Krystal was the Southern hamburger chain founded in Chattanooga in 1932.
Entrepreneur Rody Davenport Jr. and his partner J. Glenn Sherrill opened the first Krystal on October 24, 1932, during the Great Depression. They believed customers would support a restaurant that was exceptionally clean, served courteous staff, and offered a good meal at a low price. That combination became central to the chain’s identity.
The original Krystal was a small modular building manufactured in Chicago and shipped to Chattanooga for installation at Seventh and Cherry Streets. Its square hamburgers, served with steamed onions, became the chain’s defining product. In much of the South they are called Krystals, while people elsewhere often describe them as sliders.
Krystal was influenced by White Castle, which Davenport had visited while studying successful restaurant practices. That connection explains why Krystal is sometimes confused with White Castle, but the two chains were founded separately. Krystal remained headquartered in Chattanooga from 1932 until the company moved its headquarters to Dunwoody, Georgia, in 2013.