Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a grocery that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th century. European immigrants to the United States, especially Ashkenazi Jews, popularized the delicatessen in U.S. culture beginning in the late 19th century. Today, many large retail stores like supermarkets have deli sections.
Boston Market Corporation, known as Boston Chicken until 1995, is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Newtown Township, Pennsylvania. Since 2020, it has been owned by Engage Brands, LLC, a company of Rohan Group. From 1985 to 1995, Boston Market was known as Boston Chicken, which rapidly expanded to over a thousand locations. By the late 1990s, the chain filed for bankruptcy and closed many stores until a few hundred remained. McDonald's purchased the chain in 2000. It was sold again in 2007, then in 2020. As of November 2020, the chain had approximately 342 company-owned restaurant locations in 28 states and Puerto Rico. In the 2020s the chain encountered legal troubles and went into a rapid decline to end 2024 with only 16 remaining stores. At its peak, Boston Market had its greatest presence in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, as well as California, Florida, and Texas.
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is an American restaurant company and distributor of cheesecakes based in the United States. It operates 219 full-service restaurants: 206 under the Cheesecake Factory brand and 7 under the Grand Lux Cafe brand, not including the number of restaurants operated under the North Italia nor any of Fox Restaurant Brands' names. The Cheesecake Factory also operates two bakery production facilities—in Calabasas, California, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina—and licenses two bakery-based menus for other foodservice operators under the Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafe marque. Its cheesecakes and other baked goods can also be found in the cafes of many Barnes & Noble stores.
Tater tots are grated potatoes formed into small cylinders and deep-fried, often served as a side dish. "Tater" is a dialect form of the word potato. The name "tater tot" is a registered trademark of the American frozen food company Ore-Ida, but is often used as a generic term. Ore-Ida also markets a coin-shaped version called "Crispy Crowns".
Rax Roast Beef is a regional U.S. fast food restaurant chain specializing in roast beef sandwiches. The company has been through many iterations, declaring bankruptcy more than once, rising to as many as 504 locations in 38 U.S. states in the 1980s and falling to fewer than 20 locations on more than one occasion. As of 2024, Rax is based in Ironton, Ohio, and has six restaurants in the states of Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky.
Jason's Deli is an American chain of fast casual restaurants founded in 1976 in Beaumont, Texas, by Joe Tortorice, Jr. There are currently over 245 locations in 29 states. The menu includes sandwiches, wraps, baked potatoes, pasta, soups, salads, and desserts, as well as catering items such as boxed lunches. The free ice cream station is also a big draw for most customers.
When the predecessor of international fast food restaurant chain Burger King (BK) first opened in 1953, its menu predominantly consisted of hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. After being acquired by its Miami, Florida franchisees and renamed in 1954, BK began expanding its menu by adding the Whopper sandwich in 1957, and has since added non-beef items such as chicken, fish, and vegetarian offerings, including salads and meatless sandwiches. Other additions include a breakfast menu and beverages such as Icees, juices, and bottled waters. As the company expanded both inside and outside the United States, it introduced localized versions of its products that conform to regional tastes and cultural or religious beliefs. To generate additional sales, BK occasionally introduces limited-time offers of special versions of its products, or brings out completely new products intended for either long- or short-term sales. Not all of these products and services have been successful; in 1992, Burger King introduced limited table service featuring special dinner platters, but this concept failed to generate interest and was discontinued.
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. McDonald's traces its origins to a 1940 restaurant in San Bernardino, California, United States. After expanding within the United States, McDonald's became an international corporation in 1967, when it opened a location in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. By the end of the 1970s, McDonald's restaurants existed in five of the Earth's seven continents; an African location came in 1992 in Casablanca, Morocco.
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas 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 McDonald’s and Burger King. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc Companies Inc., the publicly traded parent company of Arby's.
Souper Salad is an American restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant serving fresh salads, made-from-scratch soups, homemade breads, and more. All locations are in the Southwestern United States, with the majority located in Texas. The chain is privately owned and has been in operation since 1978. As of October 2022, the chain had 3 locations.
Sweetgreen is an American fast casual restaurant chain that serves salads. It was founded in November 2006 by Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru, and Jonathan Neman. In August 2007, they opened their first store in Washington, D.C., three months after they graduated from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
Chicken Salad Chick is a fast casual restaurant chain and franchise of chicken salad restaurants based in Atlanta, Georgia. To date, the chain consists of over 270 franchise restaurants and stores in 20 different U.S. states.
Sweet Tomatoes, operating as Souplantation in Southern California, is a United States–based chain of all-you-can-eat buffet-style restaurants. The first location opened in 1978 in San Diego, California, where the company was headquartered. The company was incorporated as Garden Fresh Corp. in 1983. The company went public in 1995 but was taken private in 2004. The company, owned by Garden Fresh Restaurant Corporation, temporarily closed its 97 locations in March 2020 in response to government mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 7, 2020, the closure was made permanent and the company filed for liquidation. However, one restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, reopened after one firm bought the assets of the company, with no word yet on whether other locations will be reopened.
Joey Restaurant Group is a Western Canadian premium casual restaurant chain based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Joey chain of restaurants was founded by Jeff Fuller. Joey restaurants are a part of a chain of family-owned restaurants, expanding throughout North America. The restaurant focuses on Asian, American, Mediterranean and other global dishes. The company operates 27 full-service restaurants in Canada and the United States. All Joey restaurants feature a bar area and serve alcoholic beverages.
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill is a chain of fast casual Tex Mex restaurants in the United States serving Mexican-style cuisine. Restaurant service consists of: dine-in, take-out, online ordering, 3rd Party Delivery with some locations offering Drive Thru options. The company is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and operates over 80 company-owned and franchised restaurants throughout United States.
Roman Candle Baking Co., or simply Roman Candle, was a bakery and pizzeria–restaurant in the Richmond neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Duane Sorenson opened Roman Candle in 2013, with a menu offering wood-fired pizza and other Italian cuisine, including sandwiches, breads, green salads, pastries, and baked potatoes. Dan Griffin and Joshua McFadden served as the baker and chef, respectively. The bakery started supplying select menu items to Sorenson's Stumptown Coffee Roasters locations in late 2015. Roman Candle received a generally positive reception, with the pizzas and kouign-amann receiving the most praise. The restaurant closed in April 2018 for renovations, ahead of a rebrand as a gluten-free and vegan cafe called Holiday, which Sorenson launched one month later.
Masia was a short-lived Spanish and Catalan restaurant in Portland, Oregon, United States. Housed in the Hyatt Centric Downtown Portland, the restaurant was owned by married chefs José Chesa and Cristina Baez and their business partner, Emily Metivier. Shortly after opening with breakfast, lunch, and dinner service in February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Masia to close temporarily. The restaurant operated in various forms throughout the remainder of 2020, offering take-out service and special pre-packaged dinners for select holidays. The owners initially planned to close temporarily in January 2021 but confirmed the restaurant's permanent closure in March.
Pearl Tavern was a sports bar and restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Pearl District, in the United States. The restaurant was started by former American football player Joey Harrington, bartender Ryan Magarian, and ChefStable restaurateur Kurt Huffman in December 2016. Intended to be more casual than a steakhouse, the family-friendly Pearl Tavern served various cuts of steak, fried chicken, fish, and risotto, as well as bar snacks and other options for brunch and happy hour. The interior had dark leather booths and multiple widescreen television for sports viewing, and the servers wore plaid. Three percent of profits benefited Harrington's non-profit organization.
