Seniors!
Remember to ask at any KFC for a 'Senior Discount'.
Not all of them have it but those who do give either 10% off or a free drink.
If you don't ask you don't get.
Freys’ chicken: Meet owners of Marietta’s most famous landmark
Some families pass down jewelry from generation to generation. Others hand down furniture or fine china.
But what if your beloved family heirloom is an iconic 56-foot-tall chicken?
That’s life for Ralph Frey and June Littlepage, who respectively own two-thirds and one-third of Marietta’s famous landmark and navigational aid, the Big Chicken.
Ralph Frey’s parents, John Steve Frey Sr. and Lena Bentley Frey purchased the land in around 1946. When they died, the property went to Ralph Frey and his two now-deceased siblings.
Littlepage is Ralph Frey’s niece and inherited her stake from her mother, Frey’s sister.
Ralph Frey, his wife Nan Frey and Littlepage met with the MDJ in the KFC outside the Big Chicken before its grand re-opening set for May 11.
The family takes great pride in the Big Chicken and in their family history. Littlepage and Nan Frey came to the meeting with two gigantic scrapbooks full of family photos and newspaper clippings about the famous bird.
One was an old comic strip from the MDJ featuring two swimsuit-clad cartoon beauties. One standing in front of a beach was labeled “California Girls.” The other, standing in front of the Big Chicken, was labeled “Marietta Girls.”
“This was my girlfriend back in my younger days,” Ralph Frey said, pointing at the Marietta girl.
Nan Frey let out a good-natured scoff.
“I have never been a blonde,” she said, smiling.When the Big Chicken was built, its accompanying restaurant was not KFC, but a place called Johnny Reb’s Chick Chuck and Shake.
Littlepage said the first restaurant to occupy the space was a Zesto ice cream shop in the 1950s. Back then, the area was far less developed than it is now.
“It was such a change,” Littlepage said. “The original building was $5,000 on the original site of the Big Chicken. Isn’t it amazing? Cobb County has just grown so much.”
When John Steve Frey Sr. bought the Big Chicken property around 1946, there was only a small house on it that was worth about $300 at the time.
The senior Frey left a large legacy in Cobb County. In addition to the Big Chicken property, he also owned the land that would become Kennesaw State University and the home of Kennesaw’s famous locomotive, “The General.”
Sara “Billie” Skelton Bozeman Frey was John Steve Frey Sr.’s second wife, whom he married after his first wife died. Sara Frey, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, receives a quarter of the profits made by the Big Chicken.
As the family spoke about the bird’s history, Ralph Frey pulled out his phone and brought up a clip of the game show Jeopardy! that featured a question about the Big Chicken.
A photo of the massive clucker was shown with the words Kentucky Fried Chicken covered up. The contestants were asked which fast food franchise the bird belonged to.
A contestant immediately buzzed in and answered correctly, earning $800 for her knowledge.
“She got it just like that,” Ralph Frey said with a grin. “I thought that was pretty good.”
If the Big Chicken is featured on any game shows in the future, it will have a new facade, and the KFC below it is being spruced up as well.
As the Freys talked to the MDJ, workers were busy adding new decorations to the restaurant’s interior.
Littlepage said KFC approached the family about the remodel when it came time to renew the lease on the facilities, and they were happy to sign off on the changes.
“It was in need of a remodel,” Littlepage said. “It was just time. 1993 to 2017, that’s a while since the last real big remodel.”
Ralph Frey said KFC is giving many of its restaurants a new look as part of a branding plan, but the Big Chicken will remain unique. The family has gotten to see the plans for the new look, and Littlepage said they like what they have seen.
“We love the whole thing, it’s just so gorgeous,” she said. “We’re excited.”
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May 7, 2017 - 5:31 PM
MARIETTA, Ga. - It has been closed down for the past 12 weeks, but “The Big Chicken” in Marietta is set to reopen Thursday. The Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that sits along Cobb Parkway has been under renovation. The restaurant is getting some updates, including a new patio and separate screened-in porch, both of which will total about 55 extra seats.
The Big Chicken sign has also been touched up. The 56-foot-tall chicken was erected in 1963. In 1974, KFC took over and considered tearing down the bird structure after high winds damaged it in 1993. But the people squawked and convinced the the fast-food chain to repair instead of it tear down.
The project is part of an overhaul of all KFC locations the company owns in metro Atlanta, and it has done about 50 so far, said Mike Kulp, CEO of KBP Investments, which owns The Big Chicken and 60 other Kentucky Fried Chicken locations in metro Atlanta. Kulp said the space hasn’t spread its wings in 20 years and was “an image we felt was a little tired.”
