{"id":5366,"date":"2013-10-06T22:30:57","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T02:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.caskeys.com\/dc\/?p=5366"},"modified":"2017-06-09T10:55:27","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T14:55:27","slug":"lets-explore-druthers-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.caskeys.com\/dc\/lets-explore-druthers-restaurant\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Explore – Druther’s Restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pop quiz, what’s the best way to bribe a normally well behaved but cripplingly trypanophobic youth into cooperating with immunizations?<\/p>\n

Candy?<\/p>\n

Ice Cream?<\/p>\n

Toys?<\/p>\n

Yeah right. I can proudly say my wants were not so provincial, even then. Oh but I did have my weakness, and my mother knew it all too well. A chicken dinner from Druthers? SOLD.<\/p>\n

Fast forward a few years, and I bet most of my contemporaries from Morehead will have similar memories to my own – like walking over from middle school to grab some “Crispens” for $0.59. Not even Long John Silver’s had the audacity to charge you half a dollar for leftover grease scraped out of the fryolator. No, only Druther’s could be so bold.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. Starting in 1989 and continuing through 1992 nearly every Druther’s<\/a> restaurant was converted to Dairy Queen or shut down outright, and at least for most of us\u00a0Druther’s<\/a> disappeared off the map. An interesting note is that the\u00a0Druther’s<\/a> holding company (Druther’s<\/a> Systems Inc.) never went anywhere and in fact retained ownership of most converted locations until the mid nighties.<\/p>\n

In any case, a few of the franchise owners (mostly in central\/western Kentucky) purchased their respective locations from\u00a0Druther’s<\/a> Systems and continued to operate. Sadly though, only one of these independent operations remains: The Campbellsville Druther’s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After learning all of this, I had long decided a pilgrimage should be made, and today seemed good as any. I’d just as soon forget the last few weeks, and what better to clear one’s mind than a road trip?<\/p>\n

What I found was a throwback that isn’t just holding on, but going strong. The staff was openly amused by my touristy antics, and as I sat down to eat the manager even came out to meet me – he was quite curious to hear my “Druther’s<\/a> Story”. He went on to explain that quite a few people come from far off places just to visit the last\u00a0Druther’s<\/a> hold out. How cool is that? It also makes one wonder why\u00a0Druther’s<\/a> Systems was so willing to throw a great business model away. By all appearances it had worked fine all the way back to the days of Burger Queen (Druther’s<\/a> original name FYI). Guess we’ll never know.<\/p>\n

For those who have never been to a Druther’s<\/a>, I lack the writing acumen to really bring such an oddity to life. Instead I would best describe it as a bizarre melding of your favorite breakfast spot, a local greasy spoon, and KFC. It’s neither sit down nor fast food, occupying an odd niche in between. Throwing out the nostalgia filter, is it really worth a two-hour trip? For most people I’d probably say no. Still, the food was good, the service excellent and were a\u00a0Druther’s<\/a> nearby I would certainly frequent it often. It’s definitely worth a one time visit for memory sake, or to try something unique on a weekend afternoon. They will certainly be seeing more of me. Two thumbs up for simple pleasures!<\/p>\n

Druhter’s Restaurant
\n101 North Columbia Ave.<\/a>
\nCampbellsville Ky 42718<\/p>\n