Thomas J. Costas opened the first Piccadilly Cafeteria in 1932 in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tandy Hannibal Hamilton acquired the business from Costas in 1944. Piccadilly expanded in 1998 when it purchased
Morrison's Cafeteria, a major competitor. The move doubled the number of locations to 270; poor performance led the company to file for bankruptcy in 2003. Yucaipa Companies and Diversified Investment Management Group then purchased the company. Piccadilly filed again for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012, as it was down to 41 locations. As of October 2025, the company operates 28 locations in
Florida,
Georgia,
Louisiana,
Mississippi,
Tennessee, and
Virginia. One store in
Mobile, Alabama retains the Morrison's Cafeteria name, an homage to that chain's former hometown, but otherwise has the same menu selections as the rest of the Piccadilly chain. On August 16, 2022,
K&W Cafeterias president Dax Allred announced the sale of K&W and its 11 locations to Piccadilly. ==References==