The Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Stone Rose Avenue, adjacent to Dunkin Donuts, has been demolished.
The vacant site will be home to a new KFC.
Telegram photo / Alan Campbell |
Kentucky Fried Chicken signs are the only remnants of the restaurant at Stone Rose Avenue on Thursday.
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The new KFC should open in August, said James Westcott, president of Willow Foods, a KFC franchisee.
"We closed the restaurant last Sunday and tore it down on Monday," Westcott said. "It took three hours to tear it down, and it will take three months to put it back up."
Willow Foods recently built a KFC in Roanoke Rapids, Westcott said, and owns three in Rocky Mount.
Westco Foods, also based in Rocky Mount, has seven franchised KFC restaurants in South Carolina.
"The new restaurant will be totally different," Westcott said. "It's called a vision building with a stone and red exterior. It's going to be nice."
The 45,000-square-foot restaurant will employ 45 people, seat about 95 people and be similar to the new KFC in Roanoke Rapids, Westcott said. Operating hours will be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
The Westcott family opened KFC's first national chain restaurant in Rocky Mount.
"The Colonel sent us here in 1964 to open," Westcott said. "Hardee's was here when we got here but was a small, regional chain.
"The original franchise was in my parents name – Bill and Laura Westcott."
The late Bill Westcott retired in 1995 after more than 40 years in the business.
James Westcott became president of the company in 1995. At that time, the company had two KFC stores, he said.
"We've sold a lot of chicken," Westcott said. "The people are kind of mad that we tore the restaurant down and are wondering what we're doing – and what they are going to do about chicken.
"Several people don't realize there are two other stores in Rocky Mount."
The Rocky Mount KFC restaurants were the first to sell breakfast in the chain, Westcott said. The franchise also recently developed the Colonel's Cravin Filet Sandwich in Rocky Mount, he said.
"That's the most exciting thing we have going on now," Westcott said. "The sandwich is being sold in more than 1,000 KFC stores."
KFC Corp., based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain. It was founded by
Henryville, Ind., native Harland Sanders, known to customers as the Colonel.
KFC has more than 11,000 restaurants in more than 80 countries and territories around the world. And in quite a few U.S. cities, KFC is teaming up with sister restaurants, A&W, All-American Food, Long John Silver's, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, selling products from the respective chains in one location.
KFC is part of Yum! Brands, which is the world's largest restaurant system with more than 32,500 restaurants in more than 100 countries and territories.
