Webthese beliefs were known as the krystal kreed, and their very first customer saw the value message when he ordered half a dozen burgers and a cup of coffee for a grand total of 35 cents. 24, 1932, the nation’s first krystal restaurant opened in a small building at the southwest corner of seventh and cherry streets in downtown chattanooga. In the decades since,. Webthe krystal company was founded in the midst of the great depression by textile businessman r. b. During the first years of the great depression, krystal was founded in chattanooga, tennessee, by rody davenport jr. Davenport's wife, mary, came up with the restaurant's name after noticing how clean a crystal ball lawn ornament was. When it came to housing the new kind of quick, clean eatery, its founders wanted krystal’s outside to mirror its insides. Webas many locals know, the krystal chain started in chattanooga in 1932 when rodolph “rody” davenport jr.