KFC's corporate headquarters told local franchisee, Jerry Gum, that he had to remodel in order to keep his franchise. After doing the math, Mr. Gum decided it would take him about 10 years before he'd even recoup the money for the remodel, much less turn a profit. That pretty much sealed KFC's fate. So Gum will shut down the establishment on or about June 10, 2008. If you're a fan of their cuisine, you'd better get your fill before then.

KFC isn't the first franchised chain restaurant in Socorro asked to remodel "or else" - McDonald's faced the same problem. Unlike KFC, McDonald's decided it was worth the effort, which explains why the building on the north end of town, on California Street, has been razed, preparing for reconstruction. While we can understand a company's desire to keep restaurants under their brand clean and pleasant looking, we must say that it seems terribly wasteful and harmful to the environment for a perfectly useable building to be torn to the ground just to rebuild another on the same spot. This reminds us of the popular television show, "Extreme Makeover, Home edition" in which down and out homeowners are rewarded, in exchange for an appearance on national television, a new and improved home. Often the homeowners have a perfectly reasonable small home that could, in many cases, have a small addition added or have a moderate remodel done to make the home livable. Instead, the tv show always tears down the old home with absolutely no regard for the waste or impact on the environment. Moreover, the show always builds the new homeowners a McMansion - a house much too large for their real needs. What does this have to do with KFC? Well, not much - we got side tracked. We wish Jerry Gum and his staff the best of luck in the future. We've been told Jerry has gotten his real estate license and will be dipping his toes into that market. Best wishes, Jerry!