Before I get into my visit to Krystal Burger Headquarters, I’d like to give you some history about the company to get you in the mood.
I know folks who swear by Krystal and others who call it the White Castle of the South. If you’re unfamiliar with their beginnings, they opened their first restaurant in Chattanooga.
Like the hundreds of other clones of the day, Krystal emulated everything about the White Castle System. White Castle would make their name in the Midwest & North East while Krystal stuck to the South.
In the long run, it was a great move cause White Tower, another copycat, did not fare too well when it went head to head with White Castle.
Krystal Burger Historical Facts
| Original Name: | The Krystal |
| Year Founded: | 1932 |
| City Founded: | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Founders: | Rody Davenport Jr., J. Glenn Sherrill |
| The number of locations at their peak: | 420 |
| Original Slogan: | Take Along A Sack Full |
- Krystal’s first customer was French Jenkins, who spent thirty-five cents on six Krystals (their signature slider) and a cup of coffee.
- Company lore says that Davenport’s wife suggested the name of crystal with a ‘K’ after seeing a crystal ball lawn ornament. Krystal’s restaurants have often sported a crystal ball on the rooftop.
- The Krystal Square Off was an event sanctioned by the former International Federation of Competitive Eating (now called Major League Eating) held from 2004 to 2009. Contestants had to eat as many Krystal hamburgers in eight minutes as possible. Joey Chestnut set the current world record on October 28, 2007, with 103 Krystal hamburgers.
- In a 2017 interview, Priscilla Presley mentioned that while in Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis Presley loved to eat Krystal hamburgers.
- Krystal and White Castle‘s locations only overlap in Kentucky (Bowling Green & London) and Nashville, Tennessee.
- The Krystal currently operates over three hundred restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Krystal Headquarters
One of the perks of being Burger Beast is receiving invites to the headquarters of iconic food brands like A&W Restaurants, Wendy’s, and White Castle. So when Krystal invited me (my wife Marcela and my friend John) to their headquarters in Dunwoody, Georgia, it was a no-brainer that I would say yes.
I enjoyed the wall with historically significant dates. Also, the caricatures of their Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame members were a nice touch.
We watched an audiovisual presentation on Krystal and its history in their conference room. The next stop was the innovation center, aka the test kitchen.
Krystal Innovation Center
As you would hope, whenever you visit an Innovation Center, there’s plenty of food to sample. Unfortunately, there were some we could not share since they were in the early stages of development, but the pumpkin spice milkshake was off the charts good. I know, I’m basic, but I love pumpkin spice; what’s a guy to do?
My favorite was the original Krystal slider with onions, mustard, and pickles. If you know me, I’m all about enjoying all food, even fast food in its original form.
Why mess with a good thing?
On our way out after the headquarters visit and lunch, Krystal gifted me this portrait of their slider with my Burger Beast logo. It is now part of my Burger Museum collection.
Krystal Headquarters is not open to the public. But, in case you need to know where it is located:
Krystal Burger Headquarters
1455 Lincoln Pkwy E
Dunwoody, Georgia
please look into opening up a Krystal burger in Greenbrier, Ar. or Conway, Ar. Thank you.
can someone please open a kristal in Fayetteville NC
Please build a few Krystal Restaurants in Pasco County, say in the Port Richey area or Trinity area. I live in Port Richey and it’s a 50 minute drive to the closest Krystal to my home.
I was served raw pink meat on my orders from Krystal’s in Ga on Bobbyjones rd Augusta, Ga
I always salivate when I see the Burger Beast approved endorsement! I would love to see you open a location with all your Burger Museum memorabilia. Would love it even more if it was a drive-up with rollerskating waiters. I remember when the Wells Fargo bank (circular building) at 9600 Bird Road was that kind of restaurant (but I don’t remember the name).
You are so lucky to get to tour these places. We would take the red eye flight from Denver to Ft. Lauderdale to visit my mother in Boca Raton. Going north on I-95 we would always stop at Krystals on Sunrise Blvd at 7 AM for sliders. Yes, I fed my little kids Krystal sliders for breakfast. It was so disappointing when we were all prepared for our breakfast grease fill up, and then saw that they were out of business. Whenever, we get up to Orlando, we always stop by Krystals. BTW, Ellen Fried sent me here.
Hey Jay,
Thanks for dropping in. Yes, Ellen is great!
It was a shame when they shit down but I’m sure it was kinda difficult to keep one unit down here going for so many years. When I was at Krystal HQ, they mentioned the reason the Ft. Lauderdale closed was that the franchise owner never opened more stores.