Who opened KFC’s first franchised restaurant in Salt Lake City in 1952?

Pete Harman opened KFC’s first franchised restaurant in Salt Lake City in 1952.

Harman was a Utah restaurateur who met Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952. He licensed Sanders’s pressure-fried chicken method and opened a restaurant in South Salt Lake. The location became an important early step in turning Sanders’s operation into a national franchise system.

Harman also helped shape KFC’s early presentation. His restaurant is widely associated with introducing the paper bucket used for serving fried chicken, as well as the phrase “finger-lickin’ good.” These ideas helped make the brand recognizable beyond the kitchen.

A common mix-up is calling Sanders the first franchise operator. Sanders created the recipe and franchising system, but Harman was the first restaurant owner to operate a KFC franchise. The original Salt Lake City site is therefore significant in the chain’s history.