When Krystal
holds the inaugural Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating
Championship from this September to November, the
winner will
receive the largest cash prize offered on the U.S. competitive eating
circuit today.

Krystal has boosted the total cash
purse to $17,500, with a $10,000 cash prize to be
awarded to the winner. Second place will receive $5,000, and $2,500
will go to third place. The new prize amounts surpass previously
announced sums of $5,000 for first place, $1,000 for second and $500
for third.

“We’re certainly not tiptoeing into this,” said Brad Wahl, manager
of marketing and promotions at The Krystal Company. “The interest in
the Krystal Square Off has been tremendous from the moment we
announced the event, and we want to match the excitement with an
unprecedented cash prize. We already expected the competition to be
fierce, and now, with so much at stake, we expect it to be ferocious.”

Those vying for the grand prize package of $10,000 will first be put to the challenge at one of the 11
qualifying events to be held throughout the Southeast beginning
September 3, 2004, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where The Krystal Company is
headquartered. The winner of
each qualifier will earn a seat at the final world championship table
on November 13, 2004 in Chattanooga.

The Krystal Square Off is the first hamburger eating world
championship sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive
Eating (IFOCE), the governing body for that discipline, and
the organization that has transformed gustatory battles into a
worldwide craze.

David Baer, director of global expansion for the IFOCE, said, “The prizes
offered by Krystal for the Krystal Square Off mark a major milestone
for the sport of competitive eating. By offering a cash purse of this
magnitude to our athletes, we have joined the ranks of professional
tennis and golf.”