Grandy's facts for kids
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| Private subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Nashville, Tennessee |
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Area served
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United States |
| Products | Country style food |
| Parent | Captain D's |
Grandy's Country Cookin' (often just called Grandy's) is a restaurant chain that serves delicious, homestyle food. It's known for its comforting meals, just like homemade cooking! The company started in 1972 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Story of Grandy's
Two friends, Walter E. Johnson and Rex E. Sanders, met while working at a restaurant when they were teenagers. In the early 1960s, they opened a fried chicken stand in Dallas, Texas. This small stand grew into 14 locations!
Later, in 1972, Walter and Rex decided to create Grandy's. They wanted to combine the speed of fast food with the cozy feeling of a full-service restaurant. They officially renamed their chain to Grandy's in 1977.
Growing Bigger
Grandy's grew a lot in the 1980s. At its busiest, there were almost 200 Grandy's restaurants! During this time, a company called Saga Foods, Inc. owned Grandy's.
Later, Grandy's was sold to another company called American Restaurant Group. By the late 1990s, some older Grandy's locations that weren't doing well started to close. The company decided to focus on areas where it was very popular, like Texas and Oklahoma, and parts of Indiana and Kentucky.
Changes and Challenges
In 2000, Grandy's was sold again, this time to Spectrum Restaurant Group. Over the next few years, Grandy's faced some tough times, and many stores closed.
In 2007, a company called Souper Salad bought Grandy's. However, Souper Salad also ran into financial trouble a few years later.
Then, in December 2011, Grandy's was bought by Captain D's, which is another restaurant chain.
Recent Years
Even after being bought by Captain D's, some Grandy's restaurants continued to close. For example, in 2016, eight stores closed because their leases weren't renewed.
In 2018, the very first chicken restaurant that the founders opened in Denton, Texas, closed its doors. This meant there was no Grandy's left in Denton.
As of May 2019, Grandy's had 38 restaurants, with almost half of them in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area. By October 2021, that number had dropped to 24 restaurants, which were owned by different people (franchised) across six states. As of April 2024, there are 23 Grandy's locations in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
See also
- List of chicken restaurants
