The new owners of De Soto’s KFC restaurant wanted all their chickens in a row before having their official grand opening.
Even though Cathy and Ed Boyer of De Soto took over the restaurant at 12961 Hwy. 21 in June, they did not have their grand opening ceremony until Tuesday (Feb. 21).
“We wanted to make sure we had our team in line and had the store in the tip-top shape,” Cathy Boyer said.
The Boyers purchased the restaurant from Ernie Flotow, who retired, Cathy Boyer said. She said Flotow owned a number of KFC restaurants, including a now-closed location in Crystal City, but the Boyers only purchased the De Soto location.
For the Boyers, who own E.A. Boyer Building & Design, it is their first venture into the restaurant business.
“My husband actually built the store (in 2005) and other Kentucky Fried Chicken stores or renovated them for Mr. Flotow, so he’s known Ernie for a long time,” Boyer said. “Mr. Flotow approached my husband to see if he had any interest. So, we thought we’d give it a try.”
So far, so good, she said.
“We’re pleased with our team and everything seems to be going well,” she said.
The restaurant has three full-time workers among its 22 employees.
They said they are interested in opening a new KFC in the Festus area.
“We’ve been talking about opening one in Festus, but there are no set plans yet,” Boyer said.
She said a project she and her husband are enthused about is the Food Donation Connection Harvest Program, an effort of restaurants around the United States and Canada to donate leftover food to local community programs.
The De Soto KFC is donating to the De Soto Food Pantry. Most of the donated food has been chicken and biscuits, she said, although the restaurant has included other menu items.
“We’ve donated to the De Soto Food Pantry for about six months and they tell us how much it helps,” she said. “I’m hoping by getting this in the paper it will stimulate some interest in the program from other restaurants.”
--Kevin Carbery
