KFC stands for three simple words — Kentucky Fried Chicken. But the chain’s parent company is taking it out of Kentucky.
Yum! Brands announced that the chicken fast food chain will move its U.S. headquarters from its namesake state and relocate to Texas. Pizza Hut, KFC’s sister brand, already has its HQ in Plano, where KFC will be run.
KFC started in a motel in a small town in Kentucky 95 years ago and continued its operations in the Bluegrass State. It was Kentucky Fried Chicken until it was rebranded as KFC in the 1990s and had been headquartered in Louisville since 1997, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
The company will keep Yum! Brands and the KFC Foundation’s corporate offices in Louisville, the company said.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement to CNN that he’s “disappointed by this decision” and that company founder Colonel Sanders “would be, too.”
“This company’s name starts with Kentucky, and it has marketed our state’s heritage and culture in the sale of its product,” Beshear said in the statement. “My hope is that the company will rethink moving Kentucky Fried Chicken employees out of Kentucky.”
The city’s mayor also said he was disappointed with the U.S. headquarters move.
“I am disappointed to learn that Yum! Brands will move its KFC employees to Texas — especially since the brand was born here and is synonymous with Kentucky. I’ve asked to meet with the Yum! CEO soon and am heartened Yum! will retain its corporate headquarters and 560 employees here. I will work tirelessly with Yum!’s leadership to continue growing its presence in Louisville,” Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a statement according to the Courier-Journal.
But Yum! Brands is consolidating its operations to two US headquarters. Plano for KFC and Pizza Hut and Irvine, California, for Taco Bell and Habit Burger.
Yum! said the move will “foster greater collaboration among brands and employees.”
But it isn’t the end for KFC in Kentucky. Yum! said it will build a “first-of-its-kind flagship restaurant” in Louisville. It will also give an $1 million endowment to the College of Business at the University of Louisville to be used for scholarships, the Herald-Leader reported.
About 100 Louisville-based KFC headquarters employees will relocate to Texas in the next six months with another 90 remote workers moving to the new headquarters over the next a year and a half.
Those who are moving will get relocation and transition support, The Associated Press reported.
There are more than 24,000 KFC locations worldwide, according to the AP.
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