KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC, is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's second-largest restaurant chain after McDonald's, with over 30,000 locations globally in 150 countries as of April 2024. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell 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.
Harry Ramsden's is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes. Founded by restaurant entrepreneur Harry Ramsden in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, in 1928, the business has 35 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Ireland.
Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) which serves as its flagship brand. Established in 1978 by Tony Tan Caktiong, it is the Philippines' top fast food restaurant and is among the world's fastest growing restaurants, expanding its international presence from 2014 to 2024 almost sixfold. As of January 2024, there were over 1,668 Jollibee fast-food branches across 17 countries, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, North America, and Europe. Jollibee is best known for its bestselling item, the Chickenjoy.
Chick-fil-A, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in College Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A operates 3,164 restaurants across 48 states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The company also has operations in Canada, and previously had restaurants in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The restaurant has a breakfast menu, as well as a lunch and dinner menu. The chain also provides catering services. Chick-fil-A calls its specialty the "original chicken sandwich". It is a piece of deep-fried breaded boneless chicken breast served on a toasted bun with two slices of dill pickle, or with lettuce, tomato, and cheese.
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. in April 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 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.
Donatos Pizza, LLC is a Columbus-style pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Gahanna, Ohio, United States. It is a pizza delivery franchisor with nearly 200 locations in twenty-nine states, the majority of them being in Ohio. Donatos is also served at several venue outlets, including Ohio Stadium and formerly at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
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.
Chicken Treat is a fast food restaurant chain that primarily operates in Western Australia. As of March 2023, Chicken Treat has over 60 outlets within Western Australia. The company provides a range of rotisserie chicken, fried chicken, and burger meals. Chicken Treat also offers catering services for families, groups, and businesses. It is owned by Hong Kong–based private equity firm PAG Asia Capital.
Chicken Licken is a South African fast-food fried chicken restaurant chain. The company had a 5% share of South Africa's fast food market in 2010, tying with McDonald's. According to a case study published by the Henny Penny Corporation in 2011, Chicken Licken is the "largest non-American-owned fried chicken franchise in the world".[
Dixie Lee is a regional franchised fried chicken fast-food restaurant founded in Belleville, Ontario in 1964 by Ramon Leon and Douglas Walmsley. The company is currently based in Kingston and Bruce Mines, Ontario. Its largest group of franchise operators is Dixie Lee Maritimes, a New Brunswick-based company with 38 locations in three provinces. The parent organization is the direct franchisor of ten restaurants in various Ontario locations.
Jr. Food Mart is a chain of convenience stores found throughout the southern United States.
Mrs. Winner's Chicken and Biscuits is a regional fast food restaurant in the U.S. Southeast which specializes in fried chicken. Mrs. Winner's is mostly known for their fried chicken and given away biscuits.
A fried chicken restaurant is a fast food restaurant, often a chain, that serves (mainly) fried chicken—usually chunks of chicken, battered or breaded and deep-fried.
Marco's Pizza, operated by Marco's Franchising, LLC, is an American restaurant chain and interstate franchise based in Toledo, Ohio, that specializes in Italian-American cuisine. The first store was opened in Oregon, Ohio, on Starr Avenue. It was founded by Italian immigrant Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco on February 18, 1978.
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.
Burger King was a fast food restaurant chain in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Also known as Burger King Drive-Inn, it was founded by former Imperial Oil executives William R. Jarvis and James Duncan Rae in 1956. Among the first American-style fast food restaurants in Edmonton, it was not related to the worldwide Burger King chain. Company headquarters were in offices above one of the restaurants, at 9501 111 Avenue. Its signature items included a mushroom burger and a "Canadian Burger".
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 and 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.
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