Come and see where it all began… The birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Pioneered by Colonel Harland Sanders, KFC has grown to become one of the largest quick service food service systems in the world.

Today, KFC serves more than a billion "finger-lickin' good" Kentucky Fried Chicken dinners served annually in more than 80 countries and territories.

Experience the 1940s "Dine-In" atmosphere at the Harland Sanders Café, the restaurant, where Kentucky Fried Chicken® got its start. Restored to its original glory in the late 1980s, the Sanders Café features the original kitchen where the Colonel perfected his Original Recipe® chicken.

Today, you can enjoy the sample that great taste of Original Recipe® chicken with its mouth-watering, blend of 11 herbs and spices. We also offer Extra Crispy™ chicken, and all your KFC favorites, prepared hot and fresh in our new state-of-the-art kitchen, adjacent to Sanders Café.

About Colonel Harland Sanders
In 1930, the then 40-year-old Sanders was operating a service station in Corbin, Kentucky, and it was there that he began cooking for hungry travelers who stopped in for gas. He didn't have a restaurant yet, so patrons ate from his own dining table in the station's humble living quarters. It was then that he invented what's called "home meal replacement" - selling complete meals to busy, time-strapped families. He called it, "Sunday Dinner, Seven Days a Week."

As Sanders' fame grew, Governor Ruby Laffoon made him a Kentucky Colonel in 1935 to recognize his contributions to the state's cuisine. Within four years, his establishment was listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in Good Eating."

As more people started coming strictly for the food, he moved across the street to increase his capacity. Over the next decade, he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and the basic cooking technique that is still used today.

In 1955, confident of the quality of his fried chicken, the Colonel devoted himself to developing his chicken franchising business. Less than 10 years later, Sanders had more than 600 KFC franchises in the U.S. and Canada.

In 1964 the Colonel sold his interest in the U.S. company, which continued to grow rapidly as the Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation. It went public in 1966, was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1969.

Colonel Sanders continued to travel up to 250,000 miles a year visiting KFC restaurants around the world until his death in 1980 at the age of 90.

Tour Information
Tour groups welcome always welcome. And bus parking is provided on the premises. Souvenirs available from our shop. For further information, call 606-528-2163 or you can visit the KFC web site at www.kfc.com.

Open daily 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.

Directions to Harland Sanders Café
From I-75 take exit 25, go north on Cumberland Falls Hwy (US 25W) for approximately 2 miles, then turn left onto Main Street.
From Main Street, turn left on US 25, at the overpass. Follow 25 roughly one mile. Sanders Cafe will be on the left.