Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain. After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties in 1954, its two Miami-based franchisees David Edgerton (1927–2018) and James McLamore (1926–1996) purchased the company and renamed it "Burger King". Over the next half-century, the company changed hands four times, with its third set of owners, a partnership of TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, taking it public in 2002. In late 2010, 3G Capital of Brazil acquired a majority stake in the company, in a deal valued at US$3.26 billion. The new owners promptly initiated a restructuring of the company to reverse its fortunes. 3G, along with partner Berkshire Hathaway, eventually merged the company with the Canadian-based doughnut chain Tim Hortons, under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company named Restaurant Brands International.
Whataburger is an American regional fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers. The company, founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1950. Family-owned by the Dobsons until 2019, the chain is now managed by a private equity firm along with the Dobson family still holding a small stake.
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.
For many decades, Kansas has had a vibrant country and bluegrass scene. The Country Stampede Music Festival – one of the largest music festivals in the country – and the bluegrass/acoustic Walnut Valley Festival are testament to the continued popularity of these music genres in the state. Among current leading country artists, Martina McBride and Chely Wright are natives of Kansas.
The Kansas Turnpike is a 236-mile-long (380 km), freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the US state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City. It passes through several major Kansas cities, including Wichita, Topeka, and Lawrence. The turnpike is owned and maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA), which is headquartered in Wichita.
White Castle is an American regional hamburger restaurant chain with 377 locations across 13 states, with its greatest presence in the Midwest and New York metropolitan area. Founded on September 13, 1921, in Wichita, Kansas, it has been generally credited as the world's first fast-food hamburger chain. It is known for its small, square hamburgers referred to as "sliders". The burgers were initially priced at five cents until 1929 and remained at 10 cents until 1949. In the 1940s, White Castle periodically ran promotional ads in local newspapers which contained coupons offering five burgers for ten cents, takeout only. In 2014, Time named the White Castle slider "The Most Influential Burger of All Time".
Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's, is a privately owned and operated American casual fast food restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Midwestern United States. The chain is mostly known for its "butter burgers" and frozen custard, but also offers cheese curds, chicken, fish, and salads. Culver's opened its first restaurant in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin. It is headquartered in nearby Prairie du Sac. As of June 16, 2022, the chain had 867 restaurants in 26 states, mostly in the Midwest.
Taco Tico is a chain of Tex-Mex cuisine fast-food restaurants headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States.
Dillons is a grocery supermarket chain based in Hutchinson, Kansas, and is a division of Kroger. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in Missouri, Baker's in Omaha, Nebraska, and a Food 4 Less store in Fremont, Nebraska. Dillons operates grocery stores throughout Kansas with major influences in and around Wichita, Topeka, Manhattan, and Lawrence. Dillons also operates distribution centers in Goddard and Hutchinson.
The Burger King is a king character used as the primary mascot for the fast-food restaurant chain of the same name. Throughout the company's history, the king has undergone several iterations. The first iteration of the Burger King was part of a sign at the first Burger King restaurant in Miami, Florida in 1955. Later signs showed the King sitting on a "burger throne" as well as atop the BK sign while holding a beverage. In the early 1970s, Burger King started using a small and animated version of the King called "Kurger Bing" in its children's advertising, voiced by Allen Swift. In 1976, the original animated King was replaced by the "Marvelous Magical Burger King" which was a red-bearded and Tudor-era king who ruled the Burger King Kingdom and performed magic tricks that were mostly sleight-of-hand but sometimes relied on camera tricks or involved his "Magic Ring" which could summon copious amounts of food. The Burger King Kingdom advertisements were discontinued in the late 1980s in favor of the BK Kids Club Gang and other subsequent advertising programs.
Fuddruckers is an American fast casual, franchised restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers. The Fuddruckers concept is to offer large hamburgers in which the meat is ground on-site and buns are baked on the premises. As of 2019, Fuddruckers had 49 company-operated restaurants and 107 franchises across the United States and around the world. The company headquarters is in Houston, Texas. On September 8, 2020, Fuddruckers owner Luby's, Inc. announced they plan to liquidate existing assets, including Fuddruckers' assets, distributing the proceeds to investors after the proposed sale of the chains. On June 21, 2021, Black Titan Franchise Systems announced a deal to acquire Fuddruckers for $18.5 million.
Winstead's is a hamburger chain based in Kansas City, Missouri. The chain opened in 1940 and has two locations in Kansas and Missouri. Apart from its burgers, Winstead's is known for the Streamline Moderne style of its original restaurant, and "skyscraper" sodas and milkshakes built to serve five or six. The chain is owned by Haddad Restaurant Group. The Haddad group filed for bankruptcy on March 10, 2020.
Druther's is a restaurant, formerly a chain of fast food restaurants that began as Burger Queen restaurants started in Winter Haven, Florida in 1956, and then based in Louisville, Kentucky from 1963 until 1981. The name was a play on the word "druthers", and the mascot was a giant female bee named Queenie Bee. In 1981, Burger Queen changed to Druther's restaurants, although the changes were mostly cosmetic. One reason given for the name change was to eliminate the perception that they specialized in only hamburgers when they also had fried chicken and a serve-yourself salad bar. Druther's featured a character named "Andy Dandytale" on its kids meal items. The chain's slogan was "I'd Ruther Go to Druther's Restaurant."
Since it was founded in 1954, international fast food chain Burger King has employed many advertising programs. During the 1970s, its advertisements included a memorable jingle, the inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King and several well-known and parodied slogans, such as Have it your way and It takes two hands to handle a Whopper. From the early 1980s until approximately 2002, Burger King engaged a series of advertising agencies that produced many unsuccessful slogans and programs, including its least successful campaign, Where's Herb?.
The Blue Chip Cookie Company is an American gourmet cookie licensor and e-commerce gourmet cookie businesses with headquarters in Milford, Ohio, United States, and store locations in Ohio, Kansas, and Kentucky. Founded in March 1983 by the Nader family, Blue Chip Cookies specializes in gourmet cookies and cookie cakes and created the first white chocolate macadamia cookie.
The legal issues of Burger King include several legal disputes and lawsuits involving the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King (BK) as both plaintiff and defendant in the years since its founding in 1954. These have involved almost every aspect of the company's operations. Depending on the ownership and executive staff at the time of these incidents, the company's responses to these challenges have ranged from a conciliatory dialog with its critics and litigants to a more aggressive opposition with questionable tactics and negative consequences. The company's response to these various issues has drawn praise, scorn, and accusations of political appeasement from different parties over the years.
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc Companies Inc., a publicly-traded company and the parent company of Arby's. Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as the Wendy's Company.
Newk's Eatery is an American chain of fast casual cafés which operates over 100 restaurants in 13 states.
Downtown Wichita is the central business district of Wichita, Kansas, United States. The political and financial hub of the city, it is home to several of the area's major landmarks and event venues including the Epic Center, Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center, Intrust Bank Arena, and the Old Town entertainment district.
$36 Million USD (2021)