• The Courier-Journal, Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:31 PM

Yum Brands expects between 200 and 400 of its KFC restaurants to close over the next 17 months for refusing to comply with a strict remodeling campaign that's underway in its 5,500 domestic stores.

Changes in the re-imaging project include new awnings, chairs, bucket-shaped lighting and artwork featuring Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harland Sanders. Most stores have already completed the update.

Franchisees agreed to the timeline for the upgrades about a decade ago as part of an effort to end a long-running dispute with PepsiCo, which owned the chain before Yum.

Chuck Peterka, a franchisee based in Toms River, N. J., says four of his five KFC locations are 20 years old and have never been remodeled. He said the upgrades, which typically cost about $250,000 per store, are sorely needed, but he says some items have come with "ridiculous prices," such as a $1,300 exterior clock lit by a florescent tube.

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