Harland Sanders Café and Museum
Museum · North Corbin ·
Original KFC birthplace with memorabilia and dining
Original KFC birthplace with memorabilia and dining
"This white, gabled KFC could be mistaken for a particularly good-looking roadside fast-food restaurant, were it not for the fact that it’s on the National Register of Historic Places. This building was the first place to sell what would become known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a yellow neon sign with the restaurant’s original name, the Sanders Cafe, still retains pride of place. To be fair, the first place where Colonel Harland Sanders served food to customers was across the street, at a service station he bought in 1930. From a small seating area consisting of his own dining table in the back of the station, Sanders launched an empire of franchised chicken restaurants, starting with his first restaurant, the Sanders Cafe. The current site houses both memorabilia and an actual KFC. Visitors can see a recreation of the kitchen where the colonel perfected his secret chicken recipe and dine in the original, wood-paneled 1940s dining room. Update as of July 2021: The museum is closed indefinitely for renovations." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"This white, gabled KFC could be mistaken for a particularly good-looking roadside fast-food restaurant, were it not for the fact that it’s on the National Register of Historic Places. This building was the first place to sell what would become known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a yellow neon sign with the restaurant’s original name, the Sanders Cafe, still retains pride of place. To be fair, the first place where Colonel Harland Sanders served food to customers was across the street, at a service station he bought in 1930. From a small seating area consisting of his own dining table in the back of the station, Sanders launched an empire of franchised chicken restaurants, starting with his first restaurant, the Sanders Cafe. The current site houses both memorabilia and an actual KFC. Visitors can see a recreation of the kitchen where the colonel perfected his secret chicken recipe and dine in the original, wood-paneled 1940s dining room. Update as of July 2021: The museum is closed indefinitely for renovations." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"This white, gabled KFC could be mistaken for a particularly good-looking roadside fast-food restaurant, were it not for the fact that it’s on the National Register of Historic Places. This building was the first place to sell what would become known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, and a yellow neon sign with the restaurant’s original name, the Sanders Cafe, still retains pride of place. To be fair, the first place where Colonel Harland Sanders served food to customers was across the street, at a service station he bought in 1930. From a small seating area consisting of his dining table in the back of the station, Sanders launched an empire of franchised chicken restaurants, starting with his first restaurant, the Sanders Cafe. The current site houses both memorabilia and an actual KFC. Visitors can see a recreation of the kitchen where the colonel perfected his secret chicken recipe and dine in the original, wood-paneled 1940s dining room. None" - Collector of Experiences, j jcbell764, julia154brown, jcbell764, e esftripod, d deanna449, S SemiruralYeti, Edward Denny, blackmonautomotive, deanna449, b blackmonautomotive, Anne Ewbank, Sawyerma, j johal, esftripod, bsuto
"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
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