Nostalgic Restaurant Series #11 - PO' FOLKS

From over 100 locations in 17 states to 5 locations in Florida, here is the Po' Folks' story:

Founded in 1975 in Anderson, South Carolina by Malcolm Hare, the American family restaurant chain's name was inspired by the 1961 song of the same name by Bill Anderson.

In 1982, Krystal acquired the chain and continued the expansion that reached 102 locations in 1984. Krystal then merged Po' Folks with DavCo, a division of Krystal that franchised Wendy's locations. As the concept lost its luster and sales went with it, the chain filed for bankruptcy in 1988. 

Side note: Burt Reynolds was an investor in the 1980's and lost $20M in his Po' Folks venture.

Several franchisees in Atlanta, Georgia kept operating under the Folks Southern Kitchen name until the pandemic sealed their fate in 2020. There are currently five Po' Folks locations left in the United States which were purchased from the 1988 liquidation. These can be found in Callaway, Lynn Haven, Niceville, Pensacola and St. Petersburg, Florida.