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Sign post of newly opened KFC fast food restaurant
Colonel Sanders remains the face of KFC close to 50 years after his death, as the brand’s logo features the visage of its founder along with his iconic bow tie. One of those accessories is being sold at auction, and the listing features a very surprising detail concerning his neckwear preferences.
Fried chicken is a staple of Southern cuisine, and its popularity in that part of the United States can primarily be traced back to the slaves who introduced the cooking techniques they harnessed in Africa before introducing them to the country they were forcibly transported to.
Over time, it became a popular offering across America and eventually around the world, and it’s hard to discuss that growth without talking about Harland “Colonel” Sanders, the man who built a fast food empire on the back of his Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Sanders was a serial entrepreneur who started serving his signature chicken (along with other fare) out of a gas station in North Corbin, Kentucky in the 1930s. It quickly became a prime destination for hungry locals and travelers alike, and it helped him earn the title that became a core part of his identity when the state’s governor declared him a “Kentucky Colonel” in 1935.
He gradually transformed that outpost into a sizable restaurant, and in 1952, he decided to branch out by franchising the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand that was built on the foundation of the 11 secret herbs and spices that comprised his “Original Recipe.”
Sanders spent the next few decades watching the brand transform into a fast food empire before passing away in 1980 at the age of 90, and he is still the mascot of the massive chain that currently boasts more than 30,000 locations around the globe.
He also had a signature “costume” that involved a white suit and a black bow tie, and one of the latter is being sold at an auction that revealed some unexpected information.
You can buy a bow tie that belonged to Colonel Sanders, who apparently preferred to rock clip-ons
Sanders started to lean into his trademark aesthetic when he was recommissioned as a Kentucky Colonel in 1950, as he grew out his goatee while adopting the suit and bow tie combo that was essentially his uniform whenever he appeared in public as KFC continued to grow.
According to WLKY, fans of Sanders and the restaurant he founded have the chance to scoop up some memorabilia in an auction that’s currently being conducted by The Menish Group, which is linked to the sale of Backwood Hall and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, the compound where The Colonel and his family lived and operated an independent restaurant after he sold KFC to an investment group in 1964.
The highlight of the lot is easily one of Sanders’ bow ties, which is packaged with a pair of his suspenders.
I personally had an (admittedly weird) mental image of the founder putting on his suit each morning before standing in front of a mirror to make sure his bow tie was done perfectly, but in a fairly shocking twist, it turns out he preferred to go with a clip-on (a choice the listing says is “a practical detail that reflects the everyday reality behind one of the most recognizable public figures in American business history”).
Bidding started at $200 and has risen to $400 as of this writing, and it will be interesting to see how high that number climbs by the time the auction wraps up on July 28th.