Guthrie's facts for kids
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Trade name
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Guthrie's |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast casual |
| Founded | 1965 Haleyville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Founder | Hal Guthrie |
| Headquarters |
,
U.S.
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Number of locations
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48 (2022) |
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Area served
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Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee (10 states in the U.S.) |
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Key people
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Joe Kelly Guthrie (CEO) |
| Products | Chicken fingers, French fries, Coleslaw, Texas toast, Signature sauce, Sweet tea |
| Owner | Guthrie family |
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Number of employees
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800 (2021) |
Guthrie's is a popular restaurant chain in the United States. It is famous for being the first restaurant to focus its menu mainly on chicken fingers. Guthrie's started in 1965 in Haleyville, Alabama. Today, it has 48 locations across 10 different states.
The Story of Guthrie's
The very first Guthrie's restaurant opened its doors in Haleyville, Alabama, in 1965. It was started by a person named Hal Guthrie. At first, the restaurant served many different kinds of traditional Southern food.
However, in 1978, Hal Guthrie decided to make a big change. He changed the menu to focus mostly on chicken fingers. This made Guthrie's the first restaurant to have a menu built around chicken fingers. This new idea became very popular!
By 1982, a second Guthrie's location opened in Auburn. A third one followed in Athens, Georgia, by 1984. By 1997, there were eight Guthrie's restaurants. All of these early locations were owned by the Guthrie family.
Many of the first Guthrie's restaurants were built close to big universities. These included Auburn University, University of Georgia, University of Alabama, University of Florida, and Florida State University. Guthrie's started opening restaurants in other towns, not just college towns, in 1997. The first of these was in Gardendale.
By 2005, the Guthrie family still owned all 26 restaurants in the chain. In April 2005, the company announced plans to grow even more. They wanted to open new restaurants outside of Alabama. They also started allowing other people to open Guthrie's restaurants as a franchise for the first time.
By 2015, Guthrie's had expanded into Kentucky. Later, in 2022, they opened their first restaurant in Mississippi. This new location was in Oxford, near the University of Mississippi.
What's on the Menu?
Guthrie's is known for its simple but tasty menu. Their main items include:
- Chicken fingers
- French fries
- Coleslaw
- Texas toast
- Their special signature sauce
- Sweet tea
See also
- List of fast-food chicken restaurants
