The brand owners of KFC are stalling the purchase of the Kentucky restaurant and estate created for Harland Sanders for his wife in 1959 over 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 ‘caretaker of this historic brand.’
The Settles are reportedly seeking $9million 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 Sanders from President Richard Nixon.
Despite there being a few offers, from franchising it for the first time to making it into an Airbnb, the KFC brand owner Yum! Brands’ legal team has stalled the transaction by submitting a filing to the US Patent & Trademark Office just days after the estate hit the market in June.
The filing seeks to reinforce the KFC 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,’ Realtor Jonathan Klunk of Six Degrees Real Estate told the Post. ‘We are 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’s ‘a lot of similarities’ between KFC’s menu and Claudia’s Dinner House, but the dinner house’s offerings have ‘no connection 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 ‘caretaker of this historic brand.’
Despite there being a few offers, from franchising it for the first time to making it into an Airbnb, the KFC brand owner Yum! Brands’ legal team has stalled the transaction by submitting a filing to the US Patent & Trademark Office just days after the estate hit the market in June. The filing seeks to reinforce the KFC trademark protections, including ‘Colonel Sanders’ Original Recipe,’ ‘Col. Harland Sanders’ and ‘It’s Finger Lickin’ Good’
The Settles are reportedly seeking $9million 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 Sanders from President Richard Nixon
Colonel Harland Sanders created the restaurant in 1959 for his wife Claudia. It is located in Shelbyville
The Settles did, however, have a run-in with Yum! Brands in 2001, according to the Post, when Tommy found a datebook from 1964 that contained a list of 11 herbs and spices in Blackwood Hall. He wanted to have 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 stand-off between the brand and future owners, Klunk said the $6.5billion conglomerate has not offered to buy the property.
The mansion features a lot of green and white, creating an open and light feeling throughout the house
The home has a unique feel to it and has a white grand paint with large windows to cast a lot of light into the room
The mansion features a room with emerald green carget and a six-seater dining room table
The realtor also said they are considering unbundling the estate to sell each property separately to attract more buyers.
Potential buyers, so far, have ranged from a local bourbon company interested in expanding to comfort food, as well as local and large restaurant groups and serial entrepreneurs with many brands.
All potential buyers have to talk to Yum! to detail how they plan to use the brand without inviting litigation.
‘If you want to use the Claudia Sanders brand you have to have a team of intellectual property lawyers,’ Klunk has warned buyers, according to the Post.
‘Whoever is going to take on the Claudia Sanders name is probably in for an uphill and expensive battle,’ Trademark Attorney Brad D. Rose told the Post.
The gift shop offers a selection of fine treats to pack up to take home
It also features a gift shop that sells jams and candies and other treats for customers to purchase
The dinner house features a large staircase and has contrasting light and dark colors for an open, but homely feeling
The dinner house 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 know for its yeast rolls, massive buffet, pies, and fried chicken, Kentucky.com said.
The dinner house would eventually burn down in 1999, but it was rebuilt and the legacy continues on.
‘Claudia was the unspoken hero of her husband’s success in business,’ Jonathan Klunk, a listing agent, said in June in a statement, according to Kentucky.com.
Outdoor tables overlooking lots of greenery are also on the property, allowing customers to enjoy the Kentucky weather
The dinner house has a rustic feel with dark wood chairs and tables and wooden floors
‘And he wanted to honor her by creating Claudia Sanders Dinner House and associated brands. There is so much rich history included in this sale; it is 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 are now looking to retire. Cherry, who is now 78, started out as a hostess at the restaurant, while her husband, now 80, supplied the establishment with hams from a plant he owned, when they bought the place.
Claudia and Harland met in the 1930s when she was working at his restaurant in Corbin as a waitress. Claudia would become a huge part of the brand, even packaging food and spices to send to the franchises while Harland was out 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.
However, even after selling the business, the pair still actively promoted the brand, traveling the world in his iconic white suit and her antebellum dress.
