![]() ![]() The chain has occasionally expanded its menu to include larger burgers, such as the "Big Angus Burger", a full-size hamburger made of 100% Angus beef. Small hot dogs called "pups" are also featured menu items. Krystal's product line centers on a square hamburger patty slider with a steamed bun, together with diced onions, pickle, and mustard, and collectively called a "Krystal". Ten new locations were added in 2011, 11 more in 2012–2013, and 25 more were planned for 2014 throughout the Southeast.Ī tray of Krystal burgers and french fries owned the chain from 1997 to 2012, expanding the chain to a peak of over 420 locations in 11 states in 2002, before downsizing and closing dozens of locations. Krystal's period of structural change and uncertainty in the late 1990s gave way to a successful rebirth with reported customer satisfaction and an evolving menu. In the late 1990s, Krystal emerged from a bankruptcy proceeding and a sale of assets that placed majority ownership outside the heirs of the founding families. Krystal maintained its corporate headquarters in Chattanooga from 1932 to 2013, and was owned by Argonne Capital Group from 2012 and ending in 2020 when Fortress Investment Group LLC and its operating partner, Golden Child Holdings acquired Krystal. It is often compared to the northern restaurant chain White Castle, and other than the South Central Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee markets, the two restaurants' market areas do not generally overlap. Krystal has also operated several restaurants in Texas over the years. There is a Krystal in West Memphis, Arkansas (directly across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee). Krystal restaurants, both company-owned and franchised, operate in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. States with both Krystal and White Castle are colored purple. Map showing the states with locations of Krystal restaurants in red, along with states with locations of White Castle in blue. Between 19, DavCo also operated the Po' Folks family restaurant chain. These items were sometimes sold from a stand-alone addition to the hamburger restaurants.ĭavCo, a division of Krystal, operated Wendy's franchises from the 1960s until 2017, when the franchises were bought back by Wendy's and sold to NPC International. From about 1970 until 1986, "bone-in" kettle fried chicken and related sides were offered. In the 1950s, cake doughnuts were served as a breakfast and dessert item. It was, however, the most accurate in terms of fulfilling orders. A 2013 study of seven fast food franchises found that service at Krystal drive-throughs was the slowest, with an average wait time of 218 seconds. In the 1950s, Krystal opened its first drive-through window - which most locations maintain today. The waiters and waitresses wore white uniforms, and food was offered through counter service. Krystal's restaurants through the years often sported a crystal ball on the top.įrom the early 1930s through the early 1960s, the chain served much of its food not in take-out containers but on inexpensive porcelain dishes with the "Krystal" moniker. Davenport commented that since Davenport and Sherrill felt cleanliness was a cornerstone of the concept, they should name the restaurant Crystal for "clean as a crystal" - yet with a "K" to add a little twist. Mary McGee Davenport saw a lawn ornament in the shape of a crystal ball. Regarding the origins of the Krystal name, company legend states that Davenport and his wife were riding down a mountain road when Mrs. Krystal is the seventh or eighth-oldest hamburger chain in the United States (the oldest being White Castle) and the oldest in the South. The oldest Krystal still in operation is located on Cherokee Boulevard in Chattanooga's Northshore District. The first Krystal was a modular building constructed in Chicago and shipped to Chattanooga for final installation. Davenport and Sherrill set up the first Krystal at the corner of 7th and Cherry Streets in Chattanooga. ![]() ĭavenport had visited Chicago's White Castle restaurants, taking notes of successful features, before setting forth on his own venture. Glenn Sherrill theorized that even in a severe economic upheaval, "People would patronize a restaurant that was kept spotlessly clean, where they could get a good meal with courteous service at the lowest possible price." The restaurant's first customer, French Jenkins, ordered six "Krystals" and a cup of coffee, all for the price of 35¢ ($6.17 in today's dollars), thus proving their theory true. A Krystal restaurant in the French Quarter, New Orleansįounded on October 24, 1932, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, during the first years of the Great Depression, entrepreneur Rody Davenport Jr. ![]()
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