# Empty fast food restaurant - what should take it over? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359 "2017-05-24T19:09:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/1 "2017-05-24T19:09:43Z")
Two fast food places - an Arby’s near where I work, and a KFC near my home - both closed a few months ago, and have not been filled yet. This gave me the idea for this thread: If there was an opening for a fast food restaurant near you, which one would you want to fill it? You can include pizza chains if you want. My first choice, taking into account what is already nearby (for example, there’s already an In & Out), is Wienerschnitzel - nothing like a Chili Cheese Dog / Chili Cheeseburger / Chili Cheese Fries combo. Papa John’s comes a close second, followed by Rally’s/Checkers, mainly because somebody came up with the crazy idea of putting mustard on a chili dog. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/2 "2017-05-24T19:14:17Z")
I could use a **Chick-fil-A** closer to me. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/3 "2017-05-24T19:25:49Z")
Quiznos. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/4 "2017-05-24T19:27:18Z")
Popeyes or KFC. Something better if there is one. Are there still Pioneer Chickens? There’s no fried chicken place nearby. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/5 "2017-05-24T19:29:13Z")
Red, Hot, and Blue. Lee Atwater may have been as sleazy as hell as a politician, but but he deserves all the credit in the world for his restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/6 "2017-05-24T19:42:59Z")
Bojangles (regional chicken and biscuits chain) Not a real possibility on the east coast, but I would love to have an In-n-Out if only because I hear so much about it. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/7 "2017-05-24T19:45:57Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Quiznos. All the Quiznos near me have been closing over the years, no idea why. They’re being replaced by other sandwich shops - the last two were replaced by a Jimmy John’s and a Mr. Pickles, so clearly it’s not that sandwich shops as a whole are unprofitable. Really disappointing too, since I vastly prefer Quizno’s hot sandwiches to the cold stuff that’s replacing them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/8 "2017-05-24T20:06:34Z")
In an ideal world, In-n-Out, but they ain’t coming to Chicago anytime soon, and I’d probably gain 50 pounds in a year if they came here. My neighborhood is in need of a good sub chain. There’s plenty of Subways in the area, but that’s it. (The Quizno’s went out of business, but I’m okay with that.) I’d vote for a Jersey Mike’s. They do exist in the area, but none near where I live. (What’s crazy about putting mustard on a chili dog? Mustard and onions is standard for me if I’m going the chili dog route.) ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/9 "2017-05-24T20:12:28Z")
I wish my town had Boloco. I lived in Boston for a while, and Boloco was my favorite fast food when I was there. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/10 "2017-05-24T20:13:56Z")
The mayor of Cedar Park, Texas went on a wild campaign to get In-n-Out and it worked, so you might try that in Chicago, **pulykamell**. Personally I think they are over-rated; we had several near us in California and we rarely ate there. Over-rated and very crowded. I don’t really have a vote for the OP, as we have almost every fast food place you could want here already. If we didn’t already have Jersey Mike’s and Potbelly, I’d vote for them. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/11 "2017-05-24T20:39:47Z")
My town needs a White Castle. Pulykamell, my chili dogs always get mustard and onions! ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/12 "2017-05-24T21:14:04Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Quiznos. [Togos](http://www.togos.com/what-s-to-eat/cold-sandwiches.aspx). Or [Maui Tacos](http://mauitacos.com/). Locally, a failed Roy Rodgers was taken over by a church… ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/13 "2017-05-24T21:19:53Z")
Raising Cane’s ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/14 "2017-05-24T21:20:25Z")
A [Cafe Yumm](https://www.cafeyumm.com/) would be excellent, too. A bit different, but tasty! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/15 "2017-05-24T21:20:50Z")
I’d like a What-a-Burger or a Jack in the Box but that’s not going to happen in New York. So of realistic possibilities, I’d pick a KFC/Long John Silver or a Panda Express. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/16 "2017-05-24T21:23:36Z")
I’d like an El Pollo Loco and a Bon Chon Chicken joint near me. Mexican grilled chicken and Korean fried chicken, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/17 "2017-05-24T21:36:29Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Personally I think they are over-rated; Oh, I’m well aware there’s a sizable contingent who finds them over-rated. They’re my platonic ideal of a fast food hamburger and service (I’ve even gotten my picky mother-in-law who hates fast food to regularly eat there!) And the prices are fantastic, especially compared with the other burger joints I consider in their class like Fatburger and Five Guys. That said, on the other hand, does Chicago really need yet _another_ fast food burger joint? I think the market is over-saturated as it is, so maybe it’s not a good idea and I should save it for the treat that it is during my yearly (and sometimes more often) visits to Phoenix. So I’ll stick with the closer outpost of Jersey Mike’s. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/18 "2017-05-24T21:41:42Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Raising Cane’s One of those just showed up here a few months ago. Interesting concept, a fast food restaurant solely focused on chicken fingers. And, by that, I mean literally, that’s pretty much all there is on the menu. Just chicken fingers, just one kind (so no spicy or anything like that), although you can get them in sandwich form. Chicken fingers, fries, Texas toast, and coleslaw. I think that’s pretty much all there is. I like these types of fast food establishments that focus on one thing and get rid of all the extraneous bullshit trying to please every combination of person. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/19 "2017-05-24T21:58:25Z")
DQ, But with the rule that they keep the soft chocolate ice cream machine running year-round. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359/20 "2017-05-24T22:19:27Z")
Pot store [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/empty-fast-food-restaurant-what-should-take-it-over/787359.md?page=2)