Guthrie’s is a fast-casual restaurant chain known for pioneering the chicken finger meal concept in the United States. Founded in 1965 by Hal Guthrie in Haleyville, Alabama, the restaurant began as a typical Southern diner serving a wide array of items. However, in the early 1980s, the Guthrie family made a pivotal business decision
that would define their brand and help shape a new niche in the fast-food industry: they streamlined the menu to focus almost exclusively on chicken fingers.
By 1982, their Auburn, Alabama location had introduced what they called the first-ever “chicken finger box,” a straightforward combination of hand-breaded chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, coleslaw, and Guthrie’s signature dipping sauce.
Hal realized that he had to have a delicious, totally irresistible dipping sauce to accompany his perfectly golden fried chicken fingers. He held a contest among his younger children, Hud, Joe Kelly and Anna Margaret, to see who could create the best sauce. Hud’s sauce won. Little did they know that this sauce would make restaurant industry history.
This simplified menu and consistent product quality created a unique identity for Guthrie’s and attracted a loyal customer base, particularly among college students. The chain began expanding across the Southeastern United States, especially near college towns and high-traffic roadside areas. Their no-frills, high-quality approach
served as an early model for other chicken finger chains that would emerge later, most notably Raising Cane’s, which was founded in 1996 with a concept similar in both style and substance. Guthrie’s menu remains minimalist, which is part of its appeal. The focus is on their chicken fingers,
which are freshly prepared and cooked to order, along with the core box components and the proprietary sauce, which is a tangy, slightly spicy blend often compared to Zaxby’s or Cane’s sauces. They also offer individual chicken fingers, sandwiches, and family meals, but the core philosophy of doing one thing extremely well has never changed.
They realized that a large portion of our sales were the chicken fingers. So sometime in the summer or fall of 1982, we became the world’s first chicken finger-only restaurant.
Joe Kelly Guthrie
Their success lies in their commitment to consistency—each Guthrie’s location sticks closely to the original recipe and preparation methods, which preserves the brand’s identity across its dozens of restaurants. As of 2025, Guthrie’s operates more than 50 locations, primarily in the Southeastern states like Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi,
and Tennessee, with newer outlets expanding into other parts of the South and Midwest. The company remains family-owned and operated, a rarity in an era dominated by franchise giants and corporate buyouts. This independence has allowed Guthrie’s to maintain tight control over its brand and quality standards.
From Auburn (opened 1965), Guthrie’s expanded to Athens, Ga. in 1982, and then to Tallahassee, Fla., and later to Tuscaloosa, sprouting up in college towns with hungry students on a budget. Today, the chain has 30 stores open or about to open in six states. The Athens location was the first ever drive-thru chicken finger restaurant.
A bit of trivia underscores Guthrie’s cultural footprint: it was the first restaurant to devote its entire concept to chicken fingers, predating similar chains by over a decade. Its Auburn location,
which debuted the chicken finger-only menu, is considered legendary among alumni and locals, often cited as a rite of passage for students. Fans of the chain often rank the Guthrie’s sauce among the best in the business, and the brand enjoys a nostalgic loyalty that helps it weather competition from larger, flashier fast-food entities.
Further Reading
Sources
- Guthrie’s Chicken “America’s Original Chicken Finger Restaurant” https://guthrieschicken.com/
- Wikipedia “Guthrie’s” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guthrie’s
