KFC Is Leaving Kentucky, and the Governor Is Steamed

KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken — everyone knows this, even chicken eaters outside of the United States.

But the chain, long based in Kentucky, is relocating after 95 years of making chicken with the Southern state as its home base (KFC's headquarters is in Louisville).

Yum!, which owns KFC as well as Pizza Hut, among others, wants to relocate KFC's offices to Plano, Texas, where Pizza Hut is based, to slim down corporate locations and possibly open the door for more brand collaborations between two of their biggest restaurants.

The governor of Kentucky is none too pleased about the change.

Gov. Andy Beshear tells CNN that he’s "disappointed by this decision" and says he believes Colonel Sanders, "the company’s founder, would be, too."

Essentially, he thinks Mr. Sanders is turning over in his deep fried grave.

"This company’s name starts with Kentucky, and it has marketed our state’s heritage and culture in the sale of its product," he continues.

Beshear hopes that by speaking his outrage, it will encourage the company to "rethink moving Kentucky Fried Chicken employees out of Kentucky."

KFC is planning to relocate roughly 100 Louisville-based KFC corporate employees to Texas over the next six months. Another 90 remote workers will also move to the new combined headquarters.

Per CNN, KFC currently runs 30,000 restaurants across the globe.