A Tour of the World’s First KFC Restaurant in Salt Lake City, UT

Utah is pretty far away from Kentucky, but did you know that Utah is the home of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken in the country?

Harland Sanders developed his secret recipe for fried chicken in 1940 while operating a motel/restaurant in North Carolina.

In the meantime, Pete and Arline Harman were opening their first restaurant, the Do Drop Inn.

They purchased the tiny restaurant for $700 in 1941. It had just eight bar stools and eight booths. They sold hamburgers two for fifteen cents, but the restaurant was struggling.

In 1951, the Harmans tore down their original little restaurant and built a brand new one with more seating. They called it Harman’s Cafe.

That same year, Peter Harman met Harland Sanders in Salt Lake City. Sanders came to visit in 1952, and cooked a special meal for the Harmans in their cafe. He made them his special “secret recipe” fried chicken with 11 herbs and spices.

Pete Harman knew that this chicken recipe would do well in Utah. He made a deal with Sanders to franchise his restaurant.

Harman hired sign painter Don Anderson to create a new sign for the cafe. Anderson came up with “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” and the name stuck. Later, Pete Harman trademarked the phrase, “Finger Lickin’ Good!” which became a slogan for the entire chain.

The world’s first Kentucky Fried Chicken is located at 3890 S. State Street, in Salt Lake City.

The original restaurant was demolished in 2004, and a new, more modern one was built in its place.

The restaurant has a bunch of memorabilia displayed, including this original Colonel Sanders suit.

Colonel Sanders’ recipe relied on pressure cooking his chicken to cook it faster and keep it juicy.

The restaurant also features many old advertisements and photos from the early days of the franchise.

While today’s modern restaurant is very different from the first Harman’s Cafe, the chicken recipe is the same.

The World’s First KFC also offers a buffet – the only KFC in Utah to do so.

KFC operates in more than 80 different countries today.