History
Founded October 24, 1932, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the first years of the Great Depression, entrepreneur Rody 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 "bargain" price of $0.35, thus proving their theory true.
Davenport 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 Seventh and Cherry Streets in Chattanooga. While the building still stands, the original Krystal restaurant is no longer in operation. 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) 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.
During the 1950s and early 1960s, the chain served much of its food not in take-out containers but on inexpensive porcelain dishware labelled "Krystal." 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.
In the 1950s, cake doughnuts were served as a breakfast and dessert item. From about 1970 until 1986, fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, and rolls were offered. These items were usually sold from a small addition to the back of the hamburger restaurants. The chicken was introduced around the same time that singers Minnie Pearl and Mahalia Jackson entered the fried chicken business.
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