Yeah, that’s all wrong. But our old Pizza Hut is now becoming a KFC Chicken Parlor—as in a complete teardown and rebuild. Bath had one many years ago—where the Ling Ling is now. Then Fred’s Fried Chicken. Long ago and far away. There was some hubbub surrounding the planned KFC in Painted Post (the old Chemung Canal Bank Building). A drive, but for us in Bath a normal trip.
Yum Brands, located in Louisville, Kentucky is the corporate entity behind Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC–having spun off from PepsiCo in 1996. These last years have been especially difficult for all of the brands, Pizza Hut the most. Just last year, they closed 672 stores–300 of which were underperforming units. Our local Hut was one casualty of 17 locations in Western NY that were held by the same franchisee. Close to us, Hut locations in Elmira, Corning, and Hornell were among them.
The corporate trend is to replace many of the Pizza Hut sites with drive-in and delivery-only storefront locations. The secondary strategy is to demolish older underperforming dine-in locations with another company brand. Seeing as we already have Taco Bell, KFC was the choice. It is anticipated that this brand will not only attract local business–but lure travelers off I-86.
This new addition continues the growth and expansion of Bath businesses. And it gives us a bit more depth to our fast food choices. Demolition began last week, and site work is progressing for the new building foundation. Given how quickly such chain locations are erected we might see this open up sometime in late April or early May!
Prepare to get your fingers licked…
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