 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Headquarters | Webster, New York, United States |
| Website | www |
Bill Gray's is a chain of restaurants based in Webster, New York (a suburb of Rochester, New York) that currently has 14 restaurants in the Rochester area in western New York, including seven tap room-style restaurants, and one tavern-style grill named Flaherty's. Ten of these locations also sell Abbott's Frozen Custard. [1]
In 1938, Bill and Alberta Gray began selling hot dogs in Webster. [2] Within a few years, Bill Gray's expanded and added multiple items to its menu.
Local businessman Bruce Hegedorn became a partner with Bill Gray in the early 1960s. With Bill as the head of operations and store management and Bruce as the financial person and location expert, they continued to expand and build the restaurant chain. They acquired competitor Tom Wahl's in 1986. [3]
Bill Gray's mostly operates stand-alone restaurants in Monroe County, New York. Exceptions are the facility in the Strong National Museum of Play (Bill Gray's at the Skyliner), and the combined restaurant and sports bar in Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex.[ citation needed ]
Frozen custard is a frozen dessert similar to ice cream, but made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It is usually kept at a warmer temperature compared to ice cream, and typically has a denser consistency.
Nick Tahou Hots is a restaurant in Rochester, New York best known for a dish called the Garbage Plate. The restaurant was founded in 1918 by Alex Tahou, the grandfather of the 21st-century owner, and named for Nick Tahou, the founder's son, who operated the establishment until his death in 1997. While there are other Upstate New York variants, Nick Tahou's is the originator of the trademarked Garbage Plate.
Wienerschnitzel is an American fast food chain founded in 1961 that specializes in hot dogs. Despite the name, the company does not sell Wiener schnitzel, only selling it once as a promotional item. Wienerschnitzel locations are found predominantly in California and Texas, though others are located in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Washington. Outside the 50 states, there is a store located in Guam and one in Panama.
Culver Franchising System, LLC (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 has a total of 899 restaurants in 26 states as of February 2023.
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is an American fast-casual restaurant chain based in Wichita, Kansas. Its menu includes steakburgers, Vienna Beef hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches, and the company provides frozen custard with a variety of specialty sundaes and concretes.
Carvel is an American ice cream franchise owned by Focus Brands. Carvel is best known for its soft-serve ice cream and ice cream cakes, which feature a layer of distinctive "crunchies". It also sells a variety of novelty ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches. Its slogan is "America's Freshest Ice Cream".
Cassano's Pizza King, currently operating under the brand Cassano's, is a pizzeria chain based in Dayton, Ohio. Established on June 4, 1953, by the grocer Victor "Vic" J. Cassano, Sr. and his mother-in-law Caroline "Mom" Donisi, the company currently (2005) operates 34 Cassano's Pizza King restaurants in the Dayton area, and has three other western Ohio franchises, plus a franchise in Quincy, Illinois, and another in Hannibal, Missouri. The company also operates dozens of Cassano's Pizza Express kiosks in gas stations, convenience stores and hotels, and sells frozen pizza dough under the name Cassano's Fresh Frozen Dough Company.
Rita's Franchise Company, LLC, doing business as Rita's Italian Ice, is a privately owned and operated American quick service restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The chain is known for its Italian ice and frozen custard, but also offers multiple types of frozen treats and specialty creations. Rita's opened its first restaurant in 1984 in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, where the chain is currently headquartered. As of January 27, 2022, the chain had 538 restaurants in 31 states, mostly located in the Mid-Atlantic.
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.
Gray's Papaya is a hot dog restaurant chain, with its flagship restaurant located at 2090 Broadway at 72nd Street. In June 2020, it had one location operational during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several other locations had closed prior. Gray's Papaya is famous for its inexpensive, high-quality hot dogs, considered among the best in New York City. The "papaya" in the name refers to the papaya fruit drink sold at the establishment. They also sell orange, grape, piña colada, coconut champagne (non-alcoholic), and banana daiquiri (non-alcoholic) fruit drinks.
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.
Tom Wahl's is a chain of fast-food restaurants based in the Rochester, New York area that currently has several restaurants around the Finger Lakes region. USA Today named it one of "51 great burger joints across the USA" in 2010.
Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard is a Lakewood, Colorado-based fast-food restaurant specializing in premium burgers and frozen custard. The chain operates 35 locations: 33 in Colorado, and 2 in Wyoming.
National Coney Island is a Coney Island-style restaurant based in Michigan that specializes in Greek-American cuisine. It is a corporation that has more than 20 National Coney Island locations in the Metro Detroit area.
Kline's Dairy Bar is a small ice cream shop with four locations in Virginia, United States. It was established in 1943 in downtown Harrisonburg in the Klines' family home. After the death of owner John Kline, it was bought out and expanded to three other locations. It uses an old fashioned way of production called continuous freeze instead of the newer and more popular soft serve method. This means that there is less air added into the ice cream as it freezes, making for a denser product more like old-fashioned frozen custard. Since this means of production takes more time, the shops only make three flavors a week. They update their customers on the flavors using their website and their Twitter account.
Dave's Hot Chicken is an American fast casual restaurant chain specializing in Nashville-style hot chicken.
