The Krystal Company

What The Krystal Company does

The Krystal Company is a privately held quick-service restaurant chain headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, that operates and franchises restaurants primarily in the Southeastern United States. Founded in 1932 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by Rody Davenport Jr. and J. Glenn Sherrill, the company is best known for its signature square-shaped slider (the Krystal) served on a steamed bun with diced onions, mustard, and a dill pickle slice. As of the most recent location data, Krystal operates 266 restaurants across 11 states, with concentration in Georgia (90), Tennessee (68), Alabama (42), Florida (28), and Mississippi (23). The firmographics summary references approximately 360 total units; the two figures were not reconciled in source material.

Krystal operates through a hybrid company-owned and franchise model, having launched its Krystal Kwik franchising program in 1990 with a double drive-thru format. Revenue is generated from company-operated restaurant sales, franchise fees and royalties, catering via an EZcater integration, and digital ordering through the Krystal mobile app and the OLO online ordering platform. The customer-facing technology stack includes a Punchh-powered loyalty program (Club Krystal, with 10 points per $1 spent and free food rewards starting at 500 points), a gamified promotional platform (Krystalpalooza with scratch-off prizes), and SMS marketing. The company's brand heritage is substantial — over 10 billion Krystals sold cumulatively as of October 2021 — and it is owned by Argonne Capital (acquired October 2012 for $175 million) under the holding entity SBP Hospitality LLC, with Krystal itself acquiring SPB Hospitality on April 27, 2023 in a corporate restructuring.

Name

The Krystal Company

Legal name

The Krystal Company

Website

https://krystal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Krystal Company is a privately held quick-service restaurant chain operating 266 locations across 11 Southeastern U.S. states, serving individual consumers with signature square-shaped sliders through company-owned and franchise restaurants, digital ordering, and catering channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dunwoody

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Company-Owned Restaurant Sales: Revenue generated from 243 company-owned restaurants selling food and beverages directly to consumers through dine-in, drive-thru, and pickup channels.
2. Franchise Fees and Royalties: Revenue from franchise-operated locations through initial franchise fees and ongoing royalty payments. Krystal launched its first franchising opportunity in 1990 with the Krystal Kwik program.
3. Delivery and Catering Services: Revenue from third-party delivery orders placed through OLO platform and catering orders through EZcater partnership.
4. Loyalty Program Engagement: The Club Krystal loyalty program drives customer engagement and repeat purchases through points accumulation and reward redemption.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Krystal Company operates and franchises approximately 360 quick-service hamburger restaurants across the Southeastern United States, selling small square steamed-bun slider burgers, cheese variants, chicken sandwiches, sides, and flavored fountain beverages. Customers can order dine-in, at the drive-thru, via the Krystal mobile app, through the OLO online platform, or via the EZcater catering channel, with the Club Krystal loyalty program powering repeat visits. The chain blends corporate-owned and franchised units under a unified regional brand established in 1932.

Product overview

The Krystal Company is a fast-food restaurant chain operating 266 locations across 12 U.S. states, primarily in the Southeast. The company operates a multi-channel service model including dine-in, drive-thru, delivery, and pickup. The core product portfolio centers on the iconic Krystal slider — a small square hamburger with steamed bun, grilled patty, diced onions, mustard, and dill pickle — available in regular, cheese, and double cheese varieties. The company has expanded its menu to include chicken items (Classic Chik), sides (Chili Cheese Fries), and flavored beverages (Krush'd Soda line). The technology stack includes a mobile app for iOS and Android enabling online ordering, a loyalty program (Club Krystal) with points-based rewards, and a gamified promotion platform (Krystalpalooza) powered by the Punchh marketing platform. Catering services are supported through an EZ Cater integration. The company was founded in 1932 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Club Krystal: The company's loyalty and rewards program where members earn points for purchases and redeem for free food and drinks.
• Krystalpalooza

Products and services

• Krystal Signature Slider The original small square hamburger featuring a steamed bun, grilled patty, diced onions, mustard, and dill pickle; signature item since 1932 and the cornerstone of Krystal's menu.
• Cheese Krystal and Double Cheese Krystal Cheese-topped variants of the signature square slider, available as a single Cheese Krystal and a Double Cheese Krystal.
• Classic Chik Chicken sandwich offering on the Krystal menu, redeemable with 1500 Club Krystal points as part of the company's expanded protein options.
• Chili Cheese Fries Side dish combining fries with chili and cheese, redeemable with 1650 Club Krystal points as a featured menu item in the rewards catalog.
• Krush'd Soda Line of flavored fountain beverages, including the new Strawberry Shortcake Krush'd Soda limited-time offering ordered through krystal.olo.com.
• Krystal Mobile App Official mobile application available on iOS and Android enabling customers to order pickup and delivery, access Club Krystal loyalty rewards, participate in Krystalpalooza promotions, and receive exclusive app-only deals.
• Club Krystal Loyalty Program Rewards program where members earn 10 points per $1 spent, unlock free food rewards starting at 500 points, and receive exclusive deals including a $3 off $12+ new member offer; points expire after 12 months of inactivity.
• Krystal Catering Service Corporate and event catering service enabling large group orders, integrated with the EZcater third-party platform for order management and scheduling.
• Krystal Restaurant Locations Network of 266 fast-food restaurants across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, offering dine-in, drive-thru, delivery, and pickup.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 billion+ Krystals sold over 90+ years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OLOcoreTechnology or IntegrationOLO provides the online ordering platform infrastructure for Krystal's website ordering at krystal.olo.com, enabling pickup and delivery orders through digital channels.
• EZcaterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEZcater serves as Krystal's catering distribution partner, enabling customers to order Krystal food for events and gatherings through the EZcater platform.
• Atlanta BravesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMarketing partnership with the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Customers can score free Krystals when watching Braves games through promotional campaigns.
• PunchhcoreTechnology or IntegrationPunchh provides the digital loyalty platform powering Club Krystal, enabling mobile loyalty rewards, points accumulation, and Krystalpalooza scratch-off ticket distribution through the engagement.us-west.punchh.com platform.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Checkers / Rally's: Value-focused drive-thru burger QSR with roughly 900 locations. Directly comparable to Krystal on price-point, double drive-thru format, and small-format hamburger positioning.
• Whataburger: Regional burger chain concentrated in the South (Texas origins, expanding into the broader Southeast). Comparable regional QSR positioning, though at a different price tier and with a larger-format flagship patty.
• Culver's: Midwest-rooted regional burger chain with strong menu depth (ButterBurgers, custard). Comparable as a privately-held, regional QSR competing with national chains outside its home turf — similar structural dynamic to Krystal in the Southeast.
• White Castle: Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle is the most direct peer to Krystal — both built on small-format square sliders, regional U.S. identity, and heritage branding. Highly comparable on product, customer base, and operating model.
• Steak 'n Shake: Founded in 1934, Steak 'n Shake shares Krystal's nearly-identical heritage, slider-style hamburger focus, and diner/QSR hybrid format. Direct product and heritage analogue.

Broad incumbents

• McDonald's: The dominant global QSR incumbent with ~13,500 U.S. locations. Directly comparable on the hamburger product and drive-thru-led operating model, but functionally operates as an entire category-defining competitor for Krystal.
• Jack in the Box: Multi-concept QSR chain (burgers plus broader menu) operating primarily across the West and select Southern markets. Comparable on dual company-owned + franchise model and broad menu mix that mirrors Krystal's current menu extension beyond sliders.
• Burger King: One of the three largest U.S. burger QSR incumbents. Same product category and drive-thru dominant operating model, but global scale and broad menu substantially outpace Krystal's regional footprint.
• Wendy's: National burger QSR chain with ~7,000 locations. Overlaps with Krystal on the core hamburger product and QSR service model, but operates at vastly larger scale across all 50 states.

Emerging players

• Five Guys: Premium-burger fast-casual chain competing for the same burger-eating occasions as Krystal. Different price tier but adjacent customer and channel overlap, particularly in suburban U.S. markets where Krystal operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/krystal
• Facebookfacebook.com/Krystal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Krystal Company