This is a list of notable current and former fast food restaurant chains, as distinct from fast casual restaurants (see List of casual dining restaurant chains), coffeehouses (see List of coffeehouse chains), ice cream parlors (see List of ice cream parlor chains), and pizzerias (see List of pizza chains).
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.
Yum! Brands, Inc., formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., is an American multinational fast food corporation listed on the Fortune 1000. Yum! operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill, except in China, where the brands are operated by a separate company, Yum China. Yum! previously also owned Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants. In 1997, PepsiCo divested of its restaurant assets, and these consolidated as Yum! Brands.
The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American, East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.
D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches is a chain of 83 neighborhood-style sandwich shops found in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches was founded in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1967. It serves various kinds of grilled and deli sandwiches, rice and grain bowls, lobster rolls, grilled topped salads, wraps, and hot soups. The company's grilled sandwich Number 9 was called "the finest fast-food sandwich in the land" in a Bloomberg News column.
Kahala Brands is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based MTY Food Group Inc. of Montreal, Quebec. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kahala is one of North America's largest holding company of franchise fast food restaurant companies. In May 2016, the publicly traded Canadian MTY Food Group announced a friendly takeover deal with the Kahala Brands. MTY agreed to pay about US$300 million to acquire Kahala. The two companies generated nearly $2 billion in revenues in the previous year. Jeff Smit was chosen to lead the US operations of MTY.
A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, is a restaurant that does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast-food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate concept between fast food and casual dining.
KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of restaurant franchising, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Salt Lake County, Utah, in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast-food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. Branding himself "Colonel Sanders", the founder became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising. The company's rapid expansion made it too large for Sanders to manage, so in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey.
The hospitality industry in New Zealand is a major industry operating around the country. It is one of the largest employment sectors in the country, contributing about 1.7% of GDP, equivalent to NZ$5 billion annually.
