Can Col. Sanders statue be beacon of Barret?

Earlier this week, UltraPop proprietor Paul LePree was having trouble sleeping.

“I knew I was going to get this Colonel Sanders. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve,” he said.

The Colonel Sanders is a statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders, and it's one of seven that the company had created to make debut appearances at July’s Comcic-Con International in San Diego. On Thursday, LePree picked up the life-sized statue from KFC.

In the beholding eyes of LePree, the statue is a form of pop art. It now graces the window at his 960 Barret Ave. store, which sells art and other ephemera often related to pop culture.

LePree learned about his statue and six other similar Colonel Sanders created wearing different attire when they were placed at the San Diego convention before they went on to New York Comic-Con as well as other events.

When the seven Colonels were on the road, LePree asked Steve Kelly, a manager in KFC’s marketing department, about getting one.

“At first it sounded like a pipe dream because so many people were requesting them,” Kelly said.

What followed, LePree said, was "a long arduous journey.” Despite a request made over the summer and ongoing discussions with Kelly, it was only last month LePree learned he would be getting one. And he did - for free.

Other statues went to KFC offices in Louisville, Dallas and France, Kelly said. He added that KFC wants to auction off the two remaining statues, although the company hasn't yet worked out the details.

KFC's gift to LePree came in part due to LePree’s past generosity to the company, Kelly said. That includes LePree giving the company a Colonel Sanders bobble-head doll from his personal collection for this year’s Daytona 500 when the company used it on the dashboard of one of the cars.

While the Colonel Sanders in UltraPop's window now sports an astronaut suit, LePree has other apparel in mind for his Colonel.

“I’d like to get a Santa suit for him for Christmas,” said LePree, citing he wish to mimic a practice at KFC restaurants in Japan. While Christmas isn’t a holiday there, many Japanese have a routine of getting meals at KFC on Dec. 25.

He also got his hands on special comic books KFC created with DC Comics for both the San Diego and New York conventions that depict the Colonel as a superhero.

LePree said he hopes the statue can help boost his holiday business via the curious people coming to see the Colonel.

He said his business has struggled since Lynn’s Paradise Cafe closed nearly three years ago and other stores have closed or moved, so he’s looking at this Colonel as a potential “beacon of Barret Avenue.”

Reach reporter Elizabeth Kramer at (502) 582-4682 and ekramer@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter @arts_bureau and on Facebook at Elizabeth Kramer - Arts Writer.