According to the BBC, fast-food giant KFC is moving its corporate headquarters from Louisville, Kentucky to Plano, Texas, as announced by its parent company Yum Brands. The company will maintain some operations in Kentucky, including the KFC Foundation, but the move has sparked disappointment from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshea, who remarked, “I am disappointed by this decision and believe the company’s founder would be, too.”
This relocation is part of Yum Brands’ broader strategy to establish dual headquarters for its major brands – KFC and Pizza Hut will operate from Plano, while Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill will remain in Irvine, California. Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs framed the decision as positioning the company “for sustainable growth” that will “help us better serve our customers, employees, franchisees and shareholders.”
The move represents a significant shift for KFC, whose Kentucky heritage dates back to the 1930s when Colonel Harland Sanders began selling fried chicken at a Corbin service station. Today, Sanders’ iconic image appears in over 24,000 KFC restaurants across more than 145 countries. This relocation follows a broader post-pandemic trend of corporate migrations, with Texas cities becoming popular destinations due to the state’s lower taxes and business-friendly regulations.
