentucky Fried Chicken and the bucket signs were revived with a black and white, less-detailed image of the Colonel.

In 1969, the Sanders motel and gas station were demolished. However, in 1990, the Cafe was restored to its original appearance. It is now used as a KFC restaurant and serves as a museum. It has recreated the old kitchen, a motel room, Sanders' office, and displays of advertising and other historical items. In 2020, the pole sign was replaced with a reproduction of the original style bucket sign and flashing arrow. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Harman Cafe
Salt Lake City, UT
The Harman Cafe was established in 1952 when Pete Harman made a deal with Colonel Sanders to start a restaurant franchise based on Sanders' fried chicken recipe. The name "Kentucky Fried Chicken" was painted on the window of Harman's Cafe. They sold a boxed meal of 14 pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls until Harman came up with the legendary cardboard bucket concept in 1957. In 2004, a modern KFC building and sign replaced the originals. However, the modern sign and statues of Harman and Sanders pay tribute to this historic site. There are also lots of early KFC photos and artifacts inside the restaurant. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. [map]

These buildings shown below are examples of Kentucky Fried Chicken's 1968 design with a mansard roof and a cupola. I believe this was the company's first standardized building design. The metal buildings were designed by Trachte. I don't believe there are any KFCs still in operation that use these buildings. However, there are still lots of them out there that have been repurposed.

former Kentucky Fried Chicken
Sparks, NV
former Kentucky Fried Chicken
Bossier City, LA		 former Kentucky Fried Chicken [gone]
Albany, GA		 former Kentucky Fried Chicken [gone]
Jackson, MS
The photo of the Sparks location is from 2014. The building now houses Barks NV. [map]

The photo of the Bossier City location is from 2007. The building was repainted after that and was in use as an office for a used car dealership. In 2017, the building was vacant. It has been repainted and now houses a used car lot office. [map]

The photo of the Albany location is from 2007. By 2016, the building had been demolished.

The photo of the Jackson location is from 2010. By 2015, the building had been completely remodeled but was still housing a Subway.

weathervane
sign [gone]
Gilt Edge, TN		 weathervane
sign
Sellersburg, IN
The cupolas of the buildings shown above were originally topped with weathervane signs. These signs are very rare now and most are in private collections.

This one in Gilt Edge was installed on top of the sign for the Gilt Edge Cafe.

I believe this one in Sellersburg is a modern copy. It is installed at the AJS office behind a KFC location. AJS Inc. & Associates owns and operates 13 KFC locations in Indiana and Tennessee. [map]

The only other Colonel Sanders weathervanes that I know of on public display are in private collections in Lexington, KY; Maltby, WA; and Buellton, CA. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.

former Kentucky Fried Chicken
Gulfport, MS
This former Kentucky Fried Chicken was built by 1966 and must have predated the mansard roof design shown above. Either that, or the building was remodeled by a later tenant. Around 1978, the building was briefly housing the Der Weiner Hut. From around from 1983-1992, the building housed a Cajun's Fabulous Fried Chicken. In more recent years, the building housed a used car lot office. It now houses Auto Cash Title Loans. [map]

former Kentucky Fried Chicken [gone]
Los Angeles, CA
2013: 2015:
This former Kentucky Fried Chicken in Los Angeles housed a Chano's Drive-in since around 2009. The bucket sign was also adapted. By 2014, the building was housing Figueroa Philly Cheese Steak. The sign was adapted again. In 2023, the building was adapted for a Hyundai dealership and the sign was removed.

former Kentucky Fried Chicken
Pico Rivera, CA
This former Kentucky Fried Chicken was adapted for a Tierra Mia Coffee in 2012. [map]

former Kentucky
Fried Chicken
Gainesville, TX		 former Kentucky Fried Chicken
Chandler, AZ
This former Kentucky Fried Chicken in Gainesville housed Donutstein from 2013-2021. It now houses Snowflake Donuts & Kolaches Shop. [map]

This former Kentucky Fried Chicken in Chandler has housed a BoSa Donuts since 2016. The bucket and building have both been adapted. [map]

former Kentucky
Fried Chicken
Broken Arrow, OK		 former Kentucky
Fried Chicken
Decatur, IL
This former Kentucky Fried Chicken in Broken Arrow was left in place and painted white by 2007. The adapted building later housed Gilcrest Chiropractic. It now houses a Papa Murphy's Pizza and the bucket has been painted white. [map]

This former Kentucky Fried Chicken in Decatur has housed a La Gondola Spaghetti House since at least 2009. The building and bucket sign were adapted. There is another adapted building in Bloomington, IL but the bucket sign is gone. [map]

Kentucky Fried Chicken
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