How many nation-wide restaurant chains are there?

Factual Questions
21

There’s an A&W co-located with KFC in Fairbanks, Alaska. It opened in a brand new funky building a year or so ago. It’s within a mile of the world’s northernmost Denny’s. I wonder if the Fairbanks Chili’s is the world’s northernmost?

There are no Little Caesars in Alaska. They pulled out a few years ago. “Great Alaska Pizza Company” took over their locations. I heard Little Caesar’s is trying to get franchises there, but no one apparently has taken the bait yet. I doubt we’ll see 'em back in North Pole any time soon.

There are no Long John Silvers in Alaska, unless they slipped in recently. I guess Skippers has the cheap greasy seafood market locked up.

22

That’s pretty weird, because Krispy Kreme tried to make inroads into the Boston area a few years ago, and within 2 years they had closed all their franchises here, including one near my house and a high-profile one in Prudential Center. I can’t quite see them repeating the experiment so soon afterwards, unless there’s been an Extreme management shakeup.

23

Just in case one is wary of local fare and wants to play it safe at an Irish Pub.

24

Is Dominos a contender?

25

There is a Denny’s in Cheyenne, I’ve eaten there.

Upon further investigation, it seems to have been turned into a Village Inn.

Upon further further investigation, maybe not.

Scroll down to “Nearby restaurants”

Maybe it doesn’t count because it’s attached to the hotel.

26

I got that factoid from Wiki which said so… meaning that it can’t be wrong because it is on the Internet!

Really reading Little Nemo’s original list I thought right away of IHOP being missing which in my mind is in kind of Burger King-MCD’s fight to the death grapple with Dennys which is why I looked it up. I don’t claim to know & if you think that cite is stronger than an unsourced wiki article :stuck_out_tongue: lets go with it

27

I’m quite sure I remember it because I was driving home from Salt Lake City and I really didn’t want to spend the night in Wyoming, so I pulled up at about 2:30 AM and loaded up on coffee and syrup in order to make it through the last hour home. A Denny’s in Wyoming at 2:30 in the morning is an unforgettable scene, believe me.

28

As an aside, the following big chains have outlets in Panama:

Burger King
Dairy Queen
Domino’s
Dunkin Donuts
KFC
McDonald’s
Pizza Hut
Popeye’s
Quizno’s
Subway
Wendy’s

29

I was going to say the same thing about Krispy Kreme in Maryland, specifically the Baltimore area. They opened a ton of shops here a few years ago, but they’ve all closed now. You can get the donuts at some 7-11s, but according to their store locator, there are only four free-standing shops in Maryland.

According to their website, they don’t have restaurants in Alaska, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island or Vermont. There are four within 25 miles of me, and I pass two of them on a regular basis. They’re ALWAYS packed, which I just can’t understand. You’re in Baltimore, for Og’s sake! There are tons of incredible, locally-owned, non-chain seafood places! Go somewhere else!

30

FYI the food served in Bennigans differs greatly from what is served in a standard Irish pub in Ireland.

31

Please pardon the slight hijack, but what would be real Irish pub fare, as opposed to what is served at “authentic Irish pubs” :rolleyes: here in the states?

32

Krispy Kreme expanded too quickly, apparently while doing some financial maneuvers that were questionable, and had to contract, as outlined in this article. Sad in a way.

Here’s something that’ll blow you mind: there’s at least one Red Lobster in Japan! Yup, in Narita City on the way to the mall. In a land where you can get fresh seafood at every 7-11, there’s have a Red Lobster. I had to pass by twice to believe I wasn’t seeing a mirage.

33

Oh crap I had a big reply written to this but lost it.

Anyway-

Pub fare varies somewhat by time of day, location of a pub, the clientele and what sort of pub it is.

Some pubs serve trendy food.

Tourist pubs will generally serve the fare Americans would be used to in an American Irish pub/restaurant. Traditional Irish foods aren’t usually available as standard in non-tourist pubs, so you’d be hard-pressed to find boxty, colcannon, coddle and the like anywhere but a tourist joint.

A typical light lunch menu might include toasted sandwiches, paninis, normal sandwiches, chicken fillet rolls, ciabatas, soups, salads, chips (or fries :slight_smile: ), onion rings, garlic mushrooms and other stuff like that. Some pubs have a selection of vegetarian fare, most don’t specifically.

A typical lunch/dinner in a large pub or one connected to a hotel would probably consist of a carvery with a joint of beef or ham, maybe chicken or turkey, and a fish dish or two. These tend to be served with as much boiled veg (carrots and others) and as much mashed or boiled potatoes as can be piled on the plate. A pasta dish is usually also offered in this set up.

Other pubs will have a set menu with stuff like chicken curry, fish and chips, stew, turkey and ham, chicken and chips, and more sophisticated fare depending again on the pub. No free refills though alas.

I hope this post has been of some use.

34

I’ve never heard of a Ponderosa, and their website locater says there’s not one within 100 miles of Albuquerque or Santa Fe (it also said there wasn’t one within 100 miles of Phoenix, so maybe I’m doing it wrong?)

35

I checked out El Pollo Loco just to see how wide-spread it is: only seven states. But that’s still pretty good considering that it’s a restaurant that started in 1975 in a small town in Mexico, and is now headquartered in sterile, corporate Irvine, CA.

That is, it’s still pretty good considering that it’s a fast food place that doesn’t make me sick to my stomach.

36

There used to be many Denny’s In Wyoming for years. At least three in Cheyenne and two in Casper. They were exceptionally bad places, even taking the Denny’s standard as relative. It would not surprise me at all if they were owned by one franchisee who went bankrupt.

37

The 50th state is going to ruin a lot of these lists. We do not have:

Applebee’s
Dunkin Donuts
Ponderosa
Bennigans
Cracker Barrel
Boston Market
Olive Garden
Chipotle Grill
El Pollo Loco
Chick-fil-a
Perusing other postings, we do indeed have:

A&W’s, combined with Long John Silver’s
Little Ceasars (in Kmart stores only)
Krispy Kreme (only on Maui)
IHOP
Denny’s
Red Lobster (only in Waikiki)
Sizzler

38

Thanks much for the very informative reply. :slight_smile: