My 22-year-old son likes Popeyes, but only vaguely knows the cartoon character of the same name. (The chicken chain is actually named after Popeye Doyle, the character from “The French Connection,” not the spinach-eating sailor).
He’s also unfamiliar with a number of other celebrities who have lent their names to chicken chains, including Roy Rogers, Kenny Rogers, and Roger Clemens.
He does, however, know Yogi Bear, despite the cartoon character having a much lower profile in 2026 than he did during his 1970s and 1980s heyday. And while he may not be familiar with Mr. Bear’s penchant for stealing “pic-a-nic” baskets and wearing a tie, my son does have some knowledge of the character’s existence.
Neither of us, however, has ever eaten at Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken, a fried chicken chain that flourished for a brief period.
South Carolina restaurateur Eugene Broome founded the chain in 1968, developing the Honey Fried Chicken concept and building a themed restaurant chain around it, according to Atlas Obscura.
After being turned down by Jackie Gleason, Broome licensed Yogi Bear and his friends from cartoon giants Hanna-Barbera.
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“The new restaurant’s theme included a roadside neon sign representing a big, smiling Yogi Bear holding a chicken leg. Customers could choose between two-piece Boo-Boo Baskets, three-piece Cindy Bear Baskets, nine-piece Picnic Baskets (“pic-a-nic,” as Yogi would pronounce it), or 21-piece Jellystone Baskets, along with sides and desserts,” Atlas Obscura shared.
At the time, mascots and celebrity restaurants were a novel idea.
“The marketing choice, albeit a bit of a leap of faith, really took off, and the chain eventually expanded to over 20 locations,” according to Food Republic.
Sometimes a bigger chain buys a rival, aiming to edge out its growing competitor. This strategy does not always work out, however.
When Hardee’s bought Yogi Bear’s Honey Fried Chicken, it wasn’t doing so to scale up the rising chain.
“Hardee’s caught on and wanted a piece of the action, buying the company for $1 million in 1968 — a sum equivalent to roughly $9.2 million today. Unfortunately, it became clear that Hardee’s was primarily interested in owning the signature recipe rather than expanding the franchise,” Food Republic reported.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source finance.yahoo.com ’
