{"id":13855,"date":"2022-09-09T13:54:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T17:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/library\/?p=13855"},"modified":"2022-09-09T13:54:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T17:54:00","slug":"special-collections-exhibit-home-grown-in-chattanooga-90-years-of-krystal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/library\/2022\/09\/09\/special-collections-exhibit-home-grown-in-chattanooga-90-years-of-krystal\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Collections Exhibit – “Home-Grown in Chattanooga: 90 Years of Krystal”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Krystal Combo photograph with crop lines, ca. 1982. (All photos in this post courtesy of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Krystal, the Southern fast-food chain with small square burgers, was founded ninety years ago here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the midst of the Great Depression. It\u2019s one of the oldest fast-food restaurants in the United States. Krystal restaurant signs continue to dot Chattanooga streets today.<\/p>\n

To mark the anniversary, Special Collections has opened a new exhibit, \u201cHome-grown in Chattanooga: 90 Years of Krystal, 1932-2022 \u2013 Selections from the Krystal records and memorabilia<\/i> collection.\u201d The exhibit is on view in the Andrew Roth Grand Reading Room on the fourth floor of the Library through December 9, 2022.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The original Krystal building on Seventh and Cherry Streets. The restaurant was started by entrepreneurs Rody Davenport Jr. and J. Glenn Sherrill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The very first Krystal restaurant \u2013 conceived as a clean place to get hot food at inexpensive prices \u2013 opened on October 24, 1932, in a 10-by-25-foot building on the corner of Seventh and Cherry Streets in Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Krystal spread to eleven states, trying out many new logos, food items, restaurant designs, and marketing campaigns as the times changed.<\/p>\n

The company moved its headquarters from Chattanooga to the Atlanta, Georgia, area in 2013. That same year, the Krystal company donated its records to UTC. The Krystal Company Endowed Scholarship, awarded to entrepreneurship majors at the Rollins College of Business<\/a>, also stems from this partnership.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
People wearing Krystal Kritters mascot costumes (walrus, monkey, and hippo) in an undated photo. The Kritters were introduced in 1973.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Krystal employee handbook, ca. 1960s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Materials in the Krystal records and memorabilia collection<\/i> date from 1932-2013 and include business records, newspaper clippings, the Krystal Gazer<\/i> and other company newsletters, mascot costumes, uniforms, toys and merchandise, photographs, film, and numerous other advertising resources. On display in the exhibit you can see a sample of these materials highlighting the history of the company, such as a 1930s to-go hamburger sack (the logo then was \u201cTake Along a Sack Full\u201d), an early black-and-white uniform, and 1970s Krystal Kritters dolls.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The story goes that the name \u201cKrystal\u201d got its start after founder Rody Davenport\u2019s wife, Mary, spied a crystal-ball lawn ornament and suggested the new establishment would be \u201cclean as a crystal.\u201d The crystal ball motif was used in subsequent restaurant designs and logos, including the logo introduced in 1982, the year of Krystal’s fiftieth anniversary (see photo at right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bulk of the collection is not on display. Special Collections is currently processing the materials in order to make them available to researchers. In the meantime, or if you aren\u2019t able to visit physically, check out our digitized issues of the Krystal Gazer <\/i><\/a>for more background about the restaurant and its development within the American fast-food landscape.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A Krystal restaurant exterior, 1982, with a sign advertising “our new salad bar.” Although Krystal’s headquarters moved to Atlanta in 2013, “The home and emotional center of the brand will always be in Chattanooga,” said Krystal CEO Doug Pendergast in an October 18, 2012 Nation’s Restaurant News<\/em><\/a> interview discussing the reasons for the relocation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Krystal, the Southern fast-food chain with small square burgers, was founded ninety years ago here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the midst of the Great Depression. It\u2019s one of the oldest fast-food restaurants in the United States. Krystal restaurant signs continue to dot Chattanooga streets today. To mark the anniversary, Special Collections has opened a new… <\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1811,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4922],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13855","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-special-collections","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"yoast_head":"\nSpecial Collections Exhibit - "Home-Grown in Chattanooga: 90 Years of Krystal" - UTC Library Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/library\/2022\/09\/09\/special-collections-exhibit-home-grown-in-chattanooga-90-years-of-krystal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Special Collections Exhibit - "Home-Grown in Chattanooga: 90 Years of Krystal" - UTC Library Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Krystal, the Southern fast-food chain with small square burgers, was founded ninety years ago here in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the midst of the Great Depression. 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