189 articles
Chi-Chi's
Chi-Chi's, American Tex-Mex restaurant chain founded 1975 by Marno McDermott and Max McGee in Minnesota; peaked at 200+ locations, collapsed in 2003 bankruptcy after the largest US hepatitis A outbreak, revived by Michael McDermott in 2025.
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A is an American fast-food chicken sandwich chain founded by S. Truett Cathy, who opened the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia in 1946; the sandwich was perfected in 1964, the first Chick-fil-A opened in Greenbriar Mall in 1967, and all locations close on Sundays.
Chili's
Chili's Grill & Bar (Chili's) is a Dallas-founded American casual dining chain, founded 1975 on Greenville Avenue and owned since 1983 by Brinker International. Known for fajitas, burgers, Baby Back Ribs, margaritas, the $10.99 3 for Me deal, and a Kevin Hochman turnaround with five straight years of same-store sales growth.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), founded by Steve Ells in Denver in 1993, pioneered the fast-casual burrito chain concept, grew under McDonald's investment 1998-2006, and now operates over 4,000 restaurants with $11.9 billion in 2025 revenue.
Chris Kempczinski
Chris Kempczinski (born 1968, Cincinnati) is Chairman, President, and CEO of McDonald's Corporation since November 2019, chairman since May 2024, architect of the Accelerating the Arches strategy, formerly of Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, and P&G.
Chuck E. Cheese
Chuck E. Cheese is an American family entertainment center chain founded May 17, 1977 in San Jose by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell as Pizza Time Theatre; now owned by CEC Entertainment of Irving, Texas, with 500+ locations, arcade games, pizza, and over 500,000 birthday parties a year.
Chuck E. Cheese (character)
Chuck E. Cheese, full name Charles Entertainment Cheese, is the mouse mascot of the Chuck E. Cheese pizza-arcade chain, created by Nolan Bushnell in 1977 after a coyote costume arrived as a rat; originally a cigar-smoking rat, redesigned as a rockstar mouse in 2012.
Cinnabon
Cinnabon is an American franchise bakery chain founded in 1985 near Seattle, known for large cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, with nearly a thousand US locations.
Cold Stone Creamery
Cold Stone Creamery is an American ice cream chain founded in 1988 in Tempe, Arizona, where ice cream is hand-mixed with toppings on a frozen granite stone.
Colonel Sanders
Colonel Sanders, born Harland David Sanders (1890–1980), was the American founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Honorary Kentucky colonel (1935), creator of the 11 herbs and spices recipe and pressure frying; sold KFC for $2 million in 1964 and remained its brand ambassador until his death.
Cook Out (restaurant)
Cook Out is a privately held American fast-food chain founded by Morris Reaves in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989, known for char-grilled burgers, barbecue, and over 40 milkshake flavors.
Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is a Lebanon, Tennessee-based American restaurant-and-retail chain founded by Dan Evins in 1969, trading as Nasdaq: CBRL, with nearly 660 company-owned locations in 43 states, known for country cooking, retail gift stores, and the 2025 logo controversy.
Culver's
Culver's is an American fast-casual chain founded July 18, 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin by Craig and Lea Culver, known for ButterBurgers and Fresh Frozen Custard, with 1,041 restaurants in 26 states.
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American soft-serve ice cream and fast-food chain founded in Joliet, Illinois, in 1940, known for the Blizzard treat. Owned by Berkshire Hathaway's International Dairy Queen, it runs 7,800+ restaurants in 20+ countries.
Dave & Buster's
Dave & Buster's is an American chain of large venues that combine a full-service restaurant and bar with an arcade and sports viewing, founded in Dallas in 1982.
Del Taco
Del Taco is an American quick-service restaurant chain, founded in 1964 in Yermo, California, that sells Mexican-inspired food such as tacos and burritos alongside burgers and fries.
Din Tai Fung (鼎泰丰)
Din Tai Fung (鼎泰丰) is a Taiwanese restaurant chain founded in Taipei in 1958 by Yang Bing-yi as an oil shop, converted to xiaolongbao in 1972, known for 18-fold 21-gram soup dumplings, a 1993 New York Times top-ten listing, a Hong Kong Michelin star, and 170-plus restaurants worldwide.
Dippin' Dots
Dippin' Dots: beaded ice cream, yogurt, sherbet, and flavored ice invented by microbiologist Curt Jones in 1988, flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen at about -320 °F and stored near -40 °F, sold at theme parks and stadiums.
Doughnut shop
Doughnut shop, also donut shop: a retail eatery selling doughnuts and coffee. Key facts include Adolph Levitt's 1920 doughnut machine, Krispy Kreme (1937) and Dunkin' (1948) chains, and Cambodian American shop ownership.
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts, known simply as Dunkin' since 2019, is an American coffee and baked goods chain founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts, by William Rosenberg.
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, an American 1890s-themed ice cream and sandwich chain founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1963 by Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy; reached about 130 locations under Marriott, collapsed in the 1980s, revived in 2009, and closed its last Brea, California shop in 2019.
Fast food
Fast food, also called quick-service restaurant fare, is standardized food served rapidly by chains with limited menus and off-site suppliers. Key facts: White Castle 1921; McDonald's 1948 redesign; $1.3 trillion global industry; higher fats, salt, and refined carbs.
Fatburger
Fatburger: American fast casual hamburger chain founded in Los Angeles in 1947 by Lovie Yancey as Mr. Fatburger; made-to-order burgers in sizes up to 1.5 lb, now a FAT Brands franchise.
Firehouse Subs
Firehouse Subs: American fast-casual sub sandwich chain founded 1994 in Jacksonville, Florida by firefighter brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen; steamed subs, Hook & Ladder menu, Public Safety Foundation, RBI-owned since 2021 for $1.0 billion.
Five Guys
Five Guys is an American fast-casual burger chain founded in 1986 in Arlington, Virginia, by Jerry and Janie Murrell and named for their five sons. It reached 2,000 stores in 30 countries by 2026, known for fresh beef, peanut-oil fries, and 15 free toppings.
Frankie & Benny's
Frankie & Benny's is a British Italian-American casual dining chain founded in 1995 in Leicester, once The Restaurant Group's biggest brand, restructured through 2016-2023 closures and a CVA, and sold to The Big Table Group in 2023.
Fred DeLuca
Fred DeLuca (1947-2015), American entrepreneur, co-founded Subway in 1965 at age 17 with $1,000 from Peter Buck; pioneered the development-agent franchising model and built the world's largest restaurant chain by store count.
Fred L. Turner
Fred L. Turner (Frederick Leo Turner, 1933-2013), McDonald's operations chief, CEO and chairman; wrote the 1958 operations manual, founded Hamburger University, and grew the chain from 15 to over 31,000 restaurants.
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is an American fast-casual restaurant chain co-founded in 2002 in Wichita, Kansas, known for thin-pressed steakburgers and freshly churned frozen custard.
Freedom fries
Freedom fries: 2003 US renaming of french fries, coined by Neal Rowland at Cubbie's in Beaufort, North Carolina, and adopted by House cafeterias on March 11, 2003, to protest France's opposition to the Iraq invasion; reversed in 2006.