Krystal Announces Schedule for Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship

The road to the world championship starts August 23 in Chattanooga

For Immediate Release

August 07, 2008

Chattanooga, Tenn. – The Krystal Company, the fast food icon famous for its fresh, hot, small, square hamburgers craved by millions all across the South, today announced the dates and cities for the fifth annual Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship (“Krystal Square Off V”), one of the majors in the sport of competitive eating and the only world hamburger-eating championship sanctioned by Major League Eating, the world governing body of all stomach-centric sports.

The seven-city qualifying circuit, which pits amateur hopefuls against the world’s best competitive eaters, will officially kick off in Chattanooga with an opening ceremony and eight-minute contest on August 23, 2008. From there, the road to the top burger title will journey through six more cities with the winner of each regional qualifier awarded a seat to the World Championship in downtown Chattanooga on September 28. Three wild card spots to the Krystal Square Off V final will also be awarded based on performances in the regional qualifiers.

“The eyes of the competitive eating world will once again be on the South as Krystal hosts the Krystal Square Off V qualifying tour in seven great cities across the South this August and September. These cities have all shown phenomenal support for the Krystal Square Off and have helped make it a world-class event and a great new Southern tradition,” says Brad Wahl, vice president of marketing, The Krystal Company.

Dates and cities for Krystal Square Off V qualifying circuit and championship final are as follows:

Aug. 23 - Chattanooga, Tenn.

Sept. 1 - Jacksonville, Fla.

Sept. 6 - Atlanta, Ga.

Sept. 13 - Nashville, Tenn.

Sept. 14 - Knoxville, Tenn.

Sept. 20 - Birmingham, Ala.

Sept. 21 - Memphis, Tenn.

Sept. 28 - Chattanooga – Krystal Square Off V World Championship

Individuals interested in competing in any of the regional qualifiers can visit www.KrystalSquareOff.com and can register at www.IFOCE.com and www.MajorLeagueEating.com. Also, for the first time, five amateurs will be selected “on-the-spot” at each of the regional qualifiers to compete in the eight-minute event. Participants must be 18 years or over.

At the Krystal Square Off V final in Chattanooga, the seven regional winners and three wild cards will face off against the world’s number one ranked eater Joey Chestnut, who receives an automatic seat to this year’s championship as the reigning Krystal Square Off champion. Last year at Krystal Square Off IV, Chestnut shocked the competitive eating world and a live audience of 10,000 people by eating an unfathomable 103 Krystal Hamburgers in eight minutes, shattering Takeru Kobayashi’s previous world record mark of 97.

Due to a debilitating jaw injury, Kobayashi, a three-time Krystal champion, did not compete in last year’s final. The eating legend from Japan has never lost to Chestnut in a Krystal contest, making this year’s showdown the most hotly anticipated event in competitive eating this year.

“So much is riding on the qualifiers and final this year, with Chestnut and Kobayashi set for a rematch and the best eaters in the world gunning for their coveted seat at the final,” said Wahl. “We expect the excitement and thrill to be unprecedented at every stop along the tour, and we’re thrilled to give Krystal fans everywhere the chance to put their money where their mouth is for the chance to go up against the world’s very best.”

For complete details on Krystal Square Off V, visit www.KrystalSquareOff.com.

THE KRYSTAL COMPANY

Founded in 1932, Krystal restaurants have become more than sparkling-clean eateries where friendly employees serve up fresh, delicious food. Krystal has become a cultural icon and an experience that virtually every man, woman and child in the South has shared. Nearly everyone in the region has a Krystal memory. The Krystal brand—and the great food, service, value and setting that it represents—has taken a prominent place in the South’s cultural landscape. The Krystal Company is the oldest quick service restaurant chain in the South and the second oldest in the United States. The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company currently has nearly 400 restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit www.Krystal.com.