Behind every great man is a great woman and in this case, a dinner house.
In June, a predominant piece of Kentucky history went up for sale, the Claudia Sanders Dinner House + surrounding property once owned by Colonel Harland Sanders and his wife, Claudia.
The 3.01-acre property (~30 miles east of downtown Louisville) sits at 3202 Shelbyville Rd. in Shelby County and was once where the Sanders lived, as well as the original KFC headquarters — which later became Claudia Sanders Dinner House in the late 1960s. It still dishes out southern comfort food today.
The Kentucky fried estate sale includes:
- The former 5,000-sqft Sanders residence — aka Blackwood Hall — built around 1866 + still has the original stove used to make Kentucky Fried Chicken
- A 25,000-sqft restaurant and banquet hall which includes all the cooking recipes, kitchen equipment, gift shop, liquor license, and more
- Claudia Sanders trademark and likeness
- Memorabilia — like the original Kentucky Colonel certificate, monogrammed cuff links, keys to various cities + the original KFC bucket to name a few
- Ability to franchise the Claudia Sanders brand
The listing is being handled by Six Degrees Real Estate and while the price is undisclosed, the average monthly revenue of the restaurant is $180K-$200K. Just this past Mother’s Day, the Dinner House made over $50K and had 2,000+ guests.
Morgan Hancock, one of the listing agents, said there have been numerous interested buyers — including a few KFC franchise owners in Japan and Malaysia. DYK: Kentucky Fried Chicken is a Christmas dinner staple in Japan?
With Shelby County being located in the “Golden Triangle of Kentucky”— or where Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky are connected by Interstates 64, 75, and 71 — and a stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the possibilities of keeping the Sanders’ historical property alive is real. Morgan said ideas like AirBnBs, a bed and breakfast, a Sanders’ museum, and an event center have been floated around.
Interested in carrying on the legacy? Book a showing.
🍗 Inside Blackwood Hall, the Sanders’ home
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🍗 Inside Claudia Sanders Dinner House
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