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KFC’s brand owners are delaying the purchase of the Kentucky restaurant and estate created for Harland Sanders for his wife in 1959 due to trademark concerns.
Claudia’s Dinner House – located in Shelbyville – was owned by the Sanders and their friends Tommy and Cherry Settle, and now the Settles are committed to finding a new “administrator of this historic brand.”
The Settles are reportedly seeking $9 million for the estate, which includes the dinner house, the mansion known as Blackwood Hall, the three acres of land, and the intellectual property, including a KFC flag and a birthday letter to President Sanders. Richard Nixon.
Despite a few offerings, from franchising for the first time to creating an Airbnb, KFC brand owner Yum! Brands’ legal team halted the transaction by filing a filing with the US Patent & Trademark Office just days after the estate went on sale in June.
The filing seeks to strengthen KFC’s trademark protections, including “Colonel Sanders’ Original Recipe,” “Col. Harland Sanders’ and ‘It’s Finger Lickin’ Good’, according to the New York Post.
“It’s a very unique situation,” Jonathan Klunk of Six Degrees Real Estate told the Post. “We’re selling Claudia and she doesn’t have as much name recognition as her husband, but a buyer can’t describe her without mentioning both her husband and KFC.”
Klunk said there are “many similarities” between KFC’s menu and Claudia’s Dinner House, but that the dinner’s offerings are “unrelated to the KFC recipe.”
Claudia’s Dinner House was owned by the Sanders and their friends Tommy and Cherry Settle, and now the Settles are committed to finding a new “administrator of this historic brand.”
Despite a few offerings, from franchising for the first time to creating an Airbnb, KFC brand owner Yum! Brands’ legal team halted the transaction by filing a filing with the US Patent & Trademark Office just days after the estate went on sale in June. The filing seeks to strengthen KFC’s trademark protections, including “Colonel Sanders’ Original Recipe,” “Col. Harland Sanders’ and ‘It’s Finger Lickin’ Good’
The Settles are reportedly seeking $9 million for the estate, which includes the dinner house, the mansion known as Blackwood Hall, the three acres of land, and the intellectual property, including a KFC flag and a birthday letter to President Sanders. Richard Nixon
Colonel Harland Sanders created the restaurant in 1959 for his wife Claudia. It is located in Shelbyville
However, the Settles collided with Yum! Brands in 2001, according to the Post, when Tommy found a 1964 date book listing 11 herbs and spices in Blackwood Hall. He wanted it authenticated to sell it, but Yum! sued.
The case was later dropped after the brand owners said the recipe was nothing close to the now-famous combination sold in stores today.
Despite the standoff between the brand and prospective owners, Klunk said the $6.5 billion conglomerate has not offered to buy the property.
The mansion is equipped with a lot of green and white, creating an open and light feeling throughout the house
The house has a unique look and has a white grand paint with large windows to throw a lot of light into the room
The mansion features a room with an emerald green cargo area and a dining table for six
The broker also said they are considering unbundling the estate to sell each property individually to attract more buyers.
Potential buyers to date range from a local bourbon company interested in expanding into comfort food, as well as local and large restaurant groups and multi-brand serial entrepreneurs.
All potential buyers should contact Yum! to describe how they intend to use the brand without filing a lawsuit.
“If you want to use the Claudia Sanders brand, you need to have a team of intellectual property lawyers,” Klunk warns buyers, according to the Post.
“Whoever takes on the name Claudia Sanders is likely to face an uphill and expensive battle,” trademark attorney Brad D. Rose told the Post.
The gift shop offers a selection of fine treats to wrap up to take home
It also features a gift shop that sells jams and candies and other treats for customers to purchase
The eatery features a grand staircase and contrasting light and dark colors for an open, yet homely feel
The diner originally served as KFC’s headquarters after the Sanders closed their Corbin KFC location in 1952. That same year, Sanders would begin franchising his company, which would eventually become a global icon.
The couple opened Claudia Sanders Dinner House in 1959 when they moved to Shelbyville. It would become known for its yeast buns, huge buffet, pies and fried chicken, Kentucky.com said.
The eatery would eventually burn down in 1999, but it was rebuilt and the legacy continues.
“Claudia was the unspoken hero of her husband’s success in business,” Jonathan Klunk, a listing agent, said in a statement in June, according to Kentucky.com.
Outdoor tables overlooking lots of greenery are also on site so customers can enjoy the Kentucky weather
The eatery has a rustic look with dark wooden chairs and tables and wooden floors
And he wanted to honor her by creating Claudia Sanders Dinner House and related brands. There is so much rich history in this sale; it’s exciting to think about the potential that lies ahead for the right buyer – to honor and protect this legacy and grow the brand even further.”
The Settles have fully owned the estate since the 1970s and now want to retire. Cherry, now 78, started out as a hostess at the restaurant, while her husband, now 80, supplied the ham ham facility with a factory he owned when they bought the business.
Claudia and Harland met in the 1930s when she was working as a waitress at his restaurant in Corbin. Claudia would become a big part of the brand, even packing food and spices to send to the franchises while Harland was selling the brand.
They sold the restaurant to Tommy and Cherry in 1974, six years before Harland died in December 1980. Claudia died 16 years later, in 1996.
But even after the sale of the company, the couple still actively promoted the brand, traveling the world in its iconic white suit and her pre-war dress.