You’d likely guess that KFC is the country’s biggest fried chicken chain, with 4,100 locations. But No. 2 is less obvious. It’s not Chick-fil-A (3,100 locations), Popeyes (2,000) or Church’s (975) but Krispy Krunchy Chicken.
Who?
KKC flies under the radar by cleverly leveraging gas stations and convenience stores that have full kitchens and fryers. A lot of them. Founded in 1989 in Lafayette, La., the privately held company numbers 3,600 locations in 49 states. It even has the quaint origin story of being started by a single convenience store owner, Neal Onebane, a real-life Cajun with a very good fried chicken recipe…