Hartz Chicken (also known as Hartz Chicken Buffet and Hartz Krispy Chicken 'N' Rolls) is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken. The company supplies more than 60 locations in Texas, mostly around the Houston metropolitan area, and Malaysia, as well as one restaurant in Shreveport, LA.
History
W. Lawrence Hartzog Sr.,[1] who was a friend of Colonel Sanders of KFC, started Hartz Chicken under Hartzog Inc. in 1972.[1][2] He opened a total of 45 units, 13 of which were company owned and 32 of which were franchised, in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
In 1964, Hartzog opened the first Hart's Fried Chicken store in Mobile, AL. In 1972, he sold all of his KFC stores, bakeries, and his restaurant equipment company to the KFC parent company. Due to competition between Hart's stores and KFC franchise stores in Mobile, Wayne Johnson, Hartzog's brother-in-law and the Vice President of restaurant operations for his company, bought the Mobile operation from the KFC parent company.