# Foreign restaurant chains that have made inroads in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 30, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078 "2023-01-30T23:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/101 "2023-02-01T14:56:48Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m in Boston, and I’ve never seen any of the chains mentioned so far in this thread, not even Boston’s Pizza. We’ve got more than one Pret-a-Manges in Boston. There’s one near Downtown Crossing and at least one other in the Financial District. I’ve seen one or two Tim Horton’s around, too (and I know there’s one in Rochester, NY). But, yeah, Boston doesn’t even care for fast food joints from elsewhere in the US. Several years ago Krispy Kreme made a determined attempt to colonize Boston, with one site right in the Prudential Center, one near Wellington Circle, and another not far from me in Saugus. The one in the Pru has been re-sold several times over and the one in Saugus, which had one of those watch-the-donuts-being-made assembly lines, is now a bank. You don’t challenge the Dunkin’. I doubt if we’ll see a Winchell’s here any time soon, either. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/102 "2023-02-01T18:26:53Z")
Not to be confused with this dutifully non-trademark-infringing establishment in Brooklyn: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/31/45684239_60b9685106_b.jpg "Kantacky Fried Chicken") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/finsterbaby/45684239) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/103 "2023-02-01T18:32:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > It would be about as silly as me opening an “Oxfordshire Fish and Chips” restaurant. I mean, there are fish and chips in Oxfordshire (I’ve eaten it before), but there’s nothing unique about it either- it’s the same style of fish and chips you get anywhere in the UK. Now you made me curious if anyone has actually done that, so I Googled all the fish and chips places in my area. I did find one place called London Best Fish & Chips. But the majority of them just have some sort of nautical name. So while I guess it’s been done, it’s not as widespread as the “[American state] Fried Chicken” phenomenon in the UK. I also found a place called Churchill Arms Pub, which sounds like someone just said “Hey, let’s name our faux British pub after a famous British person!” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/104 "2023-02-01T18:36:23Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Confusingly, there’s also a chain called Boston Market. It’s not headquartered in Boston either. Their headquarters are in Golden, Colorado. Well, originally, back when it was Boston Chicken, it was, in fact, founded in, and based in, suburban Boston (Newton, specifically). After growing rapidly in the 1990s (and renaming to Boston Market), they went bankrupt in 1998, and were bought by McDonald’s; the chain has changed hands several times since then, and as you note, is no longer based in Boston. The Wikipedia article on Boston Market notes that, when they expanded into Canada, they were sued by Boston Pizza over use of the “Boston” name in Canada. > **[Boston Market](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Market)** > > Boston Market Corporation, known as Boston Chicken until 1995, is an American fast casual restaurant chain headquartered in Golden, Colorado. It is owned by the Rohan Group. > Boston Market has its greatest presence in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, but also has a large presence in California, Florida, and Texas. As of November 2020\[update\], the chain has approximately 346 company-owned restaurant locations in 28 states and Puerto Rico, with 14,000 employees. In the early 2000s, ... ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/105 "2023-02-01T18:40:37Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Not to be confused with this dutifully non-trademark-infringing establishment in Brooklyn: There’s also a bunch of [Kennedy Fried Chicken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Fried_Chicken) restaurants in New York. The one I saw used the same colors an a similar font as KFC, so it’s easy to confuse them at first glance. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/106 "2023-02-01T19:48:57Z")
It just struck me as a bit amusing because it seemed like I saw one in nearly every city I visited, and all of them were named after a different Southern state, in an attempt to sort of siphon a bit of cachet from Kentucky Fried Chicken somehow. There are actually _two_ Churchill Arms- one in Folsom, CA and one in London, in the general vicinity of Kensington and Notting Hill (not sure exactly which district it lies within). It’s apparently a sort of Winston Churchill shrine of sorts for tourists. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/107 "2023-02-01T20:40:36Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > I just remembered one that is fairly common in the U.S., the South Korean chain bb.q CHICKEN. Just ate at one this past week (in the Atlanta metro area). It was fantastic! ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/108 "2023-02-01T20:45:31Z")
There is also this one in Brooklyn: 🤣 > **[Remember the Big Mick? - A tribute to McDowell's](https://mcdowells.mortenjonassen.dk/)** > > They got the Golden Arches, ours is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, We got the Big Mick. Their buns have sesame seeds. Our buns have no seeds. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/109 "2023-02-01T20:48:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Well, originally, back when it was Boston Chicken, it was, in fact, founded in, and based in, suburban Boston (Newton, specifically). Yeah. I used to eat at the Boston Chicken on Boylston St. in Back Bay, which is long gone now. There’s a Boston Market just down the street from me, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/110 "2023-02-01T20:55:43Z")
I remember going to Boston Chicken (or Boston Market) in Westchester County in the early 1990s. The portion size was decent, but then when I went back to one (late 1990s or early 2000s), the chicken leg and thigh seemed a whole lot smaller. Almost as if it was from a Cornish game hen. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/111 "2023-02-01T22:34:23Z")
I’ve also seen New York (?) Kansas and Texas fried chicken in NYC ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/112 "2023-02-02T23:05:07Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Not to be confused with this dutifully non-trademark-infringing establishment in Brooklyn: Not anymore. That establishment was located at 563 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. It is now “Madina Restaurant and Sweets”. [https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/UBQq0jWegH9wYNsx4\_SFwg/o.jpg](https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/UBQq0jWegH9wYNsx4_SFwg/o.jpg) On the same street was a store called “Eleven 7”. [![](https://bklyner.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170512_184344.jpg) ](https://bklyner.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170512_184344.jpg) It was forced to rebrand after a lawsuit from 7-Eleven. > **[Eleven-7 Caves Under Corporate Pressure, Rebrands As NY's Best - Bklyner](https://bklyner.com/eleven-7-caves-corporate-pressure-rebrands-nys-best/)** > > What’s in a name? Apparently, for a neighborhood bodega fighting against an incoming corporate giant, a name means a lot.... ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/113 "2023-04-08T21:12:34Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Nando’s, the South African chicken chain (although I think it’s even more popular in the UK), has quite a few in the Chicago area. To be really precise, Nando’s food was inspired by that of Portuguese immigrants to Mozambique, the headquarters are in South Africa, the country with the largest number of their restaurants is the U.K., and the country with the most of their restaurants compared with the population of the country is Australia. Incidentally, until just recently all the Nando’s in the U.S. have been in the metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Chicago. Just recently three have opened up in Texas. One is in Dallas and the other two are in Dallas and its suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/114 "2023-04-09T05:56:28Z")
Seattle has a Chung Chun franchise - it’s a Canadian chain that specializes in Korean-style corn dogs (technically they’re rice dogs since they’re made with a rice batter). In addition to the standard dog, they also have fried cheese on a stick, a dog that’s half cheese and half sausage, dogs which are rolled in things like ramen noodles or potatoes just before being fried, or with squid ink mixed into the batter. It’s pretty tasty street food that you can munch on while walking around Chinatown. > [@DCnDC](#): > > Jollibee spaghetti seems like something that a Westerner concocted while stuck there and trying to make spaghetti out of whatever he had available, then the locals erroneously thought that’s what spaghetti was supposed to be. On a similar note, there’s [American fried rice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_fried_rice) - a Thai version of fried rice with “American” ingredients like chopped hot dogs, raisins, whole fried eggs, pineapple, ketchup, and (in some versions) fun-size Snickers bars. Indonesia has a similar dish called “nasi goreng USA” with most of the same ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/115 "2023-04-09T06:44:32Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > On a similar note, there’s [American fried rice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_fried_rice) - a Thai version of fried rice with “American” ingredients like chopped hot dogs, raisins, whole fried eggs, pineapple, ketchup, and (in some versions) fun-size Snickers bars. As an American I’d be offended, but we do the same thing to other cultures all the time, so it’s a fair cop. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/116 "2023-04-09T07:25:00Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > As an American I’d be offended, but we do the same thing to other cultures all the time Another one I’ve been remembered just now is a Singaporean dish called [roti John](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roti_john). Supposedly, sometime in the '60s or '70s, an American or British fellow (“John” being local slang for a white Anglophone) approached a Malay cook at a food stall and asked if he could make him a hamburger. The cook had never heard of a hamburger, and so, despite the language barrier between the two of them, the bloke tried to explain to him what it was and the cook tried to improvise something with the ingredients he had on hand - and the result was a sort of omelette sandwich on a baguette, with ground beef crumbles and onions cooked into the egg before the bread was pressed into it on a flattop grill, then spread with mayo and chili sauce and garnished with salad. I’ve never had one, but it sounds absolutely delicious and I’d love to try one someday. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/117 "2023-04-09T12:26:10Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Regardless of who actually owns it, Tim Hortons is still culturally very much a Canadian chain. I live in Michigan. Has Tim Horntons spread throughout the US or is it still mainly in northern states that border Canada(or nearly do)? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/118 "2023-04-09T13:32:09Z")
As you can see from this page, there are 641 Tim Hortons in the U.S., the vast majority of which are in New York, Michigan, and Ohio: > **[Tim Hortons locations](https://locations.timhortons.com/)** > > Browse all Tim Hortons locations. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/119 "2023-04-09T13:49:04Z")
There’s a fried chicken chain called Bonchon Chicken. It began in Busan, South Korea. It then expanded internationally. The chain’s headquarters are in Dallas now. Most of the restaurants are now in the Philippines, the U.S., and Thailand: > **[Bonchon Chicken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonchon_Chicken)** > > Bonchon Chicken (Korean: 본촌치킨; Hanja: 本村치킨) is a Dallas-based South Korean international fried chicken restaurant franchise. According to the company, Bonchon is a Korean word meaning "My Hometown". > The Bonchon Chicken restaurant began in 2002 in Busan, South Korea. The first location in the U.S. was in Fort Lee, New Jersey. It later spread to California, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Delaw... ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/120 "2023-04-10T00:36:20Z")
I think many Canadians know that the main US pizza cities are Detroit, Chicago and around New York. How much is one supposed to read into a name? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078.md?page=7)