Thanks, Michigan Food Lover, for your insights from inside a franchise. From what I have read over the years, what killed KKR was bad luck and bad business decisions.
I find this story telling:
"In a Seinfeld episode called "The Chicken Roaster," Newman gets Kramer hooked on chicken from Kenny Rogers' Roasters. "The man makes a pretty strong bird," Newman says. True enough. Founded in 1991 by Rogers and former KFC owner John Brown Jr., the Roasters' menu featured wood-fired rotisserie chicken. By 1995, the chain had grown to 350 restaurants worldwide. While Rogers was an affable spokesman, he didn't know his brand. In 1997, on
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Rogers failed a blind taste test, choosing chicken from the NBC cafeteria instead of Roasters'. That may have been a sign. The company filed for bankruptcy a year later, meaning that Kenny didn't know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em."
From:
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/03/27/5-country-stars-who-got-fried-in-the-food-business/ Then, from these pundits:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstagetour/kennyrogers/kennyrogers1.html Note item 9 in the touring contract.
Apparently KRR never made money. It was privately held, so details are sketchy. After it went bankrupt, Nathan's Famous bought it at the Bankruptcy Court, effective April 1, 1999. I always felt Nathan's bought it because they wanted to have a "Brand Name" on the chicken in their co-branded fast food joints. Nathan's had been selling no-name chicken in their restaurants as long as I can remember, which is the 60's. There was also heavy competition from Boston Chicken, later Boston Market. BM also tanked, and McDonalds bought them at the Bankruptcy Court.
What happened in Flint as documented by MI Food Lover is similar to what I noticed at other original KKR locations around here - they tanked. Even the one at 2067 Broadway which inspired the Seinfeld sketch closed.
ADDENDUM: The NY Times reported on why this restaurant closed (lack of business):
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/02/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-update-no-2d-act-at-restaurant-in-lawsuit.html I don't think many of the Nathan's junk food heavens prepared whole roasters from scratch; they just sold chicken parts. KKR is just another one of those long-gone chains we talk about here from time-to-time. And it seems no one in the USA has gone to the master franchisor to open A KKR after Nathan's Famous sold the chain to:
http://www.kennyrogers.cc/ The last remaining untold story is who the individuals were who created the orignal KKR menu items. I don't think Kenny Rogers did it himself.
<message edited by David_NYC on Sun, 08/2/09 1:47 PM>
