There’s a Black Bear Diner here in North Little Rock. I’ve only been there once, but the food was okay. I didn’t order a breakfast item, so next time I go I’ll try waffles or pancakes.
Yesterday I had breakfast at Pegah’s Family Restaurant in Lenexa, KS. They have four locations (not sure if that’s a chain?). Based on the crowd yesterday, they are an extremely popular breakfast spot, and the food backed that up. Excellent waffles and omelets.
I am bumping this thread with sad news from the Sacramento restaurant scene. Chando’s closed all their restaurants a few weeks ago. 
Meanwhile, Kiki’s announced yesterday that they’re closing 10 of their locations. It seems like the one closest to me is unaffected. I actually tried Kiki’s specifically because of this thread, although I haven’t been there since I started having to go back to the office last year. Their chicken sandwich is definitely a cut above the likes of Chick-fil-a and other fast food chicken sandwiches.
I went to Kiki’s a while back and thought it was pretty good. As you say, a cut above the usual fast food. Never got to go to Chando’s.
Seems to be a common theme in Sacramento (and I’d suppose elsewhere). Leatherby’s Creamery had a significant expansion to a few dozen locations a couple decades back, but it was too rapid and almost all of them shut down. They’re still around with a few locations, which seem to still be successful.
Not sure what the deal is exactly, but I’d posit that it takes one type of management to run a handful of locations, and another type to handle a few dozen, or a few hundred, etc. And they don’t always make the transition successfully.
ETA: Speaking of which, Leatherby’s Creamery is a direct answer to the OP, and in Sacramento too:
Been around for 40 years, and currently has 5 locations in the area.
We have Glory Days Pizza. It’s really good. I remember ordering from the first place.
Although they didn’t specifically state it, I suspect that was the issue with Chando’s as well. They started with one location 15 years ago and were well liked, then it seemed like they expanded a lot circa 2020. As I said in the OP they even tried expanding into the Atlanta area. Then the Atlanta locations all closed, and they started slowly shrinking in the Sacto area until they completely shut down. It really seemed like they tried to expand too rapidly and it backfired.
ETA: Come to think of it, I never actually went to a physical Chando’s restaurant (although I ordered DoorDash from them once or twice). But I have been to their food trucks many times. One of the best things about getting jury duty was that there was always a Chando’s truck a block from the courthouse at lunch time.
Since there’s a new post in this thread, I decided to check my post here. I was wrong about two things. There are 46, not 45, Nando’s in the U.S. Also, it was never owned by a British company.
Grizzly’s Wood-Fired Grill has around 6 locations I believe, most in Minnesota. Somewhere between an accessible Applebee’s and a log cabin steakhouse.
I worked there 20+ years ago and remember the food fondly. Get the Nachos, big ol’ plate of awesome.