Pop quiz, what’s the best way to bribe a normally well behaved but cripplingly trypanophobic youth into cooperating with immunizations?

Candy?

Ice Cream?

Toys?

Yeah right. I can proudly say my wants were not so provincial, even then. Oh but I did have my weakness, and my mother knew it all too well. A chicken dinner from Druthers? SOLD.

Fast forward a few years, and I bet most of my contemporaries from Morehead will have similar memories to my own – like walking over from middle school to grab some “Crispens” for $0.59. Not even Long John Silver’s had the audacity to charge you half a dollar for leftover grease scraped out of the fryolator. No, only Druther’s could be so bold.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. Starting in 1989 and continuing through 1992 nearly every Druther’s restaurant was converted to Dairy Queen or shut down outright, and at least for most of us Druther’s disappeared off the map. An interesting note is that the Druther’s holding company (Druther’s Systems Inc.) never went anywhere and in fact retained ownership of most converted locations until the mid nighties.

In any case, a few of the franchise owners (mostly in central/western Kentucky) purchased their respective locations from Druther’s Systems and continued to operate. Sadly though, only one of these independent operations remains: The Campbellsville Druther’s.

After learning all of this, I had long decided a pilgrimage should be made, and today seemed good as any. I’d just as soon forget the last few weeks, and what better to clear one’s mind than a road trip?

What I found was a throwback that isn’t just holding on, but going strong. The staff was openly amused by my touristy antics, and as I sat down to eat the manager even came out to meet me – he was quite curious to hear my “Druther’s Story”. He went on to explain that quite a few people come from far off places just to visit the last Druther’s hold out. How cool is that? It also makes one wonder why Druther’s Systems was so willing to throw a great business model away. By all appearances it had worked fine all the way back to the days of Burger Queen (Druther’s original name FYI). Guess we’ll never know.

For those who have never been to a Druther’s, I lack the writing acumen to really bring such an oddity to life. Instead I would best describe it as a bizarre melding of your favorite breakfast spot, a local greasy spoon, and KFC. It’s neither sit down nor fast food, occupying an odd niche in between. Throwing out the nostalgia filter, is it really worth a two-hour trip? For most people I’d probably say no. Still, the food was good, the service excellent and were a Druther’s nearby I would certainly frequent it often. It’s definitely worth a one time visit for memory sake, or to try something unique on a weekend afternoon. They will certainly be seeing more of me. Two thumbs up for simple pleasures!

Druhter’s Restaurant
101 North Columbia Ave.
Campbellsville Ky 42718