Industry | QSR franchise |
---|---|
Founded | October 1965 in Montgomery, Alabama, United States |
Founder | W.O. Giles |
Headquarters | , United States |
Website | www |
Chester's International, known as Chester's or Chester's Chicken, is a fried chicken quick-service restaurant chain based in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. [1] W.O. Giles founded Chester's in October 1965 and adopted Chester the Chicken as the emerging foodservice company's mascot, [2] named for the Chester Goode character on Gunsmoke , a favorite TV show of Giles'. In late 2012, the company moved its headquarters to the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, Alabama. [3]
The company began franchising its concept in July 2004 and has grown to in-line locations in shopping plazas and mall food courts. According to Entrepreneur , As of November 2022 [update] , the chain has more than 1,098 locations worldwide.[ where? ] [4]
Subway IP LLC, trading as Subway, is an American multinational fast food restaurant franchise that specializes in submarine sandwiches (subs) and wraps. It was founded by Fred DeLuca and financed by Peter Buck in 1965 as Pete's Super Submarines in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After several name changes, it was renamed Subway in 1972, and a franchise operation began in 1974 with a second restaurant in Wallingford, Connecticut.
Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC is a chain of fast food restaurants primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. The chain originated as the rebranding of the RoBee's House of Beef chain of Fort Wayne, Indiana, acquired by the Marriott Corporation in February 1968. However, Marriott first used the Roy Rogers Roast Beef name on conversions of the company's Junior Hot Shoppes in the Washington, D.C. area in April 1968, then the existing RoBee's stores. An aggressive nationwide franchising campaign was launched. At its peak, the chain included over 600 locations. The chain now has 41 locations in five states, either company owned or franchised.
Chick-fil-A, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in College Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A operates 3,164 restaurants across 48 states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The company also has operations in Canada, and previously had restaurants in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The restaurant has a breakfast menu, as well as a lunch and dinner menu. The chain also provides catering services. Chick-fil-A calls its specialty the "original chicken sandwich". It is a piece of deep-fried breaded boneless chicken breast served on a toasted bun with two slices of dill pickle, or with lettuce, tomato, and cheese.
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. in April 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 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.
Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc., doing business as Steak 'n Shake, is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic, Western United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings. As of 2018, 628 Steak 'n Shake restaurants were in operation; of those 414 were corporate-owned, and 214 franchised. The company has since attempted to convert to a fully franchised model.
Bojangles OpCo, LLC., doing business as Bojangles, is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in Cajun-seasoned fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits and primarily serves the Southeastern United States. The company was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1977 by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas.
Noodles & Company is an American fast-casual restaurant that offers international and American noodle dishes in addition to soups and salads. Noodles & Company was founded in 1995 by Aaron Kennedy and is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. The company went public in 2013 and recorded a $457 million revenue in 2017. In mid-2022, there were 458 Noodles & Company locations across 31 states.
McAlister's Deli is an American chain of fast casual restaurants founded in 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by retired dentist Dr. Don Newcomb. There are currently over 500 locations in 29 states. The menu includes deli sandwiches, "giant spuds", soups, salads, and desserts, as well as catering items such as sandwich trays and boxed lunches. The chain is also known for its McAlister's Famous Sweet Tea, which is available by glass or gallon.
Britling Cafeterias was a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants, originating in Birmingham, Alabama. During the late 1920s, Britling opened three cafeterias in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The Britling chain in Memphis, along with B&W Cafeterias in Nashville, Tennessee and Blue Boar Cafeterias in Louisville, Kentucky, were under common ownership in their latter years. All have now closed.
Jack's Family Restaurants, LP is an American fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in Birmingham, Alabama. 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.
Cook Out is a privately owned American fast-food restaurant chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Mississippi. Founded in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989, the chain has since expanded and now has restaurants in over 100 cities. The chain itself has grown in size with many locations now spread throughout the Southeastern United States.
Mrs. Winner's Chicken and Biscuits is a regional fast food restaurant in the U.S. Southeast which specializes in fried chicken. Mrs. Winner's is mostly known for their fried chicken and given away biscuits.
Zoës Kitchen was a Mediterranean Style restaurant chain, and a subsidiary of the Cava Group. Their headquarters were located in Plano, Texas. In 2013, the chain had grown to host over 200 locations across 17 states, however, acquisition by Cava Group resulted in a reduction of Zoe's locations. As of late December 2022, only 35 locations in 13 states remained. At the rate of closure in 2022, it was expected that the chain would cease operations by 2023.
Guthrie's is a fast casual, franchised restaurant chain headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States, best known for being the original chicken fingers restaurant. The first location was opened in Haleyville, in 1965 by Hal Guthrie. By 1978, the menu adapted to consist primarily of chicken fingers, signature sauce, french fries, coleslaw and Texas toast, becoming the first to largely center its menu on chicken fingers. Today, the chain has grown to include 48 stores across the United States with active plans to expand further.
Chicken Salad Chick is a fast casual restaurant chain and franchise of chicken salad restaurants based in Atlanta, Georgia. To date, the chain consists of over 270 franchise restaurants and stores in 20 different U.S. states.
Hattie B's Hot Chicken is an American restaurant chain based in Nashville, Tennessee, founded by a father and son, both named Nick Bishop. The company specializes in hot chicken, a fried chicken dish, and operates several restaurants in the Southern United States.
Hartz Chicken is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken. The company supplies more than 60 locations in Texas, mostly around the Houston metropolitan area, and Malaysia, as well as one restaurant in Shreveport, LA.
HNT Chicken is a Brazilian fast-food chain incorporated in 2014 by Dany Levkovits. Its first store located in Rio de Janeiro opened in 1995. The company has 39 chains across eight Brazilian states. The company began looking toward expansion in 2015 and opened its first United States expansion in Philadelphia in December 2019.