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Krystal history
Krystal company history timeline
Founded in 1932, Krystal is the second-oldest fast-food chain in the country.
In late 1932, a small burger joint popped up on the corner of Cherry and Seventh streets in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
By 1950, Krystal had stopped constructing restaurants with a seating area inside and opened only drive-throughs.
Expansion and Brand-Building: 1960-90
In 1969, it created a division called DavCo Foods to procure franchises from other food chains.
By 1979, DavCo oversaw more than 30 Wendy’s franchises and was awarded the Wendy’s franchise business in northern Virginia as well.
Undaunted, DavCo bought the Po Folks restaurant chain in 1982.
As Nation's Restaurant News noted on September 17, 1990, during the hey-day of the Sid and Sheila campaign, the 'Krystal chain was traditionally known for two things: square burgers and the zany TV commercial tandem.'
Because the company did not have the resources to fund a building spree, Davenport finally decided to use franchises as the means of expansion, selling the first ever in 1990.
1990: Krystal begins franchising.
In order to raise funds to launch new, company-owned stores, as well as to institute a more aggressive franchising system, Krystal opted to go public in May of 1992.
In 1992, Krystal Aviation even purchased Signal Aviation Service, another Lovell Field-based maintenance outfit.
1992: Company makes initial public stock offering to fuel expansion.
Hayes, Jack, “Krystal Puts Growth beyond Home Base,” Nation’s Restaurant News, November 15, 1993.
1995: Krystal files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Power, Paul, Jr., “Bitty Burgers Big Business,” Tampa Tribune, February 5, 1996.
Acquisition and New Growth: 1997 and Beyond
Reinan, John, “Tennessee-Based Hamburger Chain Plans to Expand in Tampa, Fla., Area,” Tampa Tribune, September 8, 1999.
Krystal is the largest provider of free Wi-Fi of any fast-food chain nationwide after launching the "Krystal HotSpot" in 2003.
Joey Chestnut set the current world record on October 28, 2007, with 103 Krystal hamburgers.
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Krystal competitors
Company Name  | Founded Date | Revenue | Employee Size | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Host Services | - | - | 9 | - |
| Jack in the Box | 1951 | $1.7B | 22,000 | 1,495 |
| Whataburger | 1950 | $6.7M | 175 | 1,263 |
| Burger King | 1954 | $2.3B | 34,248 | 1,744 |
| Sonic Drive-In | 1953 | $423.6M | 5,000 | 4,352 |
| Wendy's | 1969 | $2.1B | 12,500 | 6,518 |
| Culver's | 1984 | $3.2B | 20,000 | 1,731 |
| Folks Restaurants Ltd | 1996 | $55.0M | 1,132 | - |
| M&N Foods Inc | - | $260.0M | 550 | - |
| McDonald's | 1940 | $23.2B | 210,000 | 39,749 |
Krystal history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Krystal, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Krystal. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Krystal. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Krystal. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Krystal and its employees or that of Zippia.
Krystal may also be known as or be related to KRYSTAL Co, Krystal, Krystal Co, Krystal Restaurants, LLC and The Krystal Company.