Kenneth J. King, Sr.*
Class of 1968
- President Kenny King's Family Restaurants
I was dedicated to my family and my goals, and because this is America I was a success.
Kenneth King started working at age 10, delivering shoes for a merchant in his hometown of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. At 14, his father's death forced him to drop out of high school to help support his mother, four brothers, sister, and aunt.
King held a succession of jobs ranging from soda fountain clerk to construction helper. Despite his low wages, he managed to attend part-time classes at North Carolina's Campbell Junior College. In 1932, he was hired by a restaurant and learned to cook. Over the next 12 years, he worked for as little as $13 a week and up to 12 hours per day, seven days a week.
Finally, in 1944, King started his first restaurant. Within 20 years, the Kenny King's chain grew to 18 outlets in northern Ohio, earning in excess of $5.5 million a year. King headed five corporations, four in the restaurant field and one in franchising.