Guthrie's is a fast casual, franchised

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

headquartered in Auburn,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States, best known for being the original chicken fingers restaurant. The first location was opened in Haleyville, in 1965 by Hal Guthrie. By 1978, the menu adapted to consist primarily of chicken fingers, signature sauce, french fries,

coleslaw Coleslaw or cole slaw (from the Dutch term , meaning 'cabbage salad'), also widely known within North America simply as slaw, is a side dish consisting primarily of finely shredded raw cabbage with a salad dressing or condiment, commonly eithe ...

and Texas toast, becoming the first to largely center its menu on chicken fingers. Today, the chain has grown to include 69 stores across the United States with active plans to expand further.

History

The original Guthrie's was opened in

Haleyville, Alabama Haleyville is a city in Winston County, Alabama, Winston and Marion County, Alabama, Marion counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It incorporated on February 28, 1889. Most of the city is located in Winston County, with a small portion of the w ...

, in 1965 by Hal Guthrie. The restaurant originally served a full menu of Southern food, but in 1978 it was changed to focus primarily on chicken fingers. This switch resulted in Guthrie's becoming the first restaurant to have a menu largely centered on chicken fingers. By 1982, a second location would open in Auburn and a third in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

by 1984. By 1997, eight locations were open and all were under the ownership of the Guthrie family. Many early stores were constructed adjacent to major universities:

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Expansion outside of

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

s did not commence until the opening of the Gardendale location in 1997. By 2005, the 26 restaurants in the chain were all under the ownership of the Guthrie family. In April 2005 it was announced that the company was looking to expand further out of Alabama into Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi and that they were also looking to franchise the brand for the first time. By 2015, the restaurant had expanded into Kentucky, and, later, in 2022 Guthrie’s opened their first restaurant in Mississippi in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

near the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. Two years later,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

became the first western city to open and was Nevada's first restaurant.

References

External links

Guthrie's
website
Little Known Facts About Haleyville Alabama
Digital Alabama {{Establishments serving chicken Companies based in Birmingham, Alabama Restaurants in Birmingham, Alabama Economy of the Southeastern United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurants established in 1965 Fast-food poultry restaurants 1965 establishments in Alabama

History

See also

References

External links