SALT LAKE CITY — The next time you go for a family bucket of fried chicken, you could do so at the world's first KFC franchise in Salt Lake City.
According to the Sanders Cafe & Museum, on September 24, 1952, Colonel Sanders recognized the potential of the restaurant franchising concept and helped open the first KFC in South Salt Lake. Once his original restaurant closed, the Colonel devoted his life to franchising his chicken concept throughout the country.
But the Colonel didn't take on the franchise venture alone. Deseret News reports that an acquaintance of Sanders, Leon 'Pete' Harman, agreed to let him sell his chicken out of Harman Cafe, located at 3890 South State Street.
Harman is credited with creating the iconic paper bucket to sell the chicken, 14 pieces, mashed potatoes, rolls, and gravy for just $3.50. Still, the restaurant struggled to keep up with demand for the chicken.
Fast forward 72 years later, now KFC operates more than 24,000 restaurants worldwide in more than 145 countries.
In 2004, the original cafe that housed KFC chicken was torn down and replaced with a new restaurant and mini-museum dedicated to showcasing Utah's history with KFC.
