Shake's Frozen Custard is a frozen custard retailer and franchise founded by Don and Debbie Osborne in Joplin, Missouri in 1991. [1] It was originally opened as Shakey's Frozen Custard but was changed to Shake's in 2001 in order to secure trademarks. The Osborne's experimented with a variety of recipes and menu items to devise their recipe. Corey Osborne, Don's oldest son, opened the second location in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1997. Some of their popular menu items include concretes, sundaes, shakes, floats, splits, and more.
In 1999, the company began offering franchises and incorporated in Arkansas as Shake's Frozen Custard, Inc. [2] Currently the franchise chain has nearly fifty stores in operation across nine states with many future locations planned.
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 1960 in North Carolina.
Sonic Corporation, founded as Sonic Drive-In and more commonly known as Sonic, is an American drive-in fast-food chain owned by Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby's, Dunkin' Donuts and Buffalo Wild Wings. Sonic, founded by Troy N. Smith, Sr., opened its first location in 1953, under the name Top Hat Drive-In. Originally a walk-up root beer stand outside a log-cabin steakhouse selling soda, hamburgers, and hotdogs, Sonic currently has 3,545 locations in the United States. Sonic is known for its use of carhops on roller skates, and hosts an annual competition to determine the top skating carhop in the company. The company's core products include the "Chili Cheese Coney", "Sonic Cheeseburger Combo", "Sonic Blasts", "Master Shakes", and "Wacky Pack Kids Meals".
Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries in 2012, behind Subway and Panera Bread. In October 2017, Food & Wine called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain ".
Marie Callender's is an American restaurant chain. Its headquarters are in the Marie Callender's Corporate Support Center in Mission Viejo, Orange County, California. As of April 2024, the company operates 24 locations in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.
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.
Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain. The company was founded in 1984 by George, Ruth, Craig, and Lea Culver. The first location opened in Sauk City, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1984, under the name "Culver's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers." The privately held company is headquartered in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. The chain operates primarily in the Midwestern United States, and had a total of 930 restaurants in 26 states as of October 2023.
Freddy's, LLC, doing business as Freddy's, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain based in Wichita, Kansas. Its menu includes steakburgers, Vienna Beef hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches. The company also provides frozen custard and specialty sundaes.
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.
Bruster's Ice Cream, Inc., also known as Bruster's Real Ice Cream or Bruster's, is an American chain of ice cream parlors based in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania. Their primary operating region is in most states east of the Mississippi River. The company's main products are ice cream and frozen yogurt, made on site with a milk-based mix at each individual store and made fresh in order to avoid ice crystal formation. There are 200 independently owned locations in 22 states, Guyana and South Korea.
Andy's Frozen Custard is the largest frozen custard-only chain in the United States, with more than 140 company-owned and franchised stores across 15 states.
Rita's Franchise Company, LLC, doing business as Rita's Italian Ice, is a privately owned and operated American quick service restaurant chain originating in the Philadelphia metropolitan area that expanded throughout and now operates primarily in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The chain is known for its Italian ice or "water ice" and frozen custard, but also offers multiple types of frozen treats and specialty creations.
Gilles Frozen Custard is a brand of frozen custard that originated at the Gilles Frozen Custard Stand, the oldest frozen custard stand in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, dating back to 1938. The company and custard stand was founded by Paul Gilles.
Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk within the park, expanding its menu from New York–style hot dogs to one with hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and its namesake milkshakes.
The Meadows Frozen Custard is a franchise founded on July 4, 1950, that specializes in frozen custard.
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.
Kopp's Frozen Custard is a restaurant chain located in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. It specializes in frozen custard and large "jumbo" hamburgers. Founded by Elsa Kopp in 1950, the restaurants continue to be heralded by local publications for their quality food. They have locations in three Milwaukee suburbs—Greenfield, Brookfield, and Glendale.
Abbott's Frozen Custard is a frozen custard franchise founded and based in Rochester, New York. The franchise has stores throughout New York state, and has expanded to other states including Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast-food restaurant chain owned by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., who also owns Hardee's, with franchisees in North and South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Africa.