Kentucky Had Inside Track on PepsiCo

When PepsiCo Inc. recently tabbed Louisville, Ky., as the corporate headquarters for its Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. subsidiary, Southern California’s industrial development officials weren’t surprised. They figured all along that Louisville held an inside track because Tricon Vice Chairman and President David Novak lives in that town.

Tricon, which will include KFC, Pizza Hut, and Irvine-based Taco Bell, looked at Dallas but quickly settled upon Louisville, which also is home to KFC.

PepsiCo said its relocation team found a lower cost of living in Louisville and that state officials had worked hard to sweeten the deal with tax incentives. But one local industrial development official noted that PepsiCo’s relocation team probably paid attention to Novak’s wishes.

“If I were the guy writing that report, I would have made sure it said exactly what Novak wanted to hear,” the source added. “I think it was pretty much a no-brainer.”

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Greg Johnson covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5950 and at greg.johnson@latimes.com.