There are a lot of iconic food mascots out there, like Tony the Tiger and Colonel Sanders. However, you probably wouldn’t count Yogi Bear among them, unless you call the small town of Hartsville, South Carolina home. Here, the anthropomorphic bear is known for more than just the classic cartoon bearing his name. In Hartsville, Yogi Bear means fried chicken.
Since the late 1960s, Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken has served delicious chicken to the residents of the surrounding region, all under the watchful eye of its unusual mascot — literally. The sign out front features Yogi Bear munching down on a fried drumstick, licking his lips in satisfaction.
The Yogi Bear theming continues inside, with menu items like the Boo-Boo Basket and Picnic Basket clearly harkening back to the original animated show. Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken also serves its chicken in yellow, retro-styled boxes featuring Yogi Bear characters and fun facts about them. But how exactly did this now obscure cartoon bear become the face of a chicken restaurant for half a century?
How Yogi Bear wound up selling fried chicken
Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken is actually the last survivor of a regional chain, which began in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in the 1960s. The founder, Gene Broome, sought a celebrity endorsement for his chicken recipe, which reportedly used an injectable tenderizer that tasted like honey. After being turned down by comedian Jackie Gleason, Broome settled on a cartoon he liked, Hanna-Barbera’s Yogi Bear, and the business expanded through the Carolinas.
This rapid popularity led to a purchase by Hardee’s in the early 1970s — but only for Yogi Bear’s recipes, not its restaurants. The new parent company offered little to no help for the standalone stores, which were allowed to stay in business if they could support themselves. One by one they closed, until only the Hartsville location remained.
Ironically, Hardee’s continues to prolifically struggle with restaurant closures and outdated advertising, and it’s unknown whether the company ever actually used Yogi Bear’s recipes. Luckily, sole survivors of formerly famous chains can develop lives of their own. This is the case with the rebirth of Colorado’s Casa Bonita and with the longevity of South Carolina’s Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken.
