Have you ever sat in a fast food restaurant and said to yourself, “Hmm, this food is great. This is my favorite fast food restaurant”? Well you are not alone! Many people say the exact same thing. And today, we are going to talk about our top 10 fast food restaurants! So read away viewers, and get your taste buds ready for some delicious fun!
Keith – Long John Silver’s
Long John Silver’s, Inc., is a United States-based fast-food restaurant that specializes in seafood. The name of the brand is borrowed from the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which the pirate “Long John” Silver is one of the main characters. Formerly a division of Yum! Brands, Inc., the company was divested to a group of franchisees in 2011.
Long John Silver’s food offerings include platters, sandwiches, and various single items. The platters feature seafood as the main item, with side dishes consisting of coleslaw, hushpuppies, corn, green beans, and French fries (chips) or batter fried onion rings. Seafood items include fish, clams, and shrimp, with chicken fingers known as “Chicken Planks”. More recently, the brand began offering baked cod as a lower-calorie option. The restaurants also sell dessert offerings as separate items.
Before being bought by Yum! Brands in late 2002, Long John Silver’s sold Coca Cola products. They began to switch over to Pepsi products the following year when Yum! Brands began to open new restaurants.
Customers also have the option to “add a piece”, which the company promotes in its advertising and on its website.
In July 2013, The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition and health policy watchdog group, named Long John Silver’s “Big Catch” meal the worst restaurant meal in America, noting that it contains 33 grams of trans fat, 19 grams of saturated fat, 1,320 calories and almost 3,700 milligrams of sodium.In January 2014, the company announced that it had eliminated trans fats from its menu.
David – Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant founded in February 21, 1951 by Robert O. Peterson in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. In total, the chain has 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast of the United States. Food items include a variety of hamburger and cheeseburger sandwiches along with selections of internationally themed foods such as tacos and eggrolls. The company also operates the Qdoba Mexican Grill chain.
Jack in the Box also offers an Americanized version of ethnic cuisine – such as egg rolls and tacos, along with breakfast burritos and poppers- cream cheese-stuffed, deep-fried jalapeño peppers. New items come in on a rotation every three to four months, including the Philly cheesesteak and the deli style pannidos (deli trio, ham & turkey, zesty turkey) which were replaced by Jack’s ciabatta burger and included the original ciabatta burger and the bacon n’ cheese ciabatta. Jack in the Box also carries seasonal items such as pumpkin pie shakes, Oreo mint shakes, and eggnog shakes during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. In some locations, local delicacies are a regular part of the menu. Locations in Hawaii, for example, include the Paniolo Breakfast (Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice platter) and teriyaki chicken and rice bowl. In the Southern United States, the company offers biscuits and sweet tea. In Imperial County, California, some locations sell date shakes, reflecting the crop’s ubiquity in the region’s farms. In the spring of 2007, Jack in the Box also introduced its sirloin burger and followed this up with recently the sirloin steak melt. Its more recent foray into the deli market was the less-popular Ultimate Club Sandwich which was initially removed in Arizona due to poor sales and has since been phased out at all locations.
The Bonus Jack was first released in 1970, and has been reintroduced to Jack in the Box menus at various times throughout the years. In November 2009, the company discontinued their popular ciabatta sandwiches/burgers. In 2012, Jack in the Box introduced a bacon milkshake as part of its “Marry Bacon” campaign.
Keith – White Castle
White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain located in the Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic United States, generally credited as the first fast food chain in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as “sliders”, the burgers were priced at five cents until the 1940s, and remained at ten cents for years thereafter. For several years, when the original burgers sold for five cents, White Castle periodically ran promotional ads in local newspapers which contained coupons offering five burgers for ten cents, takeout only.
On January 14, 2014, Time labelled the White Castle slider the most influential burger of all time.
White Castle also markets its sandwiches in 30-hamburger boxes, called a Crave Case. The figure of 30 burgers represents the number that can be produced on one of its standard grills at the same time. A “Crave Crate” is also offered, with the contents being 100 burgers.
In 2003, White Castle unveiled a new logo, but has been promoting the slogan “What You Crave” since 1994.
The breakfast menu is available until 11:00 AM. Some stores have attempted to boost overnight sales and start breakfast service as early as midnight. The regular menu is available 24 hours a day. However, some restaurants have started closing at 1:00 AM on weeknights and only staying open all night on Friday and Saturday.
Although White Castle originated in Wichita, Kansas, the city has not had a branch since 1938, nor is there a White Castle restaurant in the entire state of Kansas. White Castle is one of the few restaurant chains that does not have a location in its original city. White Castle is also unusual in that their store locations include a region that is essentially a significant “exclave” to its primary area. It has many stores in metropolitan New York City, though all of its other stores are hundreds of miles away in the Midwest.
David – KFC (nee: Kentucky Fried Chicken)
KFC (short for Kentucky Fried Chicken) is a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the world’s second largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald’s, with 18,875 outlets in 118 countries and territories as of December 2013. The company is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.
KFC was founded by 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 the restaurant franchising concept, and the first “Kentucky Fried Chicken” franchise opened in Utah in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. By branding himself as “Colonel Sanders,” Harland became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising. However, the company’s rapid expansion saw it overwhelm the ageing Sanders, and in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack C. Massey.
KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, KFC experienced mixed fortunes domestically, as it went through a series of changes in corporate ownership with little or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to the spirits distributor Heublein, who were taken over by the R.J. Reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate, who sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas however, and in 1987 KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China. The chain has since expanded rapidly in China, which is now the company’s single largest market. PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which later changed its name to Yum! Brands.
KFC’s original product is pressure fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders’ recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe represent a notable trade secret. Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard “bucket”, which has become a well-known feature of the chain since it was first introduced by franchisee Pete Harman in 1957. Since the early 1990s, KFC has expanded its menu to offer other chicken products such as chicken fillet burgers and wraps, as well as salads and side dishes, such as French fries and coleslaw, desserts, and soft drinks, the latter often supplied by PepsiCo. KFC is known for its former and current slogan “Finger Lickin’ Good”, which was replaced by “Nobody does chicken like KFC” and “So good” in the interim.
Keith/David – Nathan’s Famous
Nathan’s Famous, Inc. is an American company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs.
The original Nathan’s restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York.
The company’s headquarters are in Wing A of the second floor of One Jericho Plaza in Jericho, New York, part of Oyster Bay, New York.
Nathan’s began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916 and bears the name of co-founder Nathan Handwerker (June 14, 1892 – March 24, 1974), who started the business with his wife, Ida Handwerker, née Ida Greenwald. Ida created the hot dog recipe they used, and Ida’s grandmother created the secret spice recipe.
Jewish immigrant Handwerker arrived in New York City in 1912 and soon found work at the Coney Island, Brooklyn, restaurant Feltman’s German Gardens.By one account, he was encouraged by singing waiters Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante to go into business in competition with Feltman’s; as United Press International noted in 1974, “There are many stories about Nathan and how the business began, but this is the way he told it…” The company’s official history does not mention the future stars’ encouragement. Nathan and Ida spent their life savings of $300 to begin the business.
Handwerker undercut Feltman’s by charging five cents for a hot dog when his former employer was charging 10 cents. At a time when food regulation was in its infancy and the pedigree of the hot dog particularly suspect, Handwerker ensured that men wearing surgeon’s smocks were seen eating at his stand to reassure potential customers. The business proved immensely popular.
The expansion of the chain was overseen by Nathan Handwerker’s son, Murray Handwerker. A second branch on Long Beach Road in Oceanside, New York, opened in 1959, and another debuted in Yonkers, New York, in 1965. Murray Handwerker was named the president of Nathan’s Famous in 1968, the year the company went public.
All locations were sold by the Handwerker family to a group of private investors in 1987, at which point Nathan’s was franchised and a great number of establishments were opened around New York City and beyond.
In the 1990s, the company acquired Kenny Rogers Roasters and Miami Subs Grill, both of which were later divested.
As of September 2001, the company consisted of 24 company-owned units, 380 franchised or licensed units and more than 1,400 stores in 50 states, Guam, the District of Columbia and 17 foreign countries. One unit was lost due to the collapse of Two World Trade Center from the September 11, 2001, attacks.
International master franchise agreements were signed (circa 2006) with Egypt and Israel.[10] The company also owns the exclusive co-branding rights to the Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips chain.
Keith – Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began 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 and James McLamore, purchased the company and renamed it Burger King. Over the next half century, the company would change 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 BK 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 Canadian-based doughnut chain Tim Hortons under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company, Restaurant Brands International
At the end of fiscal year 2013, Burger King reported it had over 13,000 outlets in 79 countries; of these, 66 percent are in the United States and 99 percent are privately owned and operated with its new owners moving to an entirely franchised model in 2013. BK has historically used several variations of franchising to expand its operations. The manner in which the company licenses its franchisees varies depending on the region, with some regional franchises, known as master franchises, responsible for selling franchise sub-licenses on the company’s behalf. Burger King’s relationship with its franchises has not always been harmonious. Occasional spats between the two have caused numerous issues, and in several instances the company’s and its licensees’ relations have degenerated into precedent-setting court cases. Burger King’s Australian franchise, Hungry Jack’s, is the only franchise to operate under a different name due to a copyright dispute and a series of legal cases between the two.
The Burger King menu has expanded from a basic offering of burgers, French fries, sodas, and milkshakes in 1954, to a larger, more diverse set of product offerings. In 1957, the Whopper was the first major addition to the menu; it has since become Burger King’s signature product. Conversely, BK has introduced many products which failed to catch hold in the marketplace. Some of these failures in the United States have seen success in foreign markets, where BK has also tailored its menu for regional tastes. From 2002 to 2010, Burger King aggressively targeted the 18–34 male demographic with larger products that often carried correspondingly large amounts of unhealthy fats and trans-fats. This tactic would eventually come to hurt the company’s financial underpinnings and cast a negative pall on its earnings. Beginning in 2011, the company began to move away from the previous male-oriented menu and introduce new menu items, product reformulations, and packaging as part of 3G Capital’s restructuring plans of the company.
The 1970s were the “Golden Age” of Burger King advertising, but beginning in the early 1980s, the company’s advertising began to lose focus; a series of less successful ad campaigns created by a procession of advertising agencies continued for the next two decades. In 2003, Burger King hired the Miami-based advertising agency of Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B). CP+B completely reorganized Burger King’s advertising with a series of new campaigns centered on a redesigned Burger King character accompanied with a new online presence. While highly successful, some of CP+B commercials were derided for perceived sexism or cultural insensitivity. New owner, 3G Capital, terminated the relationship with CP+B in 2011 and moved its advertising to McGarryBowen to begin a new product oriented campaign with expanded demographic targeting.
David – McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world’s largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across 35,000 outlets. Founded in the United States, the company was founded in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald. In 1948, they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth.
A McDonald’s restaurant is operated by either a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The McDonald’s Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. In 2012, the company had annual revenues of $27.5 billion and profits of $5.5 billion. According to a 2012 BBC report, McDonald’s is the world’s second largest private employer—behind Walmart—with 1.9 million employees, 1.5 million of whom work for franchises.
McDonald’s primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. In response to changing consumer tastes, the company has expanded its menu to include salads, fish, wraps, smoothies, fruit, and seasoned fries.
McDonald’s predominantly sells hamburgers, various types of chicken, chicken sandwiches, French fries, soft drinks, breakfast items, and desserts. In most markets, McDonald’s offers salads and vegetarian items, wraps and other localized fare. On a seasonal basis, McDonald’s offers the McRib sandwich. Some speculate the seasonality of the McRib adds to its appeal. Various countries, especially in Asia, are currently serving soup. This local deviation from the standard menu is a characteristic for which the chain is particularly known, and one which is employed either to abide by regional food taboos (such as the religious prohibition of beef consumption in India) or to make available foods with which the regional market is more familiar (such as the sale of McRice in Indonesia, or Ebi (prawn) Burger in Singapore). In Germany and other Western European countries, McDonald’s sells beer. In New Zealand, McDonald’s sells meat pies, after the local affiliate partially relaunched the Georgie Pie fast food chain it bought out in 1996. In the United States, after limited regional trials, McDonald’s plans to offer breakfast whenever its restaurants are open. Eggs cannot be cooked at the same time on the same equipment as hamburgers due to different temperature requirements.
Keith – Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise, known for pizza and side dishes. It is now corporately known as Pizza Hut, Inc. and is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., the world’s largest restaurant company.
In 2015, the company had more than 6,000 Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States, and 5,139 store locations in 94 other countries and territories worldwide. Pizza Hut has a total of 11,139 branches worldwide.
Pizza Hut experiments with new products, discontinuing less successful ones. In North America, Pizza Hut has notably sold these: “Stuffed crust” pizza, with the outermost edge wrapped around a cylinder of mozzarella cheese; “Hand-Tossed”, more like traditional pizzeria crusts; Thin ‘N Crispy, a thin, crisp dough which was Pizza Hut’s original style; Dippin’ Strips pizza, a pizza cut into small strips that can be dipped into a number of sauces; and its largest product, the Bigfoot pizza.
The Stuffed Crust pizza was introduced in March 26, 1995. By the end of the year it had become one of their most popular lines.
There are regional differences in the products and bases sold. The company has localized to Southeast Asia with a baked rice dish called Curry Zazzle.
On May 9, 2008, Pizza Hut created and sold in Seattle, Denver, and Dallas, “The Natural”, featuring organic ingredients. This was discontinued on October 27, 2009 in the Dallas market.
Pizza Hut developed a pizza for use as space food, which was delivered to the International Space Station in 2001. It was vacuum sealed and about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter to fit in the Station’s oven. It was launched on a Soyuz and successfully eaten by Yuri Usachov in orbit.
In recent years the chain has seen a down turn in profits. It was stated in 2015 that the franchise would be pumping more capital into their London branches. High Street chain Pizza Hut is installing cocktail bars in its London branches as part of a £60?million bid to win back “the Nando’s generation”.
David – Arby’s
Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. is the second largest quick-service sandwich chain in the U.S. with more than 3,400 restaurants system wide.
Roark Capital Group acquired the company in July 2011 and owns 81.5% of the company, with The Wendy’s Company owning the other 18.5%. In addition to its classic Roast Beef and Beef ‘n Cheddar sandwiches, Arby’s products also include deli-style Market Fresh line of sandwiches, Curly Fries and Jamocha Shakes Its headquarters is in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
As of December 31, 2013, there were 956 company-owned restaurants and 2,448 franchised restaurants. There are international locations in four countries outside of the United States: Canada, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
In addition to roast beef, deli style sandwiches, called “Market Fresh Sandwiches,” are sold at Arby’s. The original lineup of sandwiches included Roast Beef and Swiss, Roast Turkey and Swiss, Roast Ham and Swiss, and Roast Chicken Caesar. With the exception of the Chicken Caesar, all Market Fresh Sandwiches came with the standard toppings of spicy brown honey mustard, mayonnaise, red onion rings, green leaf lettuce, tomato slices and sliced Swiss cheese. Additions to the Market Fresh lineup included Roast Turkey Ranch and Bacon and the Ultimate BLT. Another sandwich, the LTO Market Fresh Five-Star Club, served on Harvest White Bread, was offered for a limited time, but did not remain on the menu. The line was again expanded to include other styles of specialty sandwiches, the Italian Beef and Provolone and Pot Roast sandwich, served on baguettes.
In early 2006, Arby’s Restaurant Group signed a contract with Pepsi, making Pepsi the chain’s exclusive soft drink provider. When franchisees’ contracts expire with Coca-Cola, they will be required to switch to Pepsi-Cola,[19] the only exception was the Arby’s located at Youngstown State University because the University has its own separate contract with Coca-Cola for other university purposes, particularly the athletic department. This Arby’s closed in mid-2012 when construction began to convert the location into a Wendy’s.
In October 2013, Arby’s introduced its most successful offering, the Smokehouse Brisket sandwich.
In September 2014, Arby’s introduced gyros to its menu for a limited time.
Keith – KFC (nee: Kentucky Fried Chicken)
KFC (short for Kentucky Fried Chicken) is a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the world’s second largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald’s, with 18,875 outlets in 118 countries and territories as of December 2013. The company is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.
KFC was founded by 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 the restaurant franchising concept, and the first “Kentucky Fried Chicken” franchise opened in Utah in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. By branding himself as “Colonel Sanders,” Harland became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising. However, the company’s rapid expansion saw it overwhelm the ageing Sanders, and in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack C. Massey.
KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, KFC experienced mixed fortunes domestically, as it went through a series of changes in corporate ownership with little or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to the spirits distributor Heublein, who were taken over by the R.J. Reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate, who sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas however, and in 1987 KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China. The chain has since expanded rapidly in China, which is now the company’s single largest market. PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which later changed its name to Yum! Brands.
KFC’s original product is pressure fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders’ recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe represent a notable trade secret. Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard “bucket”, which has become a well-known feature of the chain since it was first introduced by franchisee Pete Harman in 1957. Since the early 1990s, KFC has expanded its menu to offer other chicken products such as chicken fillet burgers and wraps, as well as salads and side dishes, such as French fries and coleslaw, desserts, and soft drinks, the latter often supplied by PepsiCo. KFC is known for its former and current slogan “Finger Lickin’ Good”, which was replaced by “Nobody does chicken like KFC” and “So good” in the interim.
David – Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC is a Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States chain of fast food restaurants founded by the Marriott Corporation in 1968 in Falls Church, Virginia. As of August 2015, Roy Rogers had 49 stores: 20 corporate and 29 franchised. In 2002, the Plamondon Companies purchased the trademark from Imasco, the former parent of Hardee’s. Under the new owners the company is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.
Roy Rogers’ menu consists primarily of hamburgers, roast beef sandwiches, fried chicken, french fries and beverages.
Popular items on the menu are roast beef sandwiches and fried chicken, which was advertised by Roy Rogers under the “Pappy Parker” name in the 1980s using a cartoon prospector (the Pappy Parker name was inherited from Marriott’s original Hot Shoppes chain). Other signature items at Roy Rogers are the Gold Rush chicken sandwich (a fried chicken breast with bacon, a slice of Monterey Jack cheese, and a honey-based BBQ sauce) and the Double-R Bar Burger (a cheeseburger with ham). The side items featured at Roy Rogers are french fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, baked beans, coleslaw, side salad, fruit cup, and baked apples.
Though standard Roy Rogers locations serve food in a typical fast-food fashion, some locations (such as the locations that were formerly Jr. Hot Shoppes) and the franchises located throughout Mid-Atlantic highway rest-stops serve the food in a cafeteria-style. An exception is the Allentown service plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Northeast Extension, which serves its customers in the typical fast-food fashion since it reopened in May 2008 (the entire service plaza had been rebuilt).
In the cafeteria-style restaurants, customers push their trays on rails past stations stocked with pre-wrapped packages of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and roast-beef sandwiches. A feature of this chain in any of the locations is the Fixin’s Bar which features numerous condiments. Because of this, sandwich items are delivered without any of the customary garnishes. After selecting and paying for these items, patrons can garnish them to their own taste at the Fixin’s Bar with such items as ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, horseradish sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and onions.
Keith – Wendy’s
Wendy’s is an American international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of March 1999, Wendy’s was the world’s third largest hamburger fast food chain with approximately 6,650 locations, following Burger King’s 12,000+ locations and McDonald’s’ 31,000+ locations. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc, the parent company of Arby’s. Despite the new ownership, Wendy’s headquarters remained in Dublin.Previously, Wendy’s had rejected more than two buyout offers from Triarc Companies Inc. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy’s/Arby’s Group (now The Wendy’s Company), a publicly traded company.
Approximately 85% of Wendy’s restaurants are franchised, all of which are located in North America. Wendy’s and its affiliates employ more than 47,000 people in its global operations. In fiscal year 2006, the firm had $2.469 billion (USD) in total sales. While Wendy’s sets standards for exterior store appearance, food quality and menu, individual owners have control over hours of operations, interior decor, pricing and staff uniforms and wages.
Wendy’s menu consists primarily of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries and beverages, including the Frosty. Unlike Burger King and McDonald’s, the company does not have a signature sandwich, such as the Whopper or the Big Mac. Instead, it has the Dave’s Hot ‘N Juicy 1/4 lb. Single (introduced in 2011 as a reworking of the longstanding Wendy’s Single), a square-pattied burger made with fresh ground beef rather than round frozen patties. Wendy’s uses these square hamburger patties – which will hang over the edge of a circular bun – as its signature item.
Wendy’s offers two different hamburger patties, a “Junior” 1.78 ounce (50.4 gram) patty and its “Single” 4 ounce (113.4 gram) patty. 4-ounce patties are sold in single, double and triple sizes whereas the junior patties sell in single and double patties. The previous size of 2 ounces per junior patty was altered to its current size in 2007 to save on expenses from rising food costs. Originally Wendy’s had only two kinds of chicken sandwiches, fried and grilled. The spicy chicken sandwich started out as a promotional sandwich. It was later put on the menu full-time in 1996 due to its popularity and the fact that, compared to most promotional sandwiches, it was much simpler to make (it used the same condiments as the standard breaded chicken sandwich).
The Frescata line of sandwiches also went from being promotional items to main-menu items. After going through several revisions, the Turkey and Swiss and the Ham and Swiss were put on the menu full-time. However, the Frescata sandwiches were discontinued in mid December 2007.
Occasionally, some Wendy’s restaurants would offer a fried fish sandwich for some of its customers who desire fish instead of beef or chicken.
In 1988, Wendy’s was the first fast-food chain to create a single price-point value menu where all items listed on that menu were priced exclusively at 99¢. The menu was restructured in 2007 due to rising costs as the Super Value Menu with prices ranging from 99¢ to $2.00 USD.
David – Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, Georgia, specializing in chicken sandwiches. Founded in 1946, it has more than 1,850 restaurants, mainly in the southeastern United States, and is the top chicken fast food chain in the U.S.
The company’s culture is influenced by its founder’s Southern Baptist beliefs. All Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed for business on Sunday. In 2012, CEO Dan T. Cathy’s public statements in opposition to same-sex marriage became the subject of public controversy.
Though Chick-fil-A has always used trans-fat free processes in their chicken sandwiches, anticipating consumer dietary concerns, in 2008, became the first fast-food restaurant to become completely trans-fat free.
In 2011, food blogger and activist Vani Hari wrote a post titled, Chick-fil-A or Chemical Fil-A?, on her website, FoodBabe.com. She noted that the chain’s Chick-fil-A sandwich contained nearly 100 ingredients, including peanut oil with TBHQ. In October 2012, Chick-fil-A invited Hari to meet with company executives at its Atlanta, GA headquarters. In December 2013, Chick-fil-A notified Hari that it had eliminated the dye Yellow No. 5 and reduced sodium content in its chicken soup. The company also said that it is testing a peanut oil that does not contain TBHQ and would start testing sauces and dressings made without high-fructose corn syrup in 2014.
Keith – Papa Johns
The Papa John’s restaurant franchise was founded in 1983 when “Papa” John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of his father’s tavern, Mick’s Lounge, in Jeffersonville, Indiana. He then sold his 1971 Z28 Camaro to purchase $1,600 worth of used pizza equipment and began selling pizzas to the tavern’s customers out of the converted closet. His pizzas proved so popular that one year later he was able to move into an adjoining space. In 2009, Schnatter got the Camaro back by contacting the family that he sold the car to in 1983.
Today, the company is the third largest take-out and pizza delivery restaurant chain in the world with headquarters in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, near Louisville. Its slogan is “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Papa John’s.”
Internationally, there are over 4,600 Papa John’s establishments, including over 3,200 in the U.S. and the remainder spread among 34 other countries. In September 2012, Papa John’s Pizza opened its 4,000th restaurant, in New Hyde Park, New York. The company celebrated the event by giving away 4,000 free pizzas to customers throughout New York City.
Papa John’s primarily takes carry out and delivery orders, although some stores have tables and chairs for dining in.
Franchise stores owners pay a royalty fee 5% of net sales to Papa John’s International, and up to 7% of net sales on advertising efforts. Corporate operations looks over franchisees to ensure brand consistency. As of February 2015, there are over 4,600 Papa John’s restaurants worldwide, including locations in all 50 U.S. states and in 34 other countries. Papa John’s International is a publicly traded company, with 30% of shares owned by John Schnatter.
In January 2002, Papa John’s became the first national pizza chain to make online ordering available to all of its U.S. customers. Most other national chains subsequently added online ordering to their services. On July 10, 2004, Papa John’s controlled an estimated 6.6 percent of the market, according to Technomic.
David – Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., they serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of “value menu” items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion customers each year in more than 6,500 restaurants mostly in the U.S., more than 80 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees.l is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., they serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of “value menu” items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion customers each year in more than 6,500 restaurants mostly in the U.S., more than 80 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees.
In 1991, Taco Bell opened the first Taco Bell Express in San Francisco. This concept is a reduced-size restaurant with a limited menu (primarily items priced under $1), meant to emphasize volume. Taco Bell Express locations operate primarily inside convenience stores, truck stops, shopping malls, and airports.
Taco Bell began co-branding with KFC in 1995, when the first such co-brand opened in Clayton, North Carolina.[8] The chain has since co-branded with Pizza Hut[9] and Long John Silver’s as well.
In 1997, PepsiCo experimented with a new “fresh grill” concept, opening at least one Border Bell restaurant in Mountain View, California on El Camino Real (SR 82). In addition to a subset of the regular Taco Bell menu, Border Bell offered Mexican-inspired items like those available from Chevy’s Fresh Mex restaurants (then owned by PepsiCo), such as Chevy’s signature sweet corn tamalito pudding and a fresh salsa bar. Close to the time that PepsiCo spun off its restaurant business in 1997, the Border Bell in Mountain View was closed and converted to a Taco Bell restaurant, which was still open in 2012.
Keith – Subway
Subway (stylized as SUBWAY) is an American fast food restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches (subs) and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor’s Associates Inc. Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world, with 44,222 restaurants in 110 countries and territories as of September 8, 2015. It is the largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator in the world.
Subway’s international headquarters is in Milford, Connecticut; five regional centers support Subway’s international operations. The regional offices for European franchises are located in Amsterdam, Netherlands; the Australia and New Zealand locations are supported from Brisbane, Australia; the Asian locations are supported from offices located in Beirut, Lebanon, and Singapore; and the Latin America support center is in Miami, Florida.
Subway’s core product is the submarine sandwich (or “sub”). In addition to these, the chain also sells wraps, salad, and baked goods (including cookies, doughnuts, and muffins). While some menu items vary between countries and markets, Subway’s worldwide signature sub varieties
David – Wendy’s
Wendy’s is an American international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of March 1999, Wendy’s was the world’s third largest hamburger fast food chain with approximately 6,650 locations, following Burger King’s 12,000+ locations and McDonald’s’ 31,000+ locations. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc, the parent company of Arby’s. Despite the new ownership, Wendy’s headquarters remained in Dublin.Previously, Wendy’s had rejected more than two buyout offers from Triarc Companies Inc. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy’s/Arby’s Group (now The Wendy’s Company), a publicly traded company.
Approximately 85% of Wendy’s restaurants are franchised, all of which are located in North America. Wendy’s and its affiliates employ more than 47,000 people in its global operations. In fiscal year 2006, the firm had $2.469 billion (USD) in total sales. While Wendy’s sets standards for exterior store appearance, food quality and menu, individual owners have control over hours of operations, interior decor, pricing and staff uniforms and wages.
Wendy’s menu consists primarily of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries and beverages, including the Frosty. Unlike Burger King and McDonald’s, the company does not have a signature sandwich, such as the Whopper or the Big Mac. Instead, it has the Dave’s Hot ‘N Juicy 1/4 lb. Single (introduced in 2011 as a reworking of the longstanding Wendy’s Single), a square-pattied burger made with fresh ground beef rather than round frozen patties. Wendy’s uses these square hamburger patties – which will hang over the edge of a circular bun – as its signature item.
Wendy’s offers two different hamburger patties, a “Junior” 1.78 ounce (50.4 gram) patty and its “Single” 4 ounce (113.4 gram) patty. 4-ounce patties are sold in single, double and triple sizes whereas the junior patties sell in single and double patties. The previous size of 2 ounces per junior patty was altered to its current size in 2007 to save on expenses from rising food costs. Originally Wendy’s had only two kinds of chicken sandwiches, fried and grilled. The spicy chicken sandwich started out as a promotional sandwich. It was later put on the menu full-time in 1996 due to its popularity and the fact that, compared to most promotional sandwiches, it was much simpler to make (it used the same condiments as the standard breaded chicken sandwich).
The Frescata line of sandwiches also went from being promotional items to main-menu items. After going through several revisions, the Turkey and Swiss and the Ham and Swiss were put on the menu full-time. However, the Frescata sandwiches were discontinued in mid December 2007.
Occasionally, some Wendy’s restaurants would offer a fried fish sandwich for some of its customers who desire fish instead of beef or chicken.
In 1988, Wendy’s was the first fast-food chain to create a single price-point value menu where all items listed on that menu were priced exclusively at 99¢. The menu was restructured in 2007 due to rising costs as the Super Value Menu with prices ranging from 99¢ to $2.00 USD.
Keith – Dunkin’ Donuts
Dunkin’ Donuts is an American global doughnut company and coffeehouse chain based in Canton, Massachusetts in Greater Boston. It was founded in 1950 by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts. Since its founding, the company has grown to become one of the largest coffee and baked goods chains in the world, with 11,000 restaurants in 33 countries. The chain’s products include doughnuts, bagels, other baked goods, and a wide variety of hot and iced beverages.
The company primarily competes with Starbucks, as over half the company’s business is in coffee sales, as well as with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Honey Dew Donuts. Before 1990, Dunkin’ Donuts’ primary competitor was Mister Donut, but in February of that year Mister Donut was acquired by Dunkin’ Donuts’ owner Allied-Lyons. After the acquisition of Mister Donut by Allied-Lyons, all Mister Donut stores in North America were offered the chance to change their name to Dunkin’ Donuts.
As of 2014, Dunkin’ Donuts is owned by Dunkin’ Brands Inc., which also owns Baskin-Robbins and previously owned the Togo’s chain.
Dunkin’ Donuts has several varieties of donuts. Other bakery goods and sandwiches include bagels, cookies, muffins, doughnut holes under the brand name “Munchkins”, oven-toasted sandwiches under the brand name “Big N’ Toasted”, and a glazed donut breakfast sandwich. However, only 8% of the chain’s sales are donuts; 65% are drinks, and 27% are other food items. Hot drinks include coffee, tea and hot chocolate; cold drinks include iced tea and “Coolatta”, which is an iced drink served since 1997, flavoured either with coffee and cream, or as a slush, made with fruit juice.
Since October 18, 2007, Dunkin’ Donuts locations in the United States have reduced trans fats from their menu items by switching to a blend of oils: palm, soybean and cottonseed. International locations are expected to adopt the change over time.The DDSmart menu features items that are reduced no less than 25 percent of any one of the following: calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar, or sodium.
As of May 2015 the Dunkin’ Donuts website claimed “there are countless steps involved in producing coffee.”[
David – Sarku Japan
Sarku Japan is a North American fast food chain specializing in Japanese cuisine such as teriyaki and sushi Headquartered in Markham, Ontario, the chain has approximately 200 restaurants in 36 U.S. states, frequently sighted in large shopping malls and beginning to utilize storefront locations as well. The group was founded in Boston, Massachusetts As of April 2002, the company is headquartered in Markham, Ontario.
“Sarku” does not mean anything in Japanese, and would be difficult for a Japanese person to pronounce, as Japanese does not contain any instances of R followed immediately by another consonant, with no vowel in between. The closest approximation would be ??? saruku.
Okay! Now I am hungry after making this list! Are you? If you aren’t, then something is wrong with you! LOL! Just kidding. I hope you enjoyed this list as much fun as we had putting it together! Would you like to listen to us talk about this top 10 list? Go to podcastunlimited.com, check out the archive section, and listen to, or download episode #73. To see our list of Honorable Mentions, and a little secret about us, check out our sister blog here.