Type | Subsidiary of TruFoods Systems, Inc |
---|---|
Industry | Restaurant |
Founded | 1981Bethpage, New York, U.S. | in
Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
Products | Fried chicken |
Website | Pudgies.com NakedChickenCo.com |
Pudgie's Famous Chicken, often referred as simply Pudgie's, is a chain of fast food restaurants. Competing with KFC and Popeyes, many locations today are co-branded with Nathan's Famous, many of which are also co-branded with sister chain Arthur Treacher's, and have several locations in the New York metropolitan area. It is famous for its skinless fried chicken products and for their signature fried chicken having 25% less fat than traditional fried chicken.
Pudgie's Famous Chicken was founded in 1981 in Bethpage, New York by George Sanders, who developed a secret batter recipe and skinning process. [1] This concept was spread throughout Long Island and by 1989 Pudgie's became a franchise company. TruFoods Systems, Inc., bought the trademark in 2002, and as of 2011, TruFoods operates the Wall St. Deli, Ritter's Frozen Custard, Arthur Treacher's, and Pudgie's. [2] Today, this concept is exclusive to Nathan's Famous, and as such, many of these are cobranded with Nathan's.
On July 21, 2014, the first rebranded "Pudgie's Naked Chicken Co." opened in Massapequa, New York. TruFoods President, Gary Occhiogrosso, said he is reinventing the Pudgie's brand which still offers skinless fried chicken but also offers fresher ingredients. Its menu has been modernized to spotlight what Ochiogrosso called “grilled and healthier options." Nothing is frozen, and all items — including fries and roasted vegetables — are freshly prepared, as much to order as possible. [3]
As of November 2018 there are only three Pudgie's Famous Chicken restaurants open in East Islip, Selden and West Islip. [4] Pudgie's Naked Chicken Co. last location in Massapequa closed in July 2016. [5] [6]
KFC is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain after McDonald's, with 22,621 locations globally in 150 countries as of December 2019. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.
Long John Silver's is an American chain of fast-food restaurants that specializes in seafood. The brand's name is derived from the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which the pirate Long John Silver is one of the main characters.
Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips is an American fast food seafood restaurant and former chain. At the peak of its popularity in the late 1970s, it had more than 800 stores. However, as of June 2021, there are only two stand-alone Arthur Treacher's location remaining. The menu offers fried seafood or chicken, accompanied by chips.
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.
A&W Restaurants is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its burgers, draft root beer and root beer floats. Being the oldest restaurant chain in America, A&W's origins date back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a roadside drink stand to offer a new thick and creamy drink, root beer, at a parade honoring returning World War I veterans in Lodi, California. Allen's employee Frank Wright partnered with him in 1922 and they founded their first restaurant in Sacramento, California in 1923. The company name was taken from the initials of their last names – Allen and Wright. The company became famous in the United States for its "frosty mugs" – the mugs were kept in a freezer and filled with A&W Root Beer just before being served to customers.
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. It was owned and operated by Sherb Noble and opened on June 22, 1940. It serves a variety of its own original frozen products that vary from location to location.
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. on April 17, 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 currently 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.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., also known as Popeyes and formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants formed in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana and headquartered in Miami. It is currently a subsidiary of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International. As of 2021, Popeyes has 3,705 restaurants, which are located in more than 46 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 30 countries worldwide. About 50 locations are company-owned; the vast remainder are franchised.
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.
Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken-based restaurants founded in 1991 by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who was a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Brown had been an early investor in Kentucky Fried Chicken from 1964 to 1971. During his successful music career, Rogers had appeared in several commercials for the Dole Food Company before founding this restaurant chain.
Nathan's Famous, Inc. is an American company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York. The company's headquarters are at One Jericho Plaza in Jericho, New York, part of Oyster Bay, New York.
Miami Grill, formerly Miami Subs Grill, is a privately held restaurant chain, based in the US state of Florida. The chain has approximately 30 locations, the majority of which are in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County Florida. The company's menu consists of such items as wings, philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and Gyros along with items from Arthur Treacher's and Nathan's Famous hot dogs, all of which operate co-branding agreements with Miami Grill, and which were corporate siblings of Miami Subs from 1999–2007.
Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken is a casual dining franchise founded in 1966 specializing in chicken, homestyle sides, and biscuits.
Marrybrown Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian-owned multinational chain of quick service restaurants originated in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Being one of the largest global halal fast food-establishments, the chain has since expanded to over 500 locations throughout Malaysia and across 15 countries. The restaurant focuses on Malaysian and western dishes.
Mary Brown's Chicken, also known as Mary Brown's, is a Canadian fast food restaurant with approximately 200 locations across Canada. The chain specializes in fried chicken or fried plant-based chicken dinners.
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 City, 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.
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.