Kentucky Roast Beef?

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wayne winterland jr.
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KFC roast beef restaurants????

Post by wayne winterland jr. »

Does anybody still remember when the Colonel along with his KFC chicken empire also tried opening Roast Beef Restaurants????
I lived in Orange, Calif. where we had one of the Colonel's Roast Beef Resturants. They had a very good barbeque sauce and their sandwiches were good too but alas the cost of chicken was much less than the cost of beef because sometimes the beef prices increased to a point where in those days they couldn't pass along the price increase on their menus soon enough to still be profitable and yet not make the customers angry about raising their prices and so they changed back to being just the regular type KFC Restaurant.
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romleys
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Kentucky Beef

Post by romleys »

There was one in San Leandro, Berkeley, and Albany, CA. The one in San Leandro still has the original sign and building shape(s).
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Post by todd »

Remember one from someplace as a kid in the late 60's or early 70's. Anyone remember KFC and IHOP together back in the 60's ...long before it was popular. I vaguely remember one somewhere like Gatlinburg, TN or the Smokey Mountains somewhere.
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Post by Groceteria »

There was also one in Charles Town WV next toi the motel where my parents and I always stayed.
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Post by jamcool »

Anyone remember KFC and IHOP together back in the 60's ...long before it was popular. I vaguely remember one somewhere like Gatlinburg, TN or the Smokey Mountains somewhere.

When the Colonel started franchising his fried chicken, most KFC franchisers were independent restaraunts (including several Big Boy operators) offering his chicken as an addition to their dishes. One was Harman's in UT and AZ.- I remember they were called Harman's Kentucky Fried Chicken in Phoenix until the 70s. It wasn't until the late 60s that there was a standardized KFC design.
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KFC Roast Beef- San Leandro

Post by TheQuestioner »

I'm curious, which San Leandro KFC was originally a Roast Beef restaurant? Is it still a KFC at all or something else? there's a "classic" KFC building on East 14th St near the Hayward border that is just rotting, after a stint as some other business. This is the building type with the pyramid-shaped roof with a cupola of sorts on top.

I had never heard of Big Boy or IHOP hosting KFC chicken, I know that by the late 60's, Marriott had both their own chicken (Pappy Parker) and roast beef (Roy Rogers, whose restaurants often served Pappy Parker chicken.) I would guess Big Boy's agreement with the Colonel would have been limited to the early 60's. Gino's Restaurants, a DC/Batimore area burger chain seems to have been that area's initial "host" for KFC from what I have seen. Gino's was eventaully bought out by Roys (long after they had stopped serving KFC) and converted to Roys.

Anyone have some pictures of old KFC Roast Beef or combo restaurants?
storeliker
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KFC Roast Beef

Post by storeliker »

I am really curious to know about the one still standing in San Leandro. If I remember right it did say roast beef or maybe I'm thinking of a picture I saw somewhere else.
There is an old KFC that is Chinese food in Novato across the street from a recently closed Dennys that is now Thai. The KFC is classic layout with same roof. The Dennys is classic googie style. Also behind the old Dennys is a classic style Pizza Hut (roof and windows) it is now a Starbucks. It looks like a Pizza Hut since nothing was done to the outside. I am surprised it can stay open now with the old Marketplace Safeway that was just redone to a huge lifestyle store with a Starbucks in it where you earn free ones.
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romleys
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Kentucky Beef in San Leandro, CA.

Post by romleys »

The condition of the location in San Leandro, CA is hard to describe. It was a medical building although I think that it has now been vacated by that company. The sign is the original shape. The area where Colonel Sanders head would have been is now a sign that shows the "mercury" symbol (Thermometer or needle with a string around it.) The exterior still has the original astro-turf lawn where chairs with brightly colored metal umbrellas were placed so people could dine outside. I think the original light fixtures were on the outside as well. I havent been by the place in a while so I can't remember every feature of the place. I know it opened in 1970 and a large ad with a photo of the restaurant was placed in The Morning News/Daily Review (San Leandro & Hayward newspapers). I have that ad although I have a lot of papers which hold other historical retail information. When I come across it (which I eventually will) I will scan it and put it up on my website which is Pure Grocery Stores. There is a link to my website from this website (if you go to the links page click on Pure Grocery Stores)

Hope this helps...
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San Leandro KFC Roast Beef Building

Post by TheQuestioner »

Thanks for the additional info on this location. I will see if they have microfiche for the San leandro newspaper at the local libraries.

I am not familiar with any buildings with a sign like that around San Leandro. What part of town was it in? Street address/cross street? S.L. is kind of spread out with many different sections. Thanks!
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romleys
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San Leandro Location

Post by romleys »

The Kentucky Roast Beef is located @ East 14th St. between 140th & 141st Aves. NOTE: It did not look like the classic KFC design.
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Daniel
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Post by Daniel »

I found a picture of one of these restaurants a while ago. I have it saved to the computer, but you can't upload images to the forum, and I can't find whatever website I got it from! Oh, well...
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Kentucky Roast Beef?

Post by Brian Lutz »

I'm sure everyone here is familiar with Kentucky Fried Chicken, but what about Kentucky Roast Beef? Here's something I came across in a 1969 newspaper today:

Image

About the only thing I could find on the Internet is another picture from the Eastside Heritage Center archive of the same place, which indicates that these were usually run by KFC franchisees, and few freestanding locations were built. It also stated that this one did not last long. Does anyone know the story behind this?
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Re: Kentucky Roast Beef?

Post by Jeff »

I've seen signs like those in So Cal. But for the love of me, I cant remember where. I want to say one in Anaheim, one in El Monte.
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romleys
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Re: Kentucky Roast Beef?

Post by romleys »

There were a few in the East Bay Area...
Here is the San Leandro location...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/romleys/2382010230/
and in 2003...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/romleys/2371542699/
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Re: Kentucky Roast Beef?

Post by TheQuestioner »

I have seen the San Leandro one. Until I first read about Kentucky Roast Beef (on this site or another with similar content) I assumed ti was once a Popeyes by the shape of the roofline. I have not seen any other signs like this elsewhere, I think the other posts and articles i read about this chain said that there were only a few dozen built, scattered around different regions. Was this mainly a west coast experiment, or did they try it all over the US? How long did it last? I doubt they were around for more than a few years, or I probably would have heard of it before. Hell, I'd heard of Minnie Pearl's Chicken, and it didn't even stay in business until after I was born!

Seems there was a "bubble" of fast food "concepts" in the late 60's-early 70's. Some of the experiments in national chains found success in some regions and not others. It still fascinates me to see evidence of former Roy Rogers restaurants in California. They seemed like such a quintessentially homegrown DC-area chain when I was growing up, I assumed they had never tried to move beyond the northeast. Can't say I've ever seen evidence of Kentucky Roast Beef in the east, but who knows? I think it's kind of funny how these big chains wanted to compete with Arby's back then, Roy Rogers was conceived almost as a knockoff of them at first. I personally have never enjoyed Arby's, though I certainly do miss Roy Rogers, and visit whenever I am in the DC area. Anyone know of other attempted roast beef chains back then besides RR and Kentucky Beef?
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