Texas Fried Chicken? KFC Is Leaving Kentucky.

Texas Fried Chicken just doesn’t have the same ring to it as the iconic fast food chain does. Yet, the popular food joint, Kentucky Fried Chicken, is leaving the Bluegrass State and heading to the Lonestar State. 

While the name will remain the same, KFC will be taking its corporate headquarters to Texas, marking a significant change for the long-running company. Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, announced the move on Tuesday that they’ll be moving operations to the Plano. 

KFC is Leaving Kentucky for Texas—Seriously

The 30,000-store chicken chain has been around for 95 years, always working out of its namesake state. The move by Yum! Brands is to condense its portfolio to operate out of two headquarters, one in Texas and one in California. 

“These changes position us for sustainable growth and will help us better serve our customers, employees, franchisees, and shareholders,” David Gibbs, Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer said in the press release. 

The switch will see approximately 100 KFC corporate employees relocate. The KFC Foundation, the charity branch of the business, will remain in-state, for what it’s worth. So there will still be some traces left in the state, though a much smaller footprint than KFC has had in its birthplace. 

To no surprise, the state of Kentucky isn’t happy. In particular, Gov. Andy Beshear is a bit perturbed by the whole thing. He spoke with CNN about the move, calling it disappointing and something that the founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, would agree with. He told the outlet he hopes they “rethink moving” the move considering the business name and the fact they market “our state’s heritage and culture in the sale of its products.” 

Like Beshear, the city’s mayor also is pretty pissed off. Mayor Craig Greenberg said he’s also “disappointed” when speaking to the Louisville-Courier Journal. He doesn’t understand how a company that is “synonymous” with a state can just get up and leave. 

KFC is indeed as Kentucky as it gets. The whole thing began at a local motel where Sanders first began to serve the fried chicken in 1930. Eventually, the famed 11-spice recipe was created and by 1952, the first franchise store was spawned. Now KFC can be found in 150 countries. 

It’s going to be weird knowing that KFC won’t be calling Kentucky its home anymore, but as long as the change stops there, the general public won’t be too bothered. Now if they drop the ‘K’ for a ‘T’ then we’ll have some issues.