Burger King (BK) is an American-based 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 in 1954, its two Miami-based franchisees David Edgerton (1927–2018) and James McLamore (1926–1996) purchased the company and renamed it "Burger King". Over the next half-century, the company changed hands four times and its third set of owners, a partnership of 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 partner Berkshire Hathaway, eventually merged the company with the Canadian-based doughnut chain Tim Hortons, under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company named Restaurant Brands International.
Whataburger is an American regional fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers. The company, founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1950. Family-owned by the Dobsons until 2019, the chain is now managed by a private equity firm along with the Dobson family still holding a small stake.
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 1961 in North Carolina.
Quiz Holdings, LLC, doing business as Quiznos, is an American franchised fast-food restaurant based in Denver, Colorado, that specializes in offering toasted submarine sandwiches. It was founded in 1981 by Jimmy Lambatos and sold to Rick and Richard Schaden ten years later, before growing to nearly 5,000 restaurants afterwards. As of 2013, Quiznos was the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, behind Subway. A 2016 survey indicated that Quiznos was the ninth-largest submarine sandwich shop chain based on sales. The publications Restaurant Business and Mashed.com reported in mid-2018 that Quiznos had only 400 locations remaining by 2017 after a high of 4,700 locations in 2007 just a decade earlier, while Money reported in May 2018 that Quiznos had 1,500 locations across the U.S.
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-licences all of the Burger King/Hungry Jack's restaurants in Australia.
Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain which specializes in American-style Mexican cuisine as well as American foods such as burgers, fries, and shakes. Del Taco is led by CEO John D. Cappasola, Jr., and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California. On December 6, 2021, Jack in the Box announced that it was acquiring Del Taco for $12.51 per share. Del Taco has approximately 600 locations in 16 US states. The acquisition was finalized in March 2022.
Baja Fresh is an American chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants founded in Newbury Park, California in 1990 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and is owned by Canadian franchisor MTY Food Group. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, each restaurant featuring a self-serve salsa bar.
Gregory D. Brenneman is an American businessman. He serves as the chairman of CCMP Capital, an American private equity firm.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., more commonly known as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews or simply Red Robin, is an American chain of casual dining restaurants founded in September 1969 in Seattle, Washington. In 1979, the first franchised Red Robin restaurant was opened in Yakima, Washington. Red Robin's headquarters are in Greenwood Village, Colorado. As of August 2020, the company had over 570 restaurants in operation with 90 being operated as a franchise.
Carrols Restaurant Group 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. The company formerly owned the restaurant chains Pollo Tropical, Taco Cabana, and Carrols. The original Carrols chain ceased operations in the United States in the mid-1970s. The last unaffiliated Carrols Restaurants existed in Finland. The chain was eventually bought out by another Finnish fast-food chain, Hesburger. In 2012, Hesburger announced that the brand Carrols would be discontinued, and on the 29th of May, 2012, the last Carrols was renamed Hesburger.
Jack Cowin is a Canadian-Australian businessman and entrepreneur with a long-term involvement in franchised fast food chains in Australia and Canada. Cowin brought KFC to Australia, founded and owns Hungry Jack's, which is the Burger King franchise in Australia, and has at various stages controlled the Domino's Pizza franchise in Australia prior to its 2005 listing on the ASX.
TDM IP Holder, LLC. , doing business as Taco Del Mar, is a Denver, Colorado-based Mexican fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in coastal Mexican cuisine. Since opening in Seattle on June 8, 1992, by brothers James and John Schmidt. After a high of 260 locations in 2010, it has downgraded to only 66 locations in the United States and Canada. It is known for its relaxed, seaside-themed decor inspired by the beaches of Baja California.
Brady Keys was a Texan American football player. He played as a defensive back for eight seasons in the NFL. He played college football at Colorado State as a halfback as well as a defensive back. Keys led the 1960 Colorado State team in rushing yards and total offense.
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.
Competitive Foods Australia (CFA) is the largest franchiser of restaurants in Australia. It is owned and operated by Jack Cowin. Its units are Hungry Jack's and, previously, some KFC stores.
Burger King Israel is the Israeli franchise of international fast food chain Burger King. Burger King first entered the Israeli market in 1993. It eventually closed in 2010, after the franchise owner Orgad Holdings purchased local chain Burgeranch and converted all Burger King locations in the country into Burgeranch locations. In July 2013, it was announced that Burger King was attempting to re-enter Israel. Initial discussions with its original Israeli franchise owner Yair Hasson were unsuccessful, and it finally secured re-entrance to the country by entering into a deal with a French company. The first restaurant, under the new franchise group opened in February 2016, at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. As of 2020, there are 10 branches in the country, including 9 in Tel Aviv and its suburbs, and 1 in Eilat located in Ramon Airport. Out of all these locations, 7 are Kosher branches.
Fransmart is a franchise development company responsible for the growth of many restaurant brands. Founded in 2000, the company has corporate headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia and Irvine, California. Fransmart specializes in restaurant development and franchising of emerging brands.
El Pollo Loco, Inc., is a restaurant chain based in the United States, specializing in Mexican-style grilled chicken. Restaurant service consists of: dine-in, take-out, with some locations offering drive through options. The company is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, and operates about 500 company-owned and franchised restaurants in the Southwestern United States.
James Bodenstedt is the former President and CEO of MUY! Brands, an operator of franchised restaurants, including Wendy's and the Yum! Brands of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and others. He and his wife are major donors to President Donald Trump's 2020 election campaign, donating more than $1 million. MUY! Brands and its subsidiaries were among the first companies to receive coronavirus relief aid by the Trump administration.
