North Carolina was the 2nd place to offer original KFC fare

Colonel Harland Sanders once owned a motor inn and restaurant near Asheville in Buncombe County, N.C., where he served guests his famous “Kentucky Fried Chicken”…as well as other tasty country dishes.

Sanders Court and Café opened in 1939 and provided about 80 guest rooms. Postcards listed the amenities: “Complete accommodations with tile baths, hot water, carpeted floors, ‘Perfect Sleeper’ beds, air conditioned, steam heated, radio in every room, open all year, serving excellent food.”

 

The centerpiece was Sanders’ 140-seat restaurant, which became a magnet for tourists and travelers. It was located at the crossroads of U.S. Route 25 (Weaverville Highway) and N.C. Route 251 (Old Marshall Highway) in Woodfin, a small community on the French Broad River north of Asheville.

Sanders’ North Carolina restaurant was modeled after his original Sanders Café, which opened in 1935 in Corbin, Ky.

 

Almost immediately thereafter, Sanders received an endorsement from Kentucky Gov. Ruby Laffoon, who frequently dined at Sanders Café. He issued a ceremonial decree commissioning Harland Sanders as an honorary Kentucky Colonel – the highest honor awarded to a citizen of the Bluegrass State.

Colonel Sanders attracted the attention of food critic Duncan Hines, who wrote about Sanders Café in Corbin in his popular “Adventures in Good Eating” guidebook. An entry in Hines’ 1939 edition read: “A very good place to stop en route to Cumberland Falls (in Kentucky) and the Great Smoky Mountains (in Tennessee/North Carolina). Continuous 24-hour service. Sizzling steaks, fried chicken, country ham, hot biscuits. Lunch 50¢ to $1; Dinner 60¢ to $1.”

 

Some food historians claim that it was in North Carolina, in 1940, where Sanders (at age 50) began using specially built pressure cookers to quickly fry his crispy and delicious “finger lickin’ good” chicken, seasoned with that glorious, secret recipe blend of 11 herbs and spices.

Colonel Sanders’ two restaurants were doing a brisk business…until World War II heated up. Gasoline rationing in 1942 caused a steep decline in U.S. tourism. As a result, Sanders closed the North Carolina café…and moved on.

(Over the years, others tried running the restaurant and motel that retained the name Sanders Court. A major fire in the mid-1950s reduced what was left of the property into a small group of apartment units, which are still viable.) 

Colonel Sanders was “transformed” when he was “re-commissioned” as a Kentucky Colonel in 1950 by his friend, Gov. Lawrence Wetherby (shown below). 

The “new look” Colonel Sanders emerged with his snappy white suit that complemented his white hair, mustache and goatee, wearing a western-style bow tie and browline glasses. Get the picture?

 

He developed a business plan to sell his seasoning recipe…and his method of preparing and cooking crispy fried chicken…to fast-food franchisees. The first to sign up in 1952 was Pete Harman, who owned and operated The Do Drop Inn in South Salt Lake, Utah.

 

A handshake agreement stipulated that Harman would pay Colonel Sanders a nickel per chicken sold.

Harman is credited with pioneering the famous bucket container and creating the brand “Kentucky Fried Chicken.” Eventually, Harman Management Corp. came to operate 238 KFC stores in four states.

 

Alysa Salzberg of chowhound.com said Colonel Sanders’ image continues to “represent” the KFC brand and is seen at more than 27,000 fast-food restaurants in about 150 countries around the globe, making it the world’s fifth largest fast-food chain.

“It’s no wonder Colonel Sanders is one of the world’s best-known brand mascots. In 2006, he was added to Advertising Week magazine’s Madison Avenue Walk of Fame in New York City, which honors the most celebrated brand ambassadors of all time,” Salzberg said.