Rooster Run

Rooster Run is a general store in Nelson County, Kentucky. The store is known for the baseball caps featuring its logo as well as a fiberglass rooster statue standing in front of the store. The store has an entry in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, published by The University Press of Kentucky, which calls it "one of the best-known general stores in the country and one of Kentucky's best-known unincorporated businesses".Joe Evans opened the store, then called Evans Beverage Depot, in 1967 with $200 of his own money and $200 borrowed from his father. At the time, it was the only location in the county that sold alcoholic beverages. One evening after the store closed, Evans and some friends were gathered at the store, drinking beer when one of the men's wives arrived, sending him running. One of the friends commented, "Look at that rooster run!", giving rise to the store's present name. Shortly after the incident, Evans' mother began sewing baseball caps with the name "Rooster Run" on them for sale in the store. Evans trademarked the name and the store's logo in 1986.The store's notoriety began to spread as truck drivers wore the hats to locations across the country. A Louisville-based disc jockey also began telling Rooster Run jokes on the air. Eventually, the store expanded, and its merchandising grew to include T-shirts and other promotional items, but the baseball caps remained the most popular item. At one point, Evans had a standing order for 30,000 caps per quarter. By 1991, he estimated he'd sold about 1.5 million caps.