A hamburger or simply burger is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis; condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, or a "special sauce", often a variation of Thousand Island dressing; and are frequently placed on sesame seed buns. A hamburger patty topped with cheese is called a cheeseburger.
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically part of a "meat-sweet diet", offered from a limited menu, cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, finished and packaged to order, and usually available for take away, though seating may be provided. Fast-food restaurants are typically part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation that provides standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.
A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a combination of booths served by a waitstaff and a long sit-down counter with direct service, in the smallest simply by a cook. Many diners have extended hours, and some along highways and areas with significant shift work stay open for 24 hours.
Sonic Corporation, founded as Sonic Drive-In and more commonly known as Sonic, is an American drive-in fast-food chain owned by Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby's, Dunkin' Donuts and Buffalo Wild Wings. Sonic, founded by Troy N. Smith, Sr., opened its first location in 1953, under the name Top Hat Drive-In. Originally a walk-up root beer stand outside a log-cabin steakhouse selling soda, hamburgers, and hotdogs, Sonic currently has 3,545 locations in the United States. Sonic is known for its use of carhops on roller skates, and hosts an annual competition to determine the top skating carhop in the company. The company's core products include the "Chili Cheese Coney", "Sonic Cheeseburger Combo", "Sonic Blasts", "Master Shakes", and "Wacky Pack Kids Meals".
International Dairy Queen, Inc. (DQ) is an American multinational fast food chain founded in 1940. It is currently headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota. The first Dairy Queen was owned and operated by Sherb Noble and first opened on June 22, 1940, in Joliet, Illinois. It serves a variety of hot and fried food, as well as original frozen dairy products that vary from location to location.
The horseshoe is an open-faced sandwich originating in Springfield, Illinois, United States. It consists of thick-sliced toasted bread, a hamburger patty or other choice of meat, French fries, and cheese sauce.
Krystal is an American regional fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Dunwoody, Georgia, with restaurants in the Southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. It is known for its small, square hamburgers, called sliders in places other than the Southeast, with steamed-in onions. Krystal moved its headquarters from Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it had been based since 1932, to the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody in early 2013.
Church's Texas Chicken is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To-Go by George W. Church Sr. on April 17, 1952, in San Antonio, Texas, across the street from The Alamo. Church's Texas Chicken trades as Texas Chicken or Church's Chicken in many countries. The chain is currently owned by American private equity firm High Bluff Capital Partners. As of 2017, Church's Texas Chicken had more than 1,700 franchised and company-owned locations in 26 countries.
Harvey's is a fast food restaurant chain operating in Canada, with locations in every province except British Columbia. It serves hamburgers, poutine, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, and other traditional Canadian fast-food fare. The chain is owned by Recipe Unlimited.
Pollo Tropical is a South Florida-based restaurant chain and franchise specializing in food inspired by Latin-Caribbean cuisine. Founded in 1988, the chain has its headquarters in Doral, Florida, It is best known for marinated and grilled chicken and various sides including black beans and rice, mojo roast pork and more.
Blake's Lotaburger is a fast food restaurant chain, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with 75 locations in the Southwestern United States, mostly located in New Mexico, as well as Tucson, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas. Their menu focuses on New Mexico green chile topped hamburgers and french fries, as well as New Mexican foods such as breakfast burritos.
Jack's Family Restaurants, LP is an American fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in Birmingham, and is owned by AEA Investors. Restaurants feature sit-down dining, drive-thrus and takeout service. The menu features primarily burgers, fried chicken, breakfast and various other fast food items including french fries and soft drinks.
A&W is a fast-food restaurant chain in Canada, franchised by A&W Food Services of Canada, Inc.
IHOP Restaurants LLC is an American multinational pancake house restaurant chain that specializes in American breakfast foods. It is owned by Dine Brands Global—a company formed after IHOP's purchase of Applebee's, with 99% of the restaurants run by independent franchisees.
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc Companies Inc., a publicly traded company and the parent company of Arby's. The merger was completed on September 29, 2008. Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as the Wendy's Company following the sale of Arby's to Roark Capital Group.
Troy Nuel Smith, Sr. was an American businessman who founded Sonic Drive-In, a fast-food restaurant chain based in Oklahoma City that recreates the drive-in diner feel of the 1950s, complete with carhops who usually wear roller skates. By the time of Smith's death in 2009, the chain had 3,600 restaurants in 42 U.S. states.
McDonald's Restaurants Limited is the New Zealand subsidiary of the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. Its first location opened in 1976. In 2017 McDonald's New Zealand had 167 restaurants operating nationwide, serving an estimated one million people each week. The company earned revenues of over $250 million in the 2018 financial year.
Wimpy's Diner is a Canadian chain of 51 restaurants in southern Ontario based on the 1950s- and 1960s-themed diners serving hamburgers, but also serving breakfast all day along with various lunches and dinners and specialty poutines. Wimpy's was established in 1961 as "Wimpy's Drive-In" in Toronto. In 1988, it was turned into a full-service restaurant. A second location was opened in 1992. Locations are now found in Southern Ontario.
Chicken in the Rough, also known as Beverly's Chicken in the Rough, is a fried chicken restaurant chain and former franchise. It was one of the earliest restaurant chain franchises in the United States. Chicken in the Rough was founded by Beverly and Rubye Osborne in 1936 in Oklahoma City, and the restaurant's specialty, half a fried chicken dish, was also created in 1936. The dish itself was also referred to as "Chicken in the Rough", and consisted of half a fried chicken, shoestring potatoes and a biscuit with honey. Three restaurants presently serve the dish today, located in Oklahoma City, Port Huron, Michigan and Canadian neighbor Sarnia, Ontario. The chain's logo was an image of a rooster smoking a cigar and carrying a golf club. The chain also used a logo of "Chicken's Caddie", which depicted a chick acting as a golf caddie, stating "I'll gladly be fried for Chicken in the Rough".
