Whataburger

Name: Whataburger

Type of Food: Burgers

Interesting Facts: Whataburger is not to be confused with What-A-Burger, a chain of restaurants in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina that predated the first Texas Whataburger restaurant. The Texas Whataburger sued the Virginia What-A-Burger in 2003 over trademark infringement. The decision was they would coexist as Whataburger was not interested in the same regional locations as What-A-Burger.

History: In 1950, an entrepreneur named Harmon Dobson opened up the world’s first Whataburger on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, Texas. The small, wooden kiosk sold the enormous 5-inch burgers for 25 cents each. On August 8, 1950, company founder Harmon Dobson opened his first Whataburger restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas. The small, wooden kiosk sold the enormous 5-inch burgers for 25 cents each, and before the first week was out, lines stretched down the street.

In 1952, Joe Andrews, Sr. brought his family to the newly opened Whataburger in Kingsville, Texas. After one bite, he knew Whataburger was something he wanted to be a part of. Joe was awarded the first franchise location shortly thereafter (the fifth Whataburger restaurant) which opened in Alice, Texas in 1953. The company began expansion outside of Texas in 1959, when Whataburger #21 opened in Pensacola, Florida.

By 1960, there were over 17 Whataburger locations in Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. The familiar orange- and white-striped Whataburger A-frame started as a back-of-the-napkin sketch for Harmon Dobson. That sketch led to the opening of the very first A-frame Whataburger at the twenty-fourth Whataburger location in Odessa, Texas in 1961. In 1962, the menu grew with the addition of hot fried pies and French fries. In 1966, Whataburger added inside dining rooms to the A-frames establishment and in 1967, the official company logo, the familiar “Flying W,” was commissioned.

Later in 1967, an airplane crash took the life of company founder Harmon Dobson. Dobson’s wife, Grace, took control of the business. By the end of the decade, there would be 60 Whataburgers completely finished and six more under construction. Whataburger doubled its number of restaurants from 1971 to 1979. The first drive-through was installed in 1971, and in 1972 the company opened its 100th restaurant. Whataburger kept expanding. In the 1990′s Tom Dobson, Harmon’s son, oversaw expansion to over 500 units (and beyond), making Whataburger the country’s eighth largest hamburger chain. Today, there are more than 700 locations in 10 states.

Website: www.whataburger.com

View the menu: here

Find your local Whataburger: here

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Chick-fil-A

Name: Chick-fil-A

Type of Food: Chicken

Interesting Facts: It is the second-largest chicken-based fast-food chain in the United States. Chick-fil-A’s slogan, “We Didn’t Invent the Chicken, Just the Chicken Sandwich,” is based on a true story: at a time when hamburgers dominated fast-food menus since the beginning,Chick-fil-A was credited with creating and inventing the chicken sandwich.

History: Chick-fil-A got it’s start in 1946 as the Dwarf Grill, a restaurant opened by Truett Cathy in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville in 1946. This restaurants original location was  near a now defunct Ford plant.During the next couple of years, Cathy worked on his recipes, and is credited with inventing the first chicken sandwich in 1964. Cathy discovered that pressure cooking the chicken in peanut oil allowed for a fast serving time, and could give him something more unique than another burger joint ( aproccess still used today). The original sandwich also came with simply two pickles because that was the only condiment he had on hand when the sandwiches were created. With popularity of this item, the first Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967. The initial growth strategy was through Chick-fil-A locations in shopping malls. There are 375 mall locations at this time. Since 1986, most of Chick-fil-A’s growth has been in freestanding units (as of May 2009, the chain has over 775 freestanding units). In total Chick-fil-A has 1430 locations in 38 states.

Website: www.chick-fil-a.com

View the menu: here

Find your local Chick-fil-A: here

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Bojangles

Name: Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits

Type of Food: Chicken and biscuits

Interesting Fact: Founded in 1977 by former KFC president Richard Thomas and partner Jack Fulk, Bojangles is named for the song written by Jerry Jeff Walker.

History: The first Bojangles’ was opened by founders Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas in July 1977 in the South End area of Charlotte, NC. Located mostly in the southeastern United States, Bojangle’s has a core menu featuring Bojangles’ Cajun Spiced chicken, fresh buttermilk biscuits and fixin’s such as Bojangles’ Dirty Rice, Bojangles’ Cajun Pintos and seasoned fries. All Bojangles’ kitchens prepare menu items from scratch. Besides Cajun-style chicken, Bojangles’ offers a wide breakfast menu including Cajun fillets, seasoned sausage or steak, country ham, eggs and cheese. Bojangles’ boasts more than 426 total locations in 12 states, as well as Honduras and Mexico.

Website: www.bojangles.com

View the menu: here

Find your local Bojangles’: here

El Pollo Loco

Name: El Pollo Loco

Type of Food: Mexican focused on grilled chicken

Interesting Fact: On July 31, 1995 El Pollo Loco earns a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for building the world’s largest burrito in Anaheim, California. The burrito is 3,112 feet long and weighs two tons.

History: It all started in 1975, in the small town of Guasave on Mexico’s Pacific Coast a roadside chicken stand named El Pollo Loco (pronounced “L-Po-yo Lo-co” and Spanish for “The Crazy Chicken”) by Juan Francisco Ochoa. Its signature menu item was (and remains) unique– fresh, natural chicken marinated in a special recipe of herbs, spices and citrus juices passed down from the founding family. News of El Pollo Loco spread rapidly throughout Northern Mexico. By 1979, El Pollo Loco restaurants could be found in a variety of Northern Mexico cities. Shortly after, news of the delicious marinated chicken traveled across the border into the United States. In 1980, people lined up around the block as the first American El Pollo Loco opened on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles. It quickly expanded and by 1991, there were 200 El Pollp Loco locations.  In 1998, El Pollo Loco added self-serve salsa bars in its restaurants, allowing customers the opportunity to personalize menu selections with El Pollo Loco signature salsas, including  its famous House Salsa, Spicy Chipotle Salsa, Avocado Salsa and Pico de Gallo. Other El Pollo Loco favorites include made-to-order signature grilled burritos, The Original Pollo Bowl®, Pollo Salads, Tacos al Carbon, quesadillas, Chicken Tortilla Soup and more. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, El Pollo Loco, Inc. is a privately held company owned by Trimaran Capital Partners and company management. El Pollo Loco opened 30 new restaurants during 2008. As of December 31, 2008, there were 413 El Pollo Loco restaurants: 247 owned by franchisees and 166 owned and operated by the company. The restaurants are located in the following U.S. states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Website: www.elpolloloco.com

View the menu: here

Find your local El Pollo Loco: here

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In-N-Out Burger

Name: In-N-Out Burger

Type of Food: Burgers, Fries and Milkshakes

Interesting Fact: In-N-Out has never franchised, and plans to remain privately owned.

History: Founded in 1948 by Harry Snyder and his wife Esther, and headquartered in Irvine, California, In-N-Out Burger has since expanded outside Southern California to the rest of the state, and to Arizona, Nevada, and southern Utah as well.

In 1948, the first In-N-Out Burger was founded by Harry and Esther Snyder in Baldwin Park. Harry’s idea of a drive-thru hamburger stand where customers could order through a two-way speaker box was quite unique. In that era, it was common to see carhops serving those who wanted to order food from their car. Harry’s idea caught on and California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand was born.

It was almost three years before a second In-N-Out was opened. By the time of Harry Snyder’s death in 1976, there were only 18 drive-thru locations. Rich, Harry’s son, took over as President at the age of 24. With the help of Guy (his brother) they established a commissary at the Baldwin Park Headquarters. This new facility allowed In-N-Out to have total quality control over all In-N-Out ingredients. In addition, they created the In-N-Out “University”, where new managers are trained and the In-N-Out formula for success is consistently reinforced. While Rich was President, In-N-Out grew from those 18 locations in 1976 to 93 locations at the time of his death in 1993. Guy Snyder became Chairman of the Board and CEO in 1993.

As Chairman of the Board, H. Guy Snyder, (the H. stands for Harry, named after his father) led In-N-Out into the future with continued expansion throughout California, Nevada and Arizona. Guy carried on the same tradition that was set in 1948 by his parents, stressing the same basic values that helped make In-N-Out so successful. While Guy was Chairman of the Board, In-N-Out grew from 93 locations to 140 at the time of his death in 1999. In-N-Out remains privately owned by the Snyder family.

Website: www.in-n-out.com

View the menu: here

Find your local In-N-Out Burger: here

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