“Kentucky Fried Chicken!”
That was my British nephew’s immediate reaction when we told him we’d be visiting Kentucky next on our 50 state road trip.
We’d always planned on getting KFC at some point during our 6 weeks in Kentucky, but we got lucky when staying in the Kentuckian city of London as our hotel was only 15 minutes from Harland Sanders Cafe & Museum.
Outside the cafe is a historic marker explaining more about what happened at the site.
What was once the Sanders Cafe is now both a modern day KFC and a small museum dedicated to Colonel Sanders himself.
Before getting anything to eat, Shae and I started taking a look at some of the exhibits. Harland Sanders started out owning a service station which was located where the cafe is now located.
Seeing as many of the travelers stopping at his service station were hungry, he started serving meals from his own dining table. His cooking proved to be so popular, he built a cafe that could seat almost 150 people.
In a major setback, a fire destroyed the cafe in 1939. Not to be discouraged, Sanders rebuilt the cafe. Over the years, he’d also realized that many of his customers were interested in a place to stay, so he also built a motel on the site called Sanders Court.
Colonel Sanders was a very smart businessman. Back in the 1940s, when families traveled it was the mother who’d check the quality of a motel room before deciding whether to stay there. To help encourage them to stay, he built a model motel room in the cafe itself, so that the diners could see what they could expect if staying there.
Even more smartly, Sanders placed the ladies restroom entrance inside the model motel room. This ensured they’d have to walk through the room when they inevitably had to use the restroom. Similarly, he placed the payphone in the motel room’s closet, thereby ensuring other diners would have to walk through it.
In the 1950s, Sanders encountered some even worse luck than the fire. The US 25 highway had previously been perfectly located as it delivered travelers pretty much to their door. With the construction of I-75 on the horizon, US 25 was moved a mile north of the cafe and motel to meet up with it, hitting his business hard.
With a vastly reduced flow of customers, Sanders made the decision to sell the businesses, just about making enough to pay off everything he owed, but not much more.
The Birth Of Kentucky Fried Chicken
He turned this bad luck into opportunity which ultimately led to him becoming famous. Back when he owned the cafe, Colonel Sanders had developed his own unique blend of herbs and spices to create the breading mix for his fried chicken.
In addition to his secret mixture, he started pressure frying the chicken. That reduced the cooking time by more than two-thirds from 30 minutes to 9 minutes. By reducing the cooking time and enhancing the chicken’s flavor with the herbs and spices, he knew he had a winning recipe.
With the cafe and motel now sold, Sanders decided to franchise his secret recipe. The very first KFC franchise restaurant opened in Utah in 1952 and the rest, as they say, is history.
Eating KFC At Sanders Cafe
We couldn’t visit the birthplace of KFC and not eat there, so we got some fried chicken for lunch.
Even if you don’t decide to eat there, be sure to walk through the restaurant seating areas as there are a lot more displays to see, including the model motel room I mentioned above.
There’s a recreation of the kitchen where he developed his original recipe chicken…
…an original dining table and hutch from the cafe…
…and an opportunity to look in his old office.
Last but not least, be sure to grab a selfie with Colonel Sanders on your way out.
Tickets
There’s no need to get tickets to visit the Harland Sanders Cafe & Museum as it’s completely free to visit.
Address
Harlan Sanders Cafe & Museum, 688 Hwy 25, Corbin, KY 40701
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