Harland Sanders Café and Museum

KFC’s Colonel Sanders and the American Dream | Eater

"Originating as a humble roadside gas station in southeastern Kentucky along the Dixie Highway, the cafe began serving travelers in 1937 and, after a 1939 fire, was rebuilt in 1940 as a combined 17-room motel and restaurant that opened on the Fourth of July. Its founder, Harland Sanders, turned showmanship and storytelling into part of the draw—wiping windshields, offering free air, and regaling customers with tall tales—while offering hearty Southern staples such as steak, okra, chess pie, Kentucky mock oysters and a country-ham breakfast with biscuits, red-eye gravy, fresh grits, and eggs. The kitchen was deliberately open and painted white to signal cleanliness, red gingham napkins and a model motel room (complete with a pay phone) emphasized a homey, modern roadside hospitality, and the place was recommended by Duncan Hines as a good stop en route to Cumberland Falls and the Great Smokies. Most importantly, the restaurant perfected a quick pressure-frying method using a retrofitted pressure cooker nicknamed “Bertha,” which reduced cook time to nine minutes and produced a secret-spiced, juicy fried chicken that became the culinary cornerstone for the founder’s later franchising success." - Adam Chandler