food founded 1932 ; 84 years ago 1932 in chattanooga tennessee headquarters atlanta georgia number of locations over 350 1 key people rody davenport jr. j. glenn sherrill founders douglas r. pendergast president ceo 2 products fast food including hamburgers french fries chicken dairy desserts and signature breakfast offerings . owner argonne capital group number of employees 6 500 3 website krystal.com krystal is an american fast food restaurant chain headquartered in atlanta georgia . 4 it is known for its small square hamburger sliders with steamed in onions . krystal moved its corporate headquarters from chattanooga tennessee where it had been based since 1932 to atlanta in early 2013 . 5 contents 1 history 2 current business 3 competitive eating 4 references in popular culture 5 references 6 external links history edit a krystal restaurant in the french quarter new orleans . founded on october 24 1932 in chattanooga tennessee during the first years of the great depression entrepreneur rodney davenport jr. and partner j. glenn sherrill theorized that even in a severe economic upheaval people would patronize a restaurant that was kept spotlessly clean where they could get a good meal with courteous service at the lowest possible price . the restaurant s first customer french jenkins ordered six krystals and a cup of coffee all for the price of 35 thus proving their theory true . 6 davenport had visited white castle restaurants taking notes of successful features before setting forth on his own venture . davenport and sherrill set up the first krystal at the corner of 7th and cherry streets in chattanooga . the first krystal was a modular building constructed in chicago and shipped to chattanooga for final installation . the oldest krystal still in operation is located on cherokee boulevard in chattanooga s northshore district . krystal is the seventh or eighth oldest hamburger chain in the united states the oldest being white castle 7 and the oldest in the south . regarding the origins of the krystal name company legend states that davenport and his wife were riding down a mountain road when mrs. mary mcgee davenport saw a lawn ornament in the shape of a crystal ball . while gazing at the lawn ornament mrs. davenport commented that since davenport and sherrill felt cleanliness was a cornerstone of the concept they should name the restaurant crystal for clean as a crystal yet with a k to add a little twist . 7 krystal s restaurants through the years often sported a crystal ball on the top . a krystal restaurant in calhoun georgia . from the early 1930s through the early 1960s the chain served much of its food not in take out containers but on inexpensive porcelain dish ware with the krystal moniker . the waiters and waitresses wore white uniforms and food was offered through counter service . in the 1950s krystal opened its first drive through window which most locations maintain today . 8 a 2013 study of seven fast food franchises found that service at krystal drive throughs was the slowest with an average wait time of 218 seconds . it was however the most accurate in terms of fulfilling orders . 9 in the 1950s cake doughnuts were served as a breakfast and dessert item . from about 1970 until 1986 bone in kettle fried chicken and related sides were offered . these items were sometimes sold from a stand alone addition to the hamburger restaurants . davco a division of krystal operated wendy s franchises in the 1960s and 1970s . between 1983 and 1988 davco also operated the po folks family restaurant chain . 10 current business edit krystal restaurants both company owned and franchised operate in alabama florida georgia kentucky louisiana mississippi south carolina and tennessee . there is also a krystal in bristol virginia which lies on the tennessee virginia border and one in west memphis arkansas directly across the mississippi river from memphis tennessee . krystal has also operated several restaurants in texas over the years . krystal is often compared to the midwestern restaurant chain white castle and other than the bowling green kentucky and nashville tennessee markets the two restaurants market areas do not generally overlap . krystal maintained its corporate headquarters in chattanooga from 1932 to 2013 and has been owned by argonne capital group since early 2012 . previously port royal holdings inc. owned the chain from 1997 2012 expanding the chain to a peak of over 420 locations in 11 states in 2002 before downsizing and closing dozens of locations . ten new locations were added in 2011 11 more in 2012 2013 and 25 more are planned for 2014 throughout the southeast . in the late 1990s krystal emerged from a bankruptcy proceeding and a sale of assets that placed majority ownership outside the heirs of the founding families . krystal s period of structural change and uncertainty in the late 1990s has regenerated into a successfully reborn restaurant chain with reported customer satisfaction and an evolving menu . cn a tray of krystal burgers and french fries krystal s product line centers on a square hamburger patty slider with a steamed bun together with diced onions pickle and mustard and collectively called a krystal . small hot dogs called pups are also featured menu items . the chain has occasionally expanded its menu to include larger burgers such as the big angus burger a full size hamburger made of 100 % angus beef . krystal is known for a diverse breakfast menu which includes a made to order country breakfast meat and egg sandwiches and biscuits as well as other items . one particularly popular breakfast item is the scrambler which includes a layered stack of scrambled eggs sausage grits and cheese served in a styrofoam cup . 11 other variations of the scrambler also feature pancakes sausage gravy or southwestern style spices . in 1998 krystal introduced the krystal chik a fried chicken breast filet slider served on the signature steamed square bun . 8 krystal chiks are extremely popular along with other chicken chili and dessert items . krystal continues to focus on their core menu products but is also in the process of redesigning and upgrading their stores to appeal to a mobile and multi tasking audience . in the mid 2000s krystal tested a prototype for a new high tech drive in featuring individual television monitors for ordering and watching television audio accessed via car stereo and indoor and outdoor seating areas with multiple big screen television monitors and free digital jukeboxes . 12 krystal s website is interactive and supports mobile computing and the krystal locater helps customers fulfill their krystal kraving wherever they might be in the southeast . competitive eating edit joey chestnut ate a record 103 krystal hamburgers in eight minutes at the krystal square off in 2007 and celebrates with patrick bertoletti left krystal kitty and bob shoudt right . krystal restaurants are the host of the krystal square off a competitive eating contest . the current world record is 103 krystal burgers consumed in 8 minutes by joey chestnut set at the 2007 competition . references in popular culture edit singer crystal gayle real name brenda webb says she took her professional name from the restaurant chain at her sister loretta lynn s suggestion . 13 cormac mccarthy refers to the restaurant in his novel suttree . references edit krystal hamburger chain sold to private investment firm corporate info retrieved 2010 08 19 krystal sold to atlanta based investors . timesfreepress.com . retrieved 22 april 2015 . sweepstakes rules . krystal moving headquarters to atlanta timesfreepress.com krystal moving headquarters to atlanta . timesfreepress.com . retrieved 22 april 2015 . company history krystal.com a b hogan david gerard 1997 . selling em by the sack white castle and the creation of american food 1st ed . . nyu press . p. 50 . isbn 0 8147 3567 3 . retrieved 2008 06 04 . a b krystal.com . company timeline . archived from the original pdf on january 29 2016 . retrieved 2008 12 01 . the quickest fast food drive thrus business insider . business insider . 2 december 2013 . retrieved 22 april 2015 . http www.hoovers.com company davco restaurants inc rjyyri 1 1njhxk.html krystal.com breakfast menu http www.timesfreepress.com absolutenm templates business toplocal.aspx articleid 15249 & zoneid 169 http www.allmusic.com artist crystal gayle mn0000132449 biography external links edit tennessee portal companies portal food portal wikimedia commons has media related to krystal . krystal website v t e fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the united states chicken chains coffeehouse chains pizza chains hamburgers a & w back yard big boy burger king carl s jr. checkers rally s cook out fatburger five guys freddy s fuddruckers the habit hardee s in n out jack in the box johnny rockets krystal mcdonald s roy rogers shake shack smashburger sonic steak n shake wayback wendy s whataburger white castle asian l & l hawaiian barbecue manchu wok panda express pei wei asian diner pick up stix sarku baked goods au bon pain auntie anne s bruegger s cinnabon corner bakery cafe dunkin donuts einstein bros. great american cookies honey dew donuts krispy kreme mrs. fields nestl toll house panera bread pretzelmaker pretzel time shipley do nuts tim hortons t.j. cinnamons wetzel s winchell s beverages argo tea biggby coffee caribou coffee bean & tea leaf coffee beanery dunn bros gloria jean s jamba juice juice it up orange julius peet s planet smoothie robeks seattle s best coffee smoothie king starbucks teavana tropical smoothie cafe tully s frozen desserts baskin robbins ben & jerry s braum s bruster s carvel cold stone culver s dairy queen dippin dots fosters freeze friendly s golden spoon graeter s h agen dazs handel s kiwi yogurt maggiemoo s marble slab menchie s pinkberry red mango rita s sweet frog tastee freez tcby tropical sno tutti frutti yogen fr z yogurtland hot dogs hot dog on a stick nathan s famous portillo s wienerschnitzel mexican style tex mex baja fresh cafe rio chipotle del taco el pollo loco freebirds green red burrito moe s pancheros qdoba rubio s taco bell taco bueno taco cabana taco del mar taco john s taco mayo taco time wahoo s fish taco noodles fazoli s noodles & company sandwiches arby s atlanta bread blimpie capriotti s charley s cos cousins d angelo daphne s erbert & gerbert s firehouse subs great wraps jason s jerry s subs jersey mike s jimmy john s lenny s sub mcalister s deli miami subs mr. hero newk s eatery penn station port of subs pdq potbelly quiznos rax runza sandella s schlotzsky s steak escape subway togo s tubby s tudor s biscuit world which wich seafood arthur treacher s captain d s h. salt esquire ivar s long john silver s skippers seafood & chowder house defunct bresler s ice cream brigham s burger chef carrols d lites druther s henry s hamburgers hot n now hot sam pretzels naugles red barn sandy s zantigo v t e atlanta companies aaron s inc. agco duluth american megatrends gwinnett county arby s sandy springs at & t mobility atlanta bread company smyrna atlanta gas light bellsouth chick fil a college park church s chicken sandy springs coca cola cox enterprises delta air lines earthlink equifax expressjet college park georgia natural gas georgia pacific georgia power holiday inn holiday inn express the home depot cobb county hooters intercontinental exchange krystal kool smiles marietta merial duluth ncr corporation gwinnett county newell rubbermaid popeyes sandy springs racetrac rheem scientific atlanta lawrenceville simmons bedding company southern company suntrust banks turner broadcasting system united parcel service sandy springs waffle house gwinnett county the weather channel cobb county retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title krystal restaurant & oldid 743264156 categories companies based in atlantacompanies based in chattanooga tennesseerestaurants in