McDonald's in the KFC building on 410/Evers (Ingram, Bells: closing, restaurants)

[PunkRockerSupergirl]

Driving by this McDonald's is always a dead giveaway that it used to be a KFC. The "bucket" sign is now a fry box sign. When did this KFC open and close? I recall the KFC closed in 2005-ish, and then the Big Lots on Evers/410 closed a year later. From what I can see the Las Palapas in that area looks like it's in a former 70's-80's KFC building. I think the KFC/McDonald's was built in the mid to late 90's from what I can tell. Help me put the pieces of my nostalgia together!

[ged_782]

The Las Palapas building is indeed a former KFC, which dated back to the early 1970s. I remember stopping at that KFC for lunch on a few occasions when I worked in that area in the late 1970s. Las Palapas has been there since the early 2000s, and I seem to recall the building sat vacant for a period of time (maybe even a few years) between the KFC and Las Palapas occupancy.


I'm not sure about the dates on the KFC/McDonald's, but 2005 for the closing of McDonald's and 2006 for Big Lots sounds about right.

[PunkRockerSupergirl]

Originally Posted by ged_782

The Las Palapas building is indeed a former KFC, which dated back to the early 1970s. I remember stopping at that KFC for lunch on a few occasions when I worked in that area in the late 1970s. Las Palapas has been there since the early 2000s, and I seem to recall the building sat vacant for a period of time (maybe even a few years) between the KFC and Las Palapas occupancy.


I'm not sure about the dates on the KFC/McDonald's, but 2005 for the closing of McDonald's and 2006 for Big Lots sounds about right.

That's interesting to hear. I wonder why KFC didn't make it? Maybe because of the combo KFC/Taco Bell up 410 near Ingram Park Mall.

[stinky2803]

Originally Posted by PunkRockerSupergirl

That's interesting to hear. I wonder why KFC didn't make it? Maybe because of the combo KFC/Taco Bell up 410 near Ingram Park Mall.

That's kind of correct. The KFC's in town went from being corporate to franchise. The new owner was already established here, owning all the Taco Bells. He started merging the restaurants and closing some of the stand alone KFC's. I remember that one closing and the one on Bitters and 281, and on Walzem Rd.

He eventually sold and retired, the new owners are based out of Arizona. They are actively building new Taco Bells and splitting up the existing KFC/Taco Bells. Eventually there will be no more KFC/Taco Bells here.

[PunkRockerSupergirl]

Originally Posted by stinky2803

That's kind of correct. The KFC's in town went from being corporate to franchise. The new owner was already established here, owning all the Taco Bells. He started merging the restaurants and closing some of the stand alone KFC's. I remember that one closing and the one on Bitters and 281, and on Walzem Rd.

He eventually sold and retired, the new owners are based out of Arizona. They are actively building new Taco Bells and splitting up the existing KFC/Taco Bells. Eventually there will be no more KFC/Taco Bells here.

What?! No more KFC Taco Bells in SA?! I am sure gonna miss eating fire doritos tacos with a side of mac and cheese. Am also worried about the future of the Carl's Jr on SW Military.

I heard that they are knocking down all the city KFC's and Taco Bells for remodeling.

[stinky2803]

Originally Posted by PunkRockerSupergirl

What?! No more KFC Taco Bells in SA?! I am sure gonna miss eating fire doritos tacos with a side of mac and cheese. Am also worried about the future of the Carl's Jr on SW Military.

I heard that they are knocking down all the city KFC's and Taco Bells for remodeling.

They will be around for a while. It's a slow process. A good indicator will be if you see a Taco Bell being built really close to an existing KFC/Taco Bell. For example, they built a new Taco Bell pretty much across the street from the KFC/Taco Bell on Walzem. As soon as the Taco Bell opened they closed the KFC/Taco Bell to remodel it into just a KFC.