Claudia Sanders, The Colonel’s Lady
The restaurant chain that never was is probably best summed up by Claudia Sanders, The Colonel’s Lady. The company’s creator, Harlan Sanders, surrendered his ownership stake in Kentucky Fried Chicken by the middle of the 1960s, but he continued to serve as its ambassador. Then, Sanders and his wife reopened Claudia Sanders, The Colonel’s Lady as a brand-new, sit-down eatery serving his chicken. The proprietors of KFC threatened to sue the couple, so they decided against expanding the restaurant into multiple sites. The Sanders family eventually secured a deal that let them to keep selling the chicken at one Shelbyville, Kentucky, store, which is still in business today.
Claudia Sanders, The Colonel’s Lady
Red Barn
The Red Barn chain, famous for its Big Barney burgers and unusual barn-styled architecture, peaked in the middle of the 20th century with between 300 and 400 locations in 19 states, as well as locations in southern Ontario, other parts of Canada, and Australia. However, in the 1980s, corporate ownership stopped supporting the business, which marked the start of Red Barn’s steady demise. In Racine, Wisconsin, one was still going strong as of 2017.
Red Barn