KFC is the latest big company to move its headquarters to North Texas — here’s why
An iconic fried chicken brand is moving its headquarters to North Texas.
Fortune 500 company Yum! Brands will move workers from its KFC U.S. corporate headquarters in Louisville, Ky. to the KFC and Pizza Hut Global headquarters in Plano over the next six months, according to a news release. All U.S-based remote workers will also be asked to relocate to Plano. Over the next 18 months, about 190 KFC employees will move to D-FW.
The office is located at 7100 Corporate Drive.
The Louisville location will continue to operate as corporate offices for KFc’s philanthropy organization, KFC Foundation.
Texas is currently home to the headquarters of 52 Fortune 500 companies (the top 500 companies that lead in revenue in the U.S.). After California, which has 57 Fortune 500 HQs, New York and Texas tie for second place.
Adding KFC will put Texas at 53 headquarters in the state. North Texas is home to 21 of those, including AT&T, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
KFC operates over 30,000 restaurants in 150 different countries. There are 324 KFC franchises in Texas, and seven in Fort Worth.
About Yum! Brands’ KFC
KFC was started in Kentucky, and the restaurant has deep ties to the state. After all, the Kentucky state flag flew at half-staff when KFC’s founder Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, died.
Though Colonel Sanders started making his famous fried chicken in Kentucky, the first KFC franchise started in Salt Lake City. There are 114 KFC restaurants in Kentucky.
The brand permanently switched its name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC in 1991, as a way to sound healthier.
The New York Times reported that Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear was sad to hear that KFC was leaving.
“This company’s name starts with Kentucky, and it has marketed our state’s heritage and culture in the sale of its product. My hope is that the company will rethink moving Kentucky Fried Chicken employees out of Kentucky,” he said in a statement.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, on the other hand, was ready for KFC to become TFC.
“Now, and hear me out, any chance you would consider a name like Texas Fried Chicken or TFC?” he posted to X on Feb. 19.
Yum! Brands also owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger and Grill. Pizza Hut is already headquartered in Plano, while Taco Bell and The Habit are based in Irvine, Calif.
Yum! Brands will honor KFC’s deep ties to the Bluegrass state by providing e a $1 million endowment to the College of Business at the University of Louisville for brand sponsored scholarships, according to a news release.
The bigger picture
It is becoming more familiar to see Fortune 500 companies move to Texas.
The Lone Star state’s economy is booming, with a net worth of $1.9 trillion, according to Forbes. The economy fosters a business-friendly environment, and there is no state income tax.
Chevron announced in August that it will move its headquarters from San Ramon, Calif. To Houston over the next five years.
Also in August, Elon Musk moved the headquarters of his social media platform, X, from San Francisco to Bastrop, Texas. He also officially moved SpaceX from Delaware to Starbase, Texas in December.
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp parent company Meta is also in the talks of moving its legal headquarters out of Delaware, with one possibility of its new home being Texas.
There are also plans for a Texas Stock Exchange (a reincorporation of the NYSE Chicago) , which will be in downtown Dallas.