The history of K&W Cafeterias can be traced back to the mid-1930s and a small coffee shop located on Cherry Street in downtown Winston-Salem, NC. It was at the Carolinian Coffee Shop that Grady T. Allred, Sr., went to work on Thanksgiving Day, 1935, as a partner overseeing daily operations. Soon after, the Carolinian was renamed K&W Restaurant after original investors Thomas, Kenneth and William Wilson and their brother-in-law, T.K. Knight. In 1939, Allred began to acquire additional shares in the business. Within two years he became the restaurant’s sole owner. He added cafeteria-style service to the restaurant in 1951.

Today, K&W Cafeterias, Inc. is still owned by Allred’s family.