 |
Carrols was a chain of fast-food restaurants in various cities in Finland.
| |
Carrols was a chain of fast-food restaurants in various cities in Finland.
The company originally came to Finland as a franchise of an international chain named Carrols Corporation. However, it was eventually completely bought by the Finnish company Tuko (after the company gave up the use of its original restaurant brand and concept) which in turn was acquired by the Finnish chain Kesko becoming a completely Finnish-owned company. In the process it was renamed from Carrol's to Carrols, losing the apostrophe. Thus, the original Carrols brand would survive exclusively in Finland.
The most famous hamburger in Carrols was the Club Burger, which was similar to the Big Mac in McDonald's. The chain also regularly served limited-time special hamburgers.
The chain was eventually bought out by another Finnish fast-food chain, Hesburger, which integrated it to itself almost fully. Almost all Carrols restaurants were converted to Hesburgers. This event caused a minor upset among the residents of Helsinki, since Hesburger is based in a rival city, Turku. Since the acquisition by Hesburger, only a few of the most famous Carrols restaurants remained under their original name, all of them located in the Greater Helsinki region (except one in Janakkala and one in Lahti). Although Hesburger serves the Club Burger in its menu, the limited-time special hamburgers have been discontinued.[ citation needed ]
In August 2006, new life was breathed into the Carrols brand when a pilot scheme was launched with Pikoil, an operator of Neste branded service stations across Finland. The pilot programme saw new Carrols restaurants opening at Pikoil sites in Imatra and Vantaa. One reason for the Carrols brand being used instead of Hesburger was that Hesburger already operates fast food restaurants under its own name at service stations run by the rival S-Group. Along with the launch of new Carrols restaurants, the Carrols.fi domain no longer pointed to the Hesburger site but instead to a relaunched dedicated Carrols site.
In 2012, Hesburger announced that the brand Carrols would be discontinued, and the last location in Oulunkylä was renamed Hesburger on May 29. Since then the only thing remaining of Carrols has been the Clubburger that periodically has been available in Hesburger for a limited period.
Carrols also operated a chain of outlets in neighbouring Estonia from 1993 to 2001.
 | This Finnish corporation or company article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Europe-based restaurant or restaurant chain article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
A hamburger, or simply a burger, is a dish consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis with 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. Under some definitions, and in some cultures, a burger is considered a sandwich.
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.
Burger King Corporation is an American multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain. After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties, its two Miami-based franchisees David Edgerton (1927–2018) and James McLamore (1926–1996) purchased the company in 1959. Over the next half-century, the company changed hands four times and its third set of owners, a partnership between TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, took it public in 2002. In late 2010, 3G Capital of Brazil acquired a majority stake in the company in a deal valued at US$3.26 billion. The new owners promptly initiated a restructuring of the company to reverse its fortunes. 3G, along with its partner Berkshire Hathaway, eventually merged the company with the Canadian-based coffeehouse chain Tim Hortons under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company named Restaurant Brands International.
Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960 in North Carolina.
Hesburger is a fast food chain based in Turku, Finland. In 2008 it was the largest hamburger restaurant chain in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with a market share larger than that of U.S.-based rival McDonald's. It further operates in Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. Hesburger primarily purveys fast foods such as hamburgers, fried potatoes, salads and desserts. The company name is derived from the nickname of the founder, Heikki "Hese" Salmela. The company also operates Hesecafes, which sell pastries and specialty coffees, and hot dog outlets. Some restaurants provide car wash services.
Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd. is an Australian fast food franchise of the Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin. Hungry Jack's owns and operates or sub-licenses all of the Burger King/Hungry Jack's restaurants in Australia.
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.
Clock was a Swedish hamburger restaurant chain founded by state-owned SARA that later also bought a Swedish offshoot from the US-based Carrols. The chain was active from 1976 to 1999, but eventually began to suffer from hardening competition from other kinds of fast food, such as Kebab, Falafel, Sandwiches, etc.
Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. is an American franchisee company and is the largest Burger King franchisee in the world; Carrols owns and operates over 1,000+ Burger Kings, and 55 Popeyes restaurants. The company has operated Burger Kings since 1976 in locations across 23 U.S. states.
A&W is a fast-food restaurant chain in Canada, franchised by A&W Food Services of Canada, Inc.
Druther's is a restaurant, formerly a chain of fast food restaurants that began as Burger Queen restaurants started in Winter Haven, Florida in 1956, and then based in Louisville, Kentucky from 1963 until 1981. The name was a play on the word "druthers", and the mascot was a giant female bee named Queenie Bee. In 1981, Burger Queen changed to Druther's restaurants, although the changes were mostly cosmetic. One reason given for the name change was to eliminate the perception that they specialized in only hamburgers when they also had fried chicken and a serve-yourself salad bar. Druther's featured a character named "Andy Dandytale" on its kids meal items. The chain's slogan was "I'd Ruther Go to Druther's Restaurant." As of April 2024, the company operates 1 location in Kentucky.
Wetson's was an American fast food hamburger chain that existed from 1959 to 1975. At its peak, Wetson's had approximately 70 locations in the greater New York metropolitan area.
The majority of the locations of international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King are privately owned franchises. While the majority of franchisees are smaller operations, several have grown into major corporations in their own right. At the end of the company's fiscal year in 2015, Burger King reported it had more than 15,000 outlets in 84 countries; of these, approximately 50% are in the United States and 99.9% are privately owned and operated. The company locations employ more than 37,000 people who serve approximately 11.4 million customers daily.
Wimpy is a fast-food casual dining chain that was founded in the United States. It found its success internationally, mainly in the United Kingdom and South Africa, and has changed between being a table-service establishment and counter-service establishment throughout its history.
Wendy's International, LLC, 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, following McDonald’s and Burger King. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc, the publicly traded parent company of Arby's.
Snacky was a small Finnish fast food chain operating in the Helsinki capital area. Founded in 1980, the chain was operating until 1995, and then again under a new owner from 2007 to 2015. As the chain went bankrupt, its owner was sentenced to jail for severe financial crimes. In 2021 Snacky returned again, now as a virtual restaurant, where Snacky products can be bought through Foodora and Wolt. Snacky does not have its own restaurant premises.
Heikki Juhani "Hessu" Salmela is a Finnish fast food entrepreneur. He is the founder of the Hesburger chain of fast food restaurants, the largest fast food restaurant chain in Finland.