Kenny Rogers Roasters

Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken-based restaurants founded in 1991 by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who is a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Brown had been an early investor in Kentucky Fried Chicken from 1964 to 1971. During his successful music career, Rogers had appeared in a number of commercials for the Dole Food Company before founding this restaurant chain.

Country singer Kenny Rogers, who founded the restaurant chain

Kenny Rogers Roasters
TypeRestaurant chain
Founded1991 (1991)
Headquarters
United States
Number of locations
156 (Worldwide)[1]
Area served
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, China, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Dubai, Thailand (Phuket)
OwnerBerjaya Corporation[2]
Websitekennyrogersroasters.com (International)
krr.com.my (Malaysia)
kennys.com.ph (Philippines)
kennyrogersroastersme.com (Dubai)

The menu of Kenny Rogers Roasters originally featured wood-fired rotisserie chicken. After closing all of its U.S. operations and a series of ownership changes, Kenny Rogers Roasters operates principally in Asia as part of Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya Corporation Berhad. The Kenny Rogers Roasters brand is owned by Kenny Rogers Roasters International Corporation, a subsidiary of Roasters Asia Pacific (Cayman) Limited which itself is owned by Berjaya Corporation Berhad.[3]

History
The first Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant in Coral Springs, Florida.
The first Kenny Rogers's food.

In 1991, country singer/songwriter Kenny Rogers ventured into the fast-food business and co-founded Kenny Rogers Roasters with former Kentucky governor John Y. Brown Jr. Kenny Rogers Roasters opened its first restaurant in Coral Springs, Florida in August 1991.[4]

By 1995, the menu had expanded to include turkey, ribs, and various side dishes. The chain eventually grew to over 350 restaurants, including locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.[5][6]

Kenny Rogers Roasters found itself in competition with Boston Chicken (later Boston Market) and several smaller roasted chicken chains.[7] Kentucky Fried Chicken also introduced a roasted chicken line of products called Rotisserie Gold to compete with Roasters and Boston Chicken.[7] In December 1992, Clucker's, a smaller player in the roasted chicken market, sued Kenny Rogers Roasters, claiming the chain had copied its recipes and menus.[8] The lawsuit continued until Kenny Rogers Roasters purchased a majority stake in Cluckers in August 1994.[6][8] Brown expanded the company to a chain of more than 425 restaurants before selling his interest in the franchise to the Malaysia-based Berjaya Group in 1996.[9]

In 1996 the chain announced plans to open in the United Kingdom and purchased locations in various cities. At this point annual sales topped $300 million. However, the planned restaurants in Britain never materialized.[10]

A former Kenny Rogers Roasters in Saginaw, Michigan.

The company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 1998[11] and was bought by Nathan's Famous, Inc. for U.S.$1.25 million[12][13] (US$2 million in more recent terms) on April 1, 1999; as a result of restructuring, many locations closed. By 2000, the chain was down to 90 franchised restaurants, 40 of those in the U.S.

Nathan's Famous divested itself of Kenny Rogers Roasters in 2008, selling it to their Asian franchisee, Roasters Asia Pacific (Cayman) Limited,[14] a company which is owned by Berjaya Group of Malaysia.[2] The last Kenny Rogers Roasters operating in North America was located in the Ontario Mills mall in Ontario, California which closed on December 31, 2011.[15]

The 2008 purchase agreement allowed for[16] Nathan's Famous and Miami Subs to continue selling Kenny Rogers Roasters items in their restaurants.[17] Nathan's continues to serve Kenny Rogers Roasters items in select locations, such as its flagship location on Coney Island.[18] Miami Subs (since sold off by Nathan's) no longer has a "Kenny Rogers" section on their menu.[19]

A branch of Kenny Rogers Roasters in SM City Clark, Angeles City, Philippines.

Despite the chain's end in the United States, Kenny Rogers Roasters continues to flourish in Asia under the ownership of Berjaya Group. An article published by Time.com in 2011[20] reported that Kenny Rogers Roasters had grown to almost 140 restaurants across Asia, with continued expansion in Malaysia,[21] the Philippines,[22] and more recently southern China.

In Malaysia, the Kenny Rogers Roasters chain of restaurants is developed and operated by Berjaya Roasters (M) Sdn Bhd. Under a corporate exercise by Berjaya Corporation Berhad in 2011, Berjaya Roasters (M) Sdn Bhd became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berjaya Food Berhad.[23]

In March 2011, Berjaya Food Berhad listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. Effectively, Berjaya Food Berhad is responsible for the establishment, operation and expansion of Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurants in Malaysia. This includes the development of the Kenny Rogers Roasters brand, management of menu items and acting as central procurement agent for Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurants across Malaysia.

Restaurant concept and menu

As a brand, Kenny Rogers Roasters advocates healthy eating as reflected in its brand tag line "less fat...less salt...less calories".[24]

Number of restaurants and countries of operation
Kenny Rogers Roasters, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur

In its 2012 Annual Report, Berjaya Corporation Berhad reported that as of April 30, 2012, Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurants numbered 74 in Malaysia and eight in Indonesia.[25]

It was also mentioned that the countries in which Roasters Asia Pacific (Hong Kong). Limited have operations include the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China and the Philippines.

In addition, Roasters Asia Pacific had also been undergoing expansion in other international territories which include India and the Middle East. In 2013, Kenny Rogers Roasters opened its first outlet in Brunei on January 2013.[26] The second outlet for Brunei was opened at Tanjung Bunut in June 2015.

Kenny Rogers Roasters started operations in Bangladesh in December 2012 with a restaurant in Gulshan, Dhaka. They terminated their operation in Bangladesh in 2018.

In June 2014, Kenny Rogers opened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in the Aeon Mall. This is the chain's first location in Cambodia.

The Kenny Rogers Roasters expansion to UAE happened in June 2015 at Al-Karama, Dubai.

The first KRR in Thailand opened in December 2016, in the Laguna area of Phuket, and there are plans to open others, in Phuket first and then in other parts of Thailand.[27]

Kenny Rogers Roasters is the center of an episode of Seinfeld, "The Chicken Roaster". After a branch opens in the neighborhood, Kramer cannot sleep due to its neon sign shining through his window, so he hangs up a banner in an effort to drive it out of business. The branch shuts down at the end of the episode when Jerry unintentionally sabotages it with a drenched rat hat.[6] The story was inspired by a real-life confrontation between a New York City branch of Kenny Rogers Roasters and a neighboring law office.[28]

See also
  • List of fast-food chicken restaurants

References
  1. "Branches". Philippines: Kenny Rogers Roasters. Archived from the original on December 9, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  2. "Berjaya Group Berhad – Group Structures – Food & Beverages". Berjaya Group. September 8, 2009. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  3. "Berjaya Corporation Berhad – Food & Beverage Division". berjaya.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  4. "About Kenny Rogers Roasters: The Beginning". Kenny Rogers Roasters International. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  5. "Kenny Rogers Roasters signs foreign development deal". upi.com. November 2, 1993.
  6. Burginger, Lyndsay (August 5, 2020). "Whatever Happened to Kenny Rogers Roasters?". Wide Open Eats. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  7. Stouffer, "A High Stakes Game of Chicken"
  8. Seline, "Clucker's is First Casualty in Chicken Wars"
  9. Hutt, "Kenny Rogers Wants to Take Name with Him from Bankrupt Roaster Chain"
  10. "Kenny Rogers ready to roast in UK". The Caterer. November 23, 1999.
  11. Katherine Hutt (March 28, 1998). "Roasters Lays an Egg, Files for Chapter 11". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
  12. Strugatch, Warren (April 6, 2003). "L.I.@WORK; Nathan's Builds on Its Core Product, Hot Dogs". The New York Times. New York City.
  13. "Nathan's Bid Up For Vote". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Sun-Sentinel.com. January 6, 1999. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
  14. "Kenny Rogers Roasters Purchase Agreement". TechAgreements. April 23, 2008. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  15. Plessel, John (December 31, 2011). "Ontario Mills' Big Food gets much, much smaller". Dine 909.
  16. Section 2.13(a) of Kenny Rogers Roasters Purchase Agreement.
  17. Section 2.13(c) of Kenny Rogers Roasters Purchase Agreement.
  18. "Dinner at Kenny Rogers Roasters on Coney Island". Fast Food NYC. Archived from the original on September 3, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  19. "Miami Subs Grill Menu". Miami Subs. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  20. Brenhouse, Hillary (July 26, 2011). "The Secret Second Life of Kenny Rogers Roasters … in Asia". Hong Kong: Time Magazine. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012.
  21. "Kenny Rogers Roasters Malaysia". Berjaya Roasters. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  22. "Kenny Rogers Roasters Philippines". Kennys.com.ph. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  23. "Berjaya Food Berhad". berjaya.com. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  24. "Kenny Rogers Roasters Menu". Berjaya Roasters (M) Sdn Bhd. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  25. "Berjaya Corporation Berhad – 2012 Annual Report (p24-25)". Berjaya Corporation Berhad. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  26. "Kenny Rogers Roasters Opens Outlet in Giant, Rimba". The Brunei Times. March 15, 2013. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  27. "Enjoy a healthy family-style feast at the new Kenny Rogers Roasters in Phuket". The Phuket News. December 24, 2016.
  28. Smith, Ernie (March 28, 2017). "Boom, Roasted". Tedium. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
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