Kenny Rogers Roasters on Brainerd Road. Click to enlarge.
photo by Harmon Jolley
A challenge for both business leaders and entertainers is to remain a favorite of customers year after year. Kenny Rogers is an example of a celebrity who has met that challenge over the course of five decades. In his career, he has adapted to changing tastes in popular music, as well as fast food.
In the 1960’s, Kenny Rogers was a member of the folk singing group, the New Christy Minstrels. By 1967, pop music had evolved to include electrified instruments and more electrifying lyrics. Joining with a few other musicians from the Minstrels, Kenny kept up with the times by forming the First Edition. The group had hit records such as “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” “Reuben James,” “Something’s Burning,” and “Tell it All, Brother.” The First Edition had their own syndicated TV show, “Rollin’ on the River,” with Kenny Rogers sporting a hippie look of long hair, a beard, and sunglasses.
By 1972, the sounds coming from the radio were of a more mellow style. The First Edition broke up, and searched for new career directions. During this early 1970’s transition, I recall that Kenny Rogers played at a small club near Rossville Boulevard in Chattanooga. By 1977, however, he was back to playing larger venues after having country hits such as “Lucille” and “The Gambler.” He has remained popular as a country singer ever since. Rogers returned to Chattanooga on October 8,1982 as the first event at the UTC Roundhouse, now called the McKenzie Arena.
In 1991, Kenny Rogers and John Y. Brown Jr., a former top executive with Kentucky Fried Chicken, introduced the country to wood-fired, rotisserie chicken through the Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurants. This was in response to changing nutritional attitudes and tastes of the American public. Rather then being deep-fried, the chicken was seasoned with spices and marinade, and then roasted over a fire. Customers could see the rotisserie as they entered the store. They ordered their food as they proceeded in a cafeteria-like line. In addition to chicken, the menu included vegetables, salads, and soups, accompanied by a sweet corn muffin. Roasters restaurants quickly sprang up across the nation.
Locally, the first Kenny Rogers Roasters opened in 1993 at 5231 Brainerd Road. This was a former Rax Roast Beef restaurant, and was remodeled to have the Roasters signage and roofline. Stores later opened on Gunbarrel Road at the entrance to the Hamilton Place Mall, and on Highway 153 in front of a new K-Mart. My family and I were frequent diners, so I called on them as eyewitnesses to history. They commented how the rotisserie was a welcome sight, particularly after coming into the restaurant on a cold night. The chicken was noted as being “fall-off-the-bone tender.” Also memorable were the televisions, hung from the ceiling, which played country music videos. For some reason, Kenny Rogers was featured in a lot of the videos.
The Kenny Rogers Roasters were popular with Chattanoogans, and also had a national following. They were featured in an episode of “Seinfeld,” and also on Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien’s TV shows. However, in the mid-1990’s, financial trouble at the corporate level forced the closing or sale of many locations. In October, 1996, it was announced that a competitor, the Boston Market, would acquire the Chattanooga Roasters. The Hixson location on Highway 153 was a Boston Market for a short time before being converted to a Schlotzsky’s sandwich shop. It lasted a few years, and the building is now being converted to a new business yet to be announced. The Brainerd Road site is now the Flowerama florist shop.
Whatever became of Kenny Rogers Roasters? The brand name is currently owned by Nathan’s Famous, Inc. In addition to the hot dog chain of that name, the company owns the brands Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips and Miami Subs. According to the company’s Web site, Roasters has locations in 6 states, with the store closest to Chattanooga being in the Birmingham, Alabama area. The chain also operates in 10 foreign countries. Whatever became of Kenny Rogers himself? He is one of the few entertainers to have had hit songs in five consecutive decades, and this month, performed in a concert in Jamaica.
If you have memories of Kenny Rogers Roasters or Kenny’s concerts in Chattanooga, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net. I hope that this article has appealed to those of you like me, who always wished that history classes would cover the more recent years. The school year seemed to end before we got to those chapters.