# GINO'S fast food **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2001, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534 "2001-03-02T18:38:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2001, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/1 "2001-03-02T18:38:28Z")
Remember the fast food chain GINO’S? I seem to remember them also selling Kentucky Fried Chicken as well. Was there a corporate merger, or was it just a franchise? ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/2 "2001-03-02T19:31:42Z")
Ginos . . . ah, yes, named and founded by Baltimore Colts great Gino Marchetti (sp?). It did serve KFC through some kind of marketing deal with Col. Sanders. Ginos eventually merged with one of the fast food chains. It wasn’t KFC, perhaps it was Hardees. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/3 "2001-03-02T19:47:50Z")
I remember the answer to this one from a book on Fast Food/Resturant design…and it’s on the web: May 5, 1982 Marriott acquires Gino’s fast food restaurant chain, and plans to convert most units to Roy Rogers restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![zwaldd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a9adbd/32.png) [@zwaldd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwaldd)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2001, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/4 "2001-03-02T20:11:50Z")
i’m glad you posted this. gino’s selling kfc is one of those memories i have that no one can ever corroborate and i wasn’t sure if i just dreamt it. i thought gino’s was the first seller of kfc, predating the actual kfc chain. anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Perderabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Perderabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perderabo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2001, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/5 "2001-03-02T20:23:40Z")
Colonel Sander first sold his chicken at his own “restaurant” (actually a gas station, IIRC). Then he travelled around and sold the right to use his methods, recipe, and trademark to various other restaurants. Then came the chains, like Gino’s and Topp’s. And finally his own chain, the KFC’s that we know today. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/6 "2001-03-02T20:36:28Z")
A Gino’s went in near my home when I was a kid, and it’s where I first encountered Kentucky Fried Chicken. In fact, I didn’t realize that KFC had their own stands for a long time – there weren’t any KFC-only stands nearby. Gino’s also sold hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc. They would give you ketchup in a small cup called a “Tater Dunker” (Someone tell Tatertot about this), called a “TD” by the staff. The local Gino’s did become a Roy Rogers, but was sold to Wendty’s later on, and it’s a Wendy’s still. ---
**Author:** ![Nat\_Lynn\_Cole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f04885/32.png) [@Nat\_Lynn\_Cole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nat_Lynn_Cole)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/7 "2011-10-10T17:35:18Z")
There is a new Gino’s that just opened up by my work. It is on street road in Bensalem, PA. It is SOOOOOOOOO Delicious!!!😃 ---
**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:** [October 10, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/8 "2011-10-10T17:47:22Z")
Gino’s owned the KFC franchise for some mid-Atlantic states. I used to work at Gino’s HQ in the 70’s. They didn’t follow the common model of franchising individual stores. All Gino’s restaurants were owned directly by the main corporation, we did payroll for every employee weekly. Their offshoots in the Rustler Steakhouses seemed more profitable than the Gino’s restaurants. They eventually sold the whole operation to Marriott, and are now making some sort of comeback. Gino Marchetti was mostly a name to put on the restaurants that started in the Baltimore area since he was a well known member of the Colts (kids, they used to be the Baltimore Colts). But he did maintain an interest in other restaurants, and is associated with the current comeback of the restaurant chain. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/9 "2011-10-11T00:52:50Z")
What did they have besides Hamburgers and KFC? I remember the Ginos down the block from me in Arlington…I ate there all the time with my lawn mowin’ change. But, I don’t think It was a burger…unless it was soo good It was erased from my memory. :dubious: [http://www.ginosgiant.com/](http://www.ginosgiant.com/) Did they have Roast Beef or something also? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/10 "2011-10-11T05:39:39Z")
> [@Perderabo](#): > > Colonel Sander first sold his chicken at his own “restaurant” (actually a gas station, IIRC). Then he travelled around and sold the right to use his methods, recipe, and trademark to various other restaurants. Then came the chains, like Gino’s and Topp’s. And finally his own chain, the KFC’s that we know today. Seems funny to us now, but there was a time fairly recently when Col. Sanders wasn’t known at all. [Here’s a Youtube link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk4Eq8IcQMk) to Col. Sanders appearing on the TV show What’s My Line. He gave his regular name, and no one on the panel recognized it at all. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/11 "2011-10-11T11:59:34Z")
> [@Perderabo](#): > > Colonel Sander first sold his chicken at his own “restaurant” (actually a gas station, IIRC). Then he travelled around and sold the right to use his methods, recipe, and trademark to various other restaurants. Then came the chains, like Gino’s and Topp’s. And finally his own chain, the KFC’s that we know today. Not a gas station – it was Harmon’s in Salt Lake City. Out there the KFC’s were originally all Harmon’s restaurants. I ate at the “World’s First KFC” when I lived out there. The Harmon’s places were much more like sit-down restaurants. One had a waiter, and you could get things like cooked carrots with your meal. _Definitely_ not a gas station. > [@](#): > > Did they have Roast Beef or something also? Not that I recall – and I think I’d remember, since I knew of no other places serving roast beef sandwiches at the time (no Arby’s restaurants nearby). You could get standard MacDonald’s-type fare (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, soda, shakes) along with boxes or buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken (this was long before “Exytra Crispy” or the recent Grilled chicken. If you asked for chicken, they didn’t ask you “what kind?”) Plus the 'Tater Dunkers. They didn’t have the array of sides that KFC now sells, either – no Cole Slaw, Corn on the Cob, Mac and Cheese, etc. Fast Food then was a pretty vegetable-free world. And, even though this is a Zombie, no Brains. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/12 "2011-10-11T22:21:06Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > [http://www.ginosgiant.com/](http://www.ginosgiant.com/) :eek: 😃 BTW…is a 10 1/2 year zombie resurrection a board record? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/13 "2011-10-12T02:50:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > A Gino’s went in near my home when I was a kid, and it’s where I first encountered Kentucky Fried Chicken. In fact, I didn’t realize that KFC had their own stands for a long time – there weren’t any KFC-only stands nearby… Same here - I was surprised when I saw a true KFC restaurant for the first time. Obligatory bad jokes: Q: “Why don’t they have bathrooms at McDonald’s?” A: “cause Gino’s is the place to go!” (“Everybody gooooooooes to Gino’s, 'cause Gino’s is the Place. To. Go.”). Q: “Why don’t they have toilet paper at Gino’s?” A:" “cause everything there is fiiiiiiinger lickin’ good!”. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/14 "2011-10-12T02:53:27Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > :eek: 😃 > BTW…is a 10 1/2 year zombie resurrection a board record? Well, is resurrecting the Gino’s name after near-30 years (1982) a franchise zombie record? ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/15 "2011-10-12T06:03:17Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Seems funny to us now, but there was a time fairly recently when Col. Sanders wasn’t known at all. [Here’s a Youtube link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk4Eq8IcQMk) to Col. Sanders appearing on the TV show What’s My Line. He gave his regular name, and no one on the panel recognized it at all. 1963 is fairly recently??? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![SirLoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@SirLoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirLoiner)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/16 "2013-01-04T20:32:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Kentucky Fried Chicken (this was long before “Exytra Crispy” or the recent Grilled chicken. If you asked for chicken, they didn’t ask you “what kind?”) Plus the 'Tater Dunkers. They didn’t have the array of sides that KFC now sells, either – no Cole Slaw, Corn on the Cob, Mac and Cheese, etc. Fast Food then was a pretty vegetable-free world. > And, even though this is a Zombie, no Brains. I am pretty sure Extra Crispy was started in the '70’s and Gino’s offered it. :smack: ---
**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:** [January 4, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/17 "2013-01-04T20:36:27Z")
> [@SirLoiner](#): > > I am pretty sure Extra Crispy was started in the '70’s and Gino’s offered it. :smack: According to the Wikipedia KFC site, Extra Crispy was introduced in 1972, but I don’t remember them ever carrying it at the Gino’s I went to. The site also has a picture of the “First KFC Restauant” in Salt Lake City. I’ve easten there, but I though I heard it had been torn down. > **[KFC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC)** > > KFC Corporation (KFCC), doing business as KFC (also commonly referred to by its historical name Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with over 30,000 locations globally in 150 countries as of April 2024\[update\]. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/18 "2013-01-04T20:39:11Z")
zombie or no why is a steak talking about chicken? ---
**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:** [January 4, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/19 "2013-01-04T20:44:22Z")
Many Gino’s didn’t offer extra crispy because they didn’t have the equipment for it. KFC was expanding their product line, and many of their own stores didn’t upgrade their equipment right away either. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534/20 "2013-01-04T22:09:50Z")
Just had Gino’s open up here, they sell chicken too. They’re at the same location across from the high school where they were when I was a teen I haven’t tried the chicken yet but the Giants are yummy. They also have the Ameche Burger, which I haven’t tried yet either. Don Ameche being another of the Baltimore Colts. He had his own fast food chain too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ginos-fast-food/56534.md?page=2)