The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including Tidewater, Appalachian, Ozarks, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, African American Cuisine and Floribbean cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread to other parts of the United States, influencing other types of American cuisine.
Sonny's BBQ is a barbecue restaurant chain founded by Floyd "Sonny" Tillman in Gainesville, Florida, in 1968. Bob Yarmuth purchased the company in 1991 and continues as the company's owner and CEO today. As of 2016, Sonny's BBQ has 113 restaurants across eight Southeastern states and is headquartered in Maitland, Florida. The restaurant specializes in Southern-style BBQ.
Famous Dave's of America is a chain of barbecue restaurants primarily located in the Midwestern United States, serving pork ribs, chicken, beef brisket, and several flavors of barbecue sauce. Dave Anderson, an Ojibwe-Choctaw who served as the head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs from 2004 to 2005, started the first Famous Dave's restaurant near Hayward, Wisconsin in 1994. The restaurant chain grew throughout the United States and Puerto Rico in 2014, though all of Famous Dave's Puerto Rico locations closed after Hurricane Maria. It has 180 locations in 33 U.S. states as of 2021 and four international locations, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, and Winnipeg.
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, known also as L&L Drive-Inn or colloquially as L&L, is a Hawaii-themed franchise restaurant chain based in Honolulu, Hawaii, centered on the plate lunch.
Dreamland Bar-B-Que is a barbecue restaurant chain based in Alabama. It was founded by "Big Daddy" John Bishop in the Jerusalem Heights neighborhood of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1958, but has since franchised, opening Alabama restaurants in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile, and Northport. It has also opened two restaurants in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area, in Roswell and Duluth. In May 2016, Dreamland Bar-B-Que opened up its first Florida location at the Centre of Tallahassee in Tallahassee, Florida. The company is known for its ribs and barbecue sauce.
Hof's Hut is a home-style eatery and 1950s coffee shop-style regional restaurant chain in the Los Angeles Area that specializes in comfort foods and baked goods such as pies. It is considered a cultural landmark and was founded by Harold Hofman in 1951. The company is headquartered in Signal Hill, and operates locations in Long Beach, Seal Beach, and Torrance.
Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse is a well-known BBQ restaurant in Dallas, Texas that was founded by William Jennings Bryan Jr. in 1958 near the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It has seven locations in the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW) while closing all franchise units in Utah by mid-2014. Sonny Bryan's also has one of the largest catering companies in DFW.
Blue Ribbon BBQ is a family-owned chain of barbecue restaurants in the Greater Boston area. The restaurants offer an assortment of authentic regional southern wood-smoked barbecue.
The oldest McDonald's restaurant is a drive-up hamburger stand at 10207 Lakewood Boulevard at Florence Avenue in Downey, California, United States. It was the third McDonald's restaurant and opened on August 18, 1953. It was also the second restaurant franchised by Richard and Maurice McDonald, before the involvement of Ray Kroc in the company. The restaurant is the oldest one in the chain still in existence and is one of Downey's main tourist attractions. Along with its sign, it was deemed eligible for addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, although it was not added at the time because the owner objected.
Memphis-style barbecue is one of the four predominant regional styles of barbecue in the United States, the other three being Carolina, Kansas City, and Texas. Like many southern varieties of barbecue, Memphis-style barbecue is mostly made using pork, usually ribs and shoulders, though many restaurants will still serve beef and chicken.
B.T.'s Smokehouse is a restaurant that specializes in dry-rubbed and slow-smoked barbecue and is located in the downtown section of Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The restaurant smokes about 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) of meat per week, with brisket being 2,000 pounds (910 kg) to 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of that total. On a typical weekend, the smokehouse will serve 1,200 and 1,500 people in its 38-seat location.
Franklin Barbecue is a barbecue restaurant located in Austin, Texas, founded in 2009 by Aaron Franklin. The restaurant has attracted a national following.
Billy Sims BBQ is an American restaurant chain founded by former professional football player, Billy Sims and his business partner, Jeff Jackson. In 2004, Sims and Jackson opened the first Billy Sims BBQ location in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The brand is supported by 54 locations operating across nine states. Billy Sims BBQ is a fast casual dining restaurant.
Dickey's Barbecue Pit is an American family-owned barbecue restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas, and is a subsidiary of Dickey's Capital Group.
Phil's BBQ is a barbeque restaurant that was founded by Phil Pace. Their first location opened in 1998 in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego, California. They have since expanded and now have four restaurant locations, with additional outlets in San Diego International Airport and Petco Park. The restaurants have received positive reception both in terms of their reviews as well as their success. It was featured on the shows Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America and Man v. Food. Phil's BBQ was the second most commonly reviewed business in the United States on Yelp for 2013.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que is a barbecue restaurant, formerly known as Oklahoma Joe's with locations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, owned and operated by Jeff and Joy Stehney.
Pappy's Smokehouse is a barbecue restaurant located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Long Beach Towne Center is a large power center in northeastern Long Beach, California at Carson St. and the I-605, with 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of retail space on a 100-acre (40 ha) site. It is the largest shopping center in Long Beach.
Gen Korean BBQ is an American chain of all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurants mainly concentrated around the Western U.S. It opened in 2011, and has since grown to 36 locations as of 2024.
