Property, artifacts from Colonel and Claudia Sanders are going on auction
Collectors, historians and any enthusiast of Colonel Harland Sanders will get a chance to bid on a piece of his collection this month.
On July 28, a collection of nearly 100 of Colonel Sanders’ personal and professional artifacts will be brought to sale, including two properties in Shelbyville forever tied to the history of the global franchise.
The auction will be held at the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, the place where the Sanders couple lived and worked. The location itself will be an item in the auction.
The dinner house and Blackwood Hall, the Sanders’ home for nearly 25 years and headquarters for Kentucky Fried Chicken before its sale, will be accepting sealed bids for purchase.
At their house, the Sanders would host franchise owners of KFC from around the world to share cooking techniques, hospitality expectations and business practices. The sale of the properties also includes assets that have built a historic Kentucky destination.
In acquiring the properties, the buyer will become the operator existing businesses, such as the restaurant and gift store. With the purchase of the 3.01 acres of commercial real estate, furniture, fixtures and equipment, intellectual property and trademark rights, goodwill and related assets are included, according to The Menish Group, which is handling the sale.
Since the 1974 purchase of both the house and the Claudia Sanders Dinner House, the artifacts have been preserved by the Settle Family.
“These are not items assembled by a collector,” said Bill Menish, owner and managing director of The Menish Group, in a statement. “They are artifacts preserved by the family who purchased the Colonel’s home and business directly from Colonel and Claudia Sanders more than fifty years ago. Together they tell a story few people have ever had the opportunity to see.”
Several significant items will be available, including Colonel Sanders’ personal planner, correspondence between him and U.S. presidents, handwritten recipes, awards and more.
According to the auction group, the restaurant will remain open and operating as planned throughout the sale process.
A timeline for those interested in the auction is available online, detailing preview dates, bidding instructions and sealed bid deadlines.
