Restaurant Chains You'd Like to See in Your Area

[JohnGalt]

None of these are in Minnesota, but I’d love them to move here:

Chart House
Bahama Breeze
Sonic
In ‘n’ Out
Lou Malnatis

[Loopydude]

@soulmurk

I’d take an In ‘n’ Out up here in Eastern Washington, sure miss them from my stint in SoCal.

I want one of these around here for purely childish reasons.

“Mmmm, tonight the wife and I are going for some In ‘n’ Out!”

[Neurotik]

@Seeker74

And there was this taco chain in LA that I can’t remember the name of… They had great fish tacos. MMMMMM.

Rubio’s. And they need to get out to DC. We just got freaking Coldstone.

Along with In ‘N’ Out, Jack in the Box, Del Taco, and El Pollo Loco.

Seriously, southern California has the best fast food of anywhere in the country. Everything else is just crap.

[Hyperelastic]

@Gail

For years now, I’ve been getting ads in the Sunday paper for a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes. I get the Reno paper…Sweet Tomatoes in Las Vegas only. I’ve been longing to go to Sweet Tomatoes…

Based on the name, or what? Really, Sweet Tomatoes is just a big salad bar smorgasbord. It’s not that great.

I’d be willing to kick in part of the franchise fee if we could get a Skyline or a Graeter’s here in LA.

[Hypno-Toad]

@Seeker74

Hey, remember a restaurant called Grandy’s? I seem to recall it was a chain but I could be mistaken. They had the best chicken and yeasty dinner rolls ever.

There’s a Grandy’s a few blocks from my apartment down here in Fort Myers. I’ve never eaten there as it looks like it should be condemned. But my roomie sure likes it. For a long time, they had a sign up saying, “Catfish is here.” Every time I saw it, I had the urge to call them and ask, “Hi, is Catfish there? I’d like to speak to Catfish.”

I’d like to see a Shakeys Pizza here in town. One like the old days, before Shakeys blandified. A thrashers French Fries joint would be awesome too.

[Evil_Captor]

A Gorean Tavern with alcoves would be nice. But there’s all these LAAAWS about fucking the waitresses, and they’re on another PLAAAAANET …

[An_Arky]

@Cliffy

Five Guys – a local D.C. chain – I wish there was one either near my house or downtown, near my office, but the closest one is way around the Beltway and, again, too far for its own trip. (Although you can bet that I hit it if I ever get invited to a party in Old Town or Georgetown.)

–Cliffy

Hey, Cliffy, there’s a Five Guys on Georgia Ave? (the one that runs through Howard U.). It’s in that strip of shopping right by (on?) campus.

Check this out - locations Wow, there’s more than I thought!

Five Guys rocks!

[cher3]

I’d like to trade my local supermarket for a Wegman’s. I can get all the stuff they have if I run around to 5 different places, but I miss having it all under one roof.

[Cliffy]

@An Arky

Check this out - locations Wow, there’s more than I thought!

Wow. They’ve really started to expand.

The Georgia Ave. one’s too far from me (I live in Rockville, basically), but that link says there’s one at the Nat’l Press Building, which is just one Metro Stop away!

–Cliffy

[EarthStone777]

@Big Bad Voodoo Lou

Oh, two businesses I really REALLY wish we had, even though they aren’t restaurants (although both sell food): Trader Joe’s and IKEA.

I’m with you on missing Trader Joe’s. After moving from MA to NC, the only expense that went UP was our grocery bill…

As for restaurant chains I’d like to see, they’re both local MA chains but I wish they’d open a store down here because I’d keep them in business nearly by myself… Vinny Testas and Not Your Average Joes

Boy do I miss their food…

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

I wish Murfreesboro had a Dunkin Donuts.

And a pizza joint that served a really good, Chicago-Style, pizza.
Southern pizza should be fed to the pigs. I once went to Oak Ridge, stopped at a pizza joint, & was served chopped up hot dogs on my “sausage” pizza.

[Metacom]

@Happy Lendervedder

I’d loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorve an In ‘n’ Out to open up in Chicago. Hell, I’d settle for anywhere in the midwest; I’d drive up to 4 hours for one of those succulent, juicy Animal-style-Double-Double delights.

Seconded. Steak & Shape doesn’t quite fill the gap, but it comes close.

[Glory]

Sweet Tomatoes
Panera
Roly Poly

There was a Roly Poly near me when I lived in Dallas, I really really miss it. They don’t have any franchises in WA state. Oregon is the closest!

[Padeye]

Since I started my new job a year ago and have started traveling frequently one of the things I notices was the homogenization of restaurants across the country. There is remarkably little I can get on the road I can’t get in Phoenix. Fewer good mexican restaurants out of southwest and some regional exceptions like Bob Evans, Tim Horton’s, Shoney’s, and In-N-Out burger but good substitutes for each.

[Giraffe]

Chipotle
Panera
El Pollo Loco (we actually have at least one in San Jose but it’s too far from me to be practical, so I want one closer)

[Johnny_L.A]

Please forgive me for not reading the thread, but here are some chains I’d like to see:

Wienerschnitzel. The closest one is about 40 miles away, which is a bit far to go for chili-cheese dogs.

Del Taco.

Carl’s Jr.

And of course, Fatburger.

[Corii]

Chik-fil-A! I really miss those chicken sandwiches with extra pickles.

[Evil_Captor]

@Johnny L.A.

Please forgive me for not reading the thread, but here are some chains I’d like to see: And of course, Fatburger.

Nothing else will satisfy the appetite of a 60-foot centerfold like a 25,000 Fatburgers!

[Ike_Witt]

I’d love some of those So. Cal. chains here, like the already mentioned Del Taco, In N Out, and Carls Jr. I’d also love to have a Tommy’s neaby, even if I could only eat there once a year.

Good Chinese would be nice, but that isn’t really a chain thing. Same with Peters’ Drive In.

[interface2x]

@Corii

Chik-fil-A! I really miss those chicken sandwiches with extra pickles.

I think you’re referring to those two crucial pickles. We need a Chick-Fil-A here in Chicago, too.