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Georgia's famous Big Chicken slated for major revamp

Get a Sneak Beak at What's in Store!

Georgia's famous Big Chicken slated for major revamp

A Georgia KFC franchise has announced that its beloved “Big Chicken” restaurant is slated for a $2 million renovation. Don’t worry, though—plans call for keeping the famous bird.

The Marietta, Georgia KFC branch, owned by KBP Foods, is known locally as Big Chicken for its majestic architecture parlante, a 56-foot-tall stylized steel chicken whose ruddy plumage and bright animated beak seduce would-be diners from its perch at a busy crossroads.

Designed by Georgia Tech architecture student Hubert Puckett and built in 1963, the sign was reconstructed following storm damage in 1993. The video below (best viewed with the sound on) really captures the essence of the bird:

Renderings revealed in the Atlanta Business Chronicle depict an on-brand interior renovation for the 4,700-square-foot space, plus a gift shop. Big Chicken’s logo will be updated, as well.

“Marietta’s Big Chicken is a local landmark that we are proud to preserve,” said KFC franchisee Mike Kulp, president and CEO of KBP Foods, in a statement. “Once completed, our new restaurant will be among the greatest KFCs in the world with design and guest experience features you won’t be able to find anywhere else in the U.S. We can’t wait to bring these designs to life for the community of Marietta and all those who stop along their travels to see this historic landmark.”

The restaurant will be closed for around three months, beginning this week.

KFC’s plans align with Taco Bell’s 2015 decision to save Taco Bell “numero uno,” the chain’s very first restaurant. Taco Bell collaborated with a local preservation group to move the 1953 building from Downey, California to the company’s headquarters in Irvine.

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