Country Kitchen stated with a vision that a young boy had by the name of Bill Johnson.  When Bill was 14 years old, he left home and headed to Cincinnati.  He was hired to work at a hamburger stand and in 1939 Bill and his friend Bill Goodman put together everything they had, $400, and made a down payment on some restaurant equipment.  They found an empty storefront and opened a restaurant.  The sign out front said “Country Kitchen” and they began to serve hamburgers for a nickel and steak sandwiches for a dime.  Three years later they opened a second Country Kitchen and as word spread they opened even more locations.  In 1958 Bill began offering franchises to those that were interested.  Charles M. Myers purchased the company from Carlson Companies, Inc. in 1997 and the Country Kitchen brand is still very successful today.

Country Kitchen was founded on nickel hamburgers and dime steak sandwiches, but the menu has grown tremendously over the years.  They now serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert along with a portion of their breakfast menu being available any time of the day.  They have a variety of sandwiches, entrees, omelets, pancake platters, and more.  They still serve a variety of burgers and steak sandwiches, but they have much more on their menu and they are no longer just a nickel or a dime.

Country Kitchen offers both single unit restaurant franchises and multi-unit agreements.  The initial franchise fee is $40,000 for one restaurant and they do give a discount for those that wish to open more than one unit.  All franchisees must have a net worth of at least $300,000 and at least half of that money must be in liquid assets.  They charge a 4% royalty fee and they charge 1% of sales for advertising.  They also encourage all franchisees to spend at least 3% of sales on local marketing.  It is also required that all franchisees along with one manage and two assistant managers complete a 6 to 10 week training program before the franchise can be opened.