'Neglected' Yellowknife KFC to fly the coop, shut down in August

The Yellowknife Kentucky Fried Chickenis flying the coop this August. The popularchicken restaurantwillcloseits doorson Aug. 23,exactly 47 years after it first opened in 1968.

Matthew Jason, who runs the local franchise with his sister, Sasha, and his mom, Gabi, says the move comes after years of "headaches" and frustrations with KFC corporate headquarters. The Jason family has owned the Yellowknife location since it first opened.

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"It seems like the franchise [headquarters] themselves are just getting worse and worse to deal with, and you know, it's just not worthwhile for us," he told CBC News.

"Talking to them was just so frustrating. At one point, they didn't even realize what was actually at our location.Like, they thought we had a drive-thru and this and that, which is, you know, a little bit ridiculous...that just goes to showhow neglected you getbeing up here in the north."

Thefamily has tried to sell the franchisefor several years, but Jason says KFC has strict regulations about who runs theirrestaurants. He says KFC turned downall of the people who were interested in buying the Yellowknife location.

With their franchise agreement up in August, the family'sonly options were to renew or close downentirely.Jason says renewing would have meant dealing with unfeasiblenew regulations, like moving to a new locationwhich could havea drive-thru.

"We really didn't feel like we were given any support [from corporate] at all. And that's not really a good feeling."

Calls to KFC's corporate offices have not been returned.

Among the top performing KFCs in Canada

KFCwas the first fast food chain to open in Yellowknife. It's become a "staple" of Yellowknife cuisine andgained some ardentfollowers,particularly amongthose who live in the communities.

Up until two years ago, the Yellowknife KFC used to cook and ship large thousandpiece orders to weddings and funerals in the remote northern communitiesand as far away asNunavut.

Jason says the Yellowknife location hasconsistentlybeen in the top 10 of the best performing KFC franchises in the country.

"It's definitely profitable,it's just, you know, it depends on what you stand for," he said."We just didn't feel that [the]products and the direction that KFC was taking was a direction we wanted to go in. Like, we did not see eye to eye."

Despite thefamily dynasty,Jason says he won't miss much about the KFC when it closes in August. Though he loves KFC'sSpicy Big Crunch sandwich, he says he can get his fix whenever he goes south.

But he realizesthat theclosing of the Colonelmay come as a shock for some.

"Oh man, I wouldn't be surprised if there's people, you know, like showing up on my doorstep with pitchforks and torches," he said, laughing.

"I mean a lot of people don't do well with change, especially something that huge, and it's a huge change for a small town. And not only this town, other communities as well."

Jason says they will be renovating the property and will open a new restaurant in late 2015. It will be calledthe Lenny Burger, named after his father and the former KFC franchise owner.

Do you have any 'epic' KFC stories you'd like to share? Did you get chickenshipped a far distance? We're collecting KFC memories. Please share yours with haydn.watters@cbc.ca.