When the clock counts down to midnight on New Year’s Eve in Marietta, Ga., it’s not a big ball that’s dropped from on high. It’s a big chicken. Specifically, The Big Chicken.
The Big Chicken, a 56-foot-tall corrugated steel fowl, was built in 1963 to attract diners to Johnny Reb’s Chick, Chuck and Steak. In 1974, the chain—then known as Kentucky Fried Chicken—took over the one and only Big Chicken. In the years since, it’s become a community icon and a navigational beacon in the area. (The city of Marietta even created a Big Chicken Snapchat filter.)
In May, KFC franchisee KBP Foods, which runs about 450 of the fried chicken quick serves around the country and purchased the Big Chicken store in 2011, completed its $2.2 million remodel of The Big Chicken, in the hopes of turning the city landmark into a full-blown tourist destination. The Big Chicken serves KFC’s regular menu (plus some premium soft drinks).
“Before we remodeled, it performed better than a regular KFC,” says Anthony Gianino, KBP’s vice president of marketing, noting the roadside attraction factor. “Now, it performs considerably better than a regular KFC. It’s one of the higher-volume [units] in the country.” (KPB won’t release sales figures, but KFC reported average unit volume of nearly $1.1 million in 2016.)