# What's the point of regional chains? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921 "2011-09-02T03:49:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/41 "2011-09-02T19:15:12Z")
Also, consider that Carl’s Jr bought Hardee’s but had no reputation in regions where the latter was already a known quantity: if you want a burger and fries you can’t get it at KFC, and if you want a bucket of fried chicken with cole slaw and mashed potatoes you can’t get it at McDonald’s – but if you’ve got a van full of screaming kids who want (a) _ **both,** _ not to mention (b) stuff you can’t get at _ **either** _ fast-food joint, be it onion rings or chili dogs or ham-and-cheese sandwiches, you know damn well that you go to Hardee’s for the cheap and fast and hot extravaganza. And so the parent company kinda sorta acts like it’s operating separate regional chains, because they (a) see no point in starting from scratch reputation-wise sure as they (b) don’t want to build a new restaurant to compete against the recognized brand in either area. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/42 "2011-09-02T20:17:34Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Also, consider that Carl’s Jr bought Hardee’s but had no reputation in regions where the latter was already a known quantity: if you want a burger and fries you can’t get it at KFC, and if you want a bucket of fried chicken with cole slaw and mashed potatoes you can’t get it at McDonald’s – but if you’ve got a van full of screaming kids who want (a) _ **both,** _ not to mention (b) stuff you can’t get at _ **either** _ fast-food joint, be it onion rings or chili dogs or ham-and-cheese sandwiches, you know damn well that you go to Hardee’s for the cheap and fast and hot extravaganza. > > And so the parent company kinda sorta acts like it’s operating separate regional chains, because they (a) see no point in starting from scratch reputation-wise sure as they (b) don’t want to build a new restaurant to compete against the recognized brand in either area. I’m only here to applaud this post, which is concise, articulate, well-considered, and some other good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/43 "2011-09-02T20:28:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I think the OP is more of a bitch about “Why aren’t the places I want to eat located where I am?” more than anything else. No other explanation makes any sense. That’s probably true! 😉 Here near Beantown, my fast food options are mostly: Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Wendy’s, Dunkin Donuts. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/44 "2011-09-02T20:43:19Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Jack In The Box operated in the Chicago area in the 1970s, as well, but pulled back sometime soon after, and has largely remained a West Coast chain since. I think this is the problem with Krispy Kreme as well. People in the South (where the chain originated and most stores are now located) really like their sweet things. The amount of sugar in sweet tea is scary. When KK came to Colorado, it was at the height of the hype, and the stores were packed. At every meeting or get-together someone would bring a dozen of their donuts. It soon began to be an Emperor’s Clothes thing, and once someone finally said “This tastes like someone melted cotton candy over a ball of fried dough” that the craze died quickly. They came and went in about 18 months. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/45 "2011-09-02T21:35:58Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > When KK came to Colorado, it was at the height of the hype, and the stores were packed. At every meeting or get-together someone would bring a dozen of their donuts. It soon began to be an Emperor’s Clothes thing, and once someone finally said “This tastes like someone melted cotton candy over a ball of fried dough” that the craze died quickly. They came and went in about 18 months. They lasted a bit longer here in Chicago (and there was a similar level of frenzy when they finally came here), but their freestanding stores, at least, are largely, if not completely, gone now from the market. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/46 "2011-09-02T21:48:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > They lasted a bit longer here in Chicago (and there was a similar level of frenzy when they finally came here), but their freestanding stores, at least, are largely, if not completely, gone now from the market. I quoted the wrong post of yours - I meant to quote the one about Chicago style hot dogs being a regional taste. KK also had an unfortunate timing issue when their expansion coincided with the Atkins Diet fad. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/47 "2011-09-02T22:50:44Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Dunkin Donuts is one of the most extreme examples of a regional chain. In the northeast, even into eastern Canada, they are everywhere. Most people wo live there probably think it is nationwide, probably multinational. > > But not so. There are hardly any Dunkin Donuts west of the Mississippi, and as you say, none at all in California. I have eaten at Dunkin Donuts in the Philippines and China. That seems multinational to me… > **[Dunkin' Donuts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkin%27_Donuts#Global_locations)** > > DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. The chain was acquired by Baskin-Robbins' holding company Allied Lyons in 1990, its acquisition of the Mister Donut chain and the conversion of that chain to Dunkin' Donuts facilitated the brand's growth in North America that year. > Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbi... ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/48 "2011-09-02T22:54:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > They lasted a bit longer here in Chicago (and there was a similar level of frenzy when they finally came here), but their freestanding stores, at least, are largely, if not completely, gone now from the market. They are still around in California. Maybe because there is no other chain to compete with them here. As said earlier in this thread, Dunkin Donuts doesn’t exist here, and the only big California based chain, Winchell’s, died many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/49 "2011-09-02T22:56:44Z")
> [@simple\_homer](#): > > I have eaten at Dunkin Donuts in the Philippines and China. > That seems multinational to me… > > [Dunkin' Donuts - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkin%27_Donuts#Global_locations) That’s interesting. DD is actually in quite a few countries. But still, it’s missing from much of the US. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/50 "2011-09-03T02:39:32Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Some chains simply won’t have national appeal. Like lobster pups. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/51 "2011-09-03T04:18:57Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I think this is the … Krispy Kreme… “This tastes like someone melted cotton candy over a ball of fried dough”… Mmmm… gotta “git me a Kreme” tomorrow morning. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/52 "2011-09-03T05:24:07Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > They are still around in California. Maybe because there is no other chain to compete with them here. As said earlier in this thread, Dunkin Donuts doesn’t exist here, and the only big California based chain, Winchell’s, died many years ago. KK opened a branch in my CA city and lasted a little over a year, I think. It was packed at first, but the glamor wore off fast, and it was right when they had expanded too much. Now we’re back to locally-owned places only–I believe Donut Nook is considered the best. I’m always hoping to enter a donut shop and find Jonathan Silverman, but since I never go in them I guess my chances are low… ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/53 "2011-09-03T05:57:22Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > For Cali Dopers: How old is In-n-Out? I ask because it’d seem that something that successful and iconic would want to be national. What should have gone national—the Blue Circle. Kind of like Krystal, except the onions were fried. Made all the difference. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/54 "2011-09-03T16:33:21Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > KK opened a branch in my CA city and lasted a little over a year, I think. It was packed at first, but the glamor wore off fast, and it was right when they had expanded too much. Now we’re back to locally-owned places only–I believe Donut Nook is considered the best. > > I’m always hoping to enter a donut shop and find Jonathan Silverman, but since I never go in them I guess my chances are low… I live in the Bay Area. There is still a Krispy Kreme ten minutes from my house. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/55 "2011-09-03T16:43:54Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Now you’ve got me curious. The Anchor Bar? Nick Tahou’s? The Dinosaur? Mark’s Pizzeria? Duff’s would be my guess, though MT would be a good guess, too. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/56 "2011-09-03T17:09:56Z")
Agreed with those who have pointed out that no one sets out to start a non-regional chain, and few set out to start a chain at all. Most businesses begin as small local one-off shops, some of which succeed enough to justify a second, then a third, then . . . naturally, it’s more likely that the second will be in the same city as the first as opposed to the opposite coast. Naturally most small business founders are entrepreneurs with limited funds that don’t initially support national expansion ambitions. When you have seen national chains “spontaneously” pop up, it’s been the result of one of two things: either they are not true organic start ups but are fronts for or funded by an existing conglomerate (Panera and Chipotle spring to mind as places that spread nationally and quickly only after the founders’ small operation attracted money from a big company like McDonald’s), or they are franchise pyramid schemes masquerading as chains (admittedly some of the pyramids endure better than others). I have to think, for instance, that Five Guys may be headed for a fall. I read yesterday that they plan to open 600 new stores in the next few years. Wow. That’s a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/57 "2011-09-03T23:40:07Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Quality control and logistics costs seem to be the main factors holding a number of regional fast food chains from expanding. There is a local fast food chain here in Western New York that was approached by a Las Vegas casino and offered a prime spot in their shopping district. The chain had to turn it down because they didn’t feel they could keep its control standards, and the shipping costs of sending out their specialty items would make it difficult to turn a profit. It was a shame for the chain, because they would have been a perfect fit for Vegas. Red Barn? Pudgies Pizza? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/58 "2011-09-04T00:29:24Z")
I just can’t see a place like Mighty Taco or Mark’s Pizzeria or Pudgies being offered a “prime spot” in a Las Vegas casino. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/59 "2011-09-04T00:32:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I just can’t see a place like Mighty Taco or Mark’s Pizzeria or Pudgies being offered a “prime spot” in a Las Vegas casino. Bazils? Dinosaur (which was asked already, I realize)? Sticky Lips? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921/60 "2011-09-04T00:44:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I just can’t see a place like Mighty Taco or Mark’s Pizzeria or Pudgies being offered a “prime spot” in a Las Vegas casino. It sure seems like the Hilton will let any shitty company take a stab at the space by the sports book. The sandwich shop that was there for like 8 years was among the worst food I’ve ever had, and it was just sandwiches ffs. The place before them was even worse. I’d love to see a Pudgies take over. Or a Red Barn. BTW, I’d fucking LOVE to see a Farrell’s in Vegas. I used to be desperate for Dunkin Donuts, but we have them now thank Og. If only we had a good bagel shop; the few we used to have are all gone now. :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-regional-chains/594921.md?page=4)