Long John Silver's and Seafood Chains
Back in 1969, the Jerrico Company, which operated other restaurants, decided that the fast food concept was here to stay and wanted to enter that market. They chose to start a seafood chain and called it Long John Silver's Fish and Chips. The restaurants had very simple menus featuring batter-fried fish, French fries, hush puppies, Cole slaw, and beverages. They also offered fried chicken for those who simply did not care for fish. The restaurants were small and featured cafeteria lines. The food was prepared up front, near the counter. In five years, the chain grew to over 200 units. Its major competitors were H. Salt Fish & Chips and Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips.
As time went on, the name of the chain was changed to Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppes, and the menu was expanded to include clams, oysters, and shrimp. Starting in 1986, the chain began to eliminate its cafeteria lines and put in scatter-line counters like other fast food restaurants have. Cooking facilities were enlarged and moved to a separate kitchen in the back of the store, and the interiors were enhanced. The outside of the buildings stayed much the same, modeled after a New England wharf-style building.
The fish concept continues to win approval with consumers as the nutritive value of fish increases in popularity. The Long John Silver's Seafood Shoppes chain is now in 37 U.S. states, Canada, and Singapore. Sales in 1988 were $753 million, and there were over 1,500 units. Other chains selling seafood include Captain D's and Skipper's Seafood N' Chowder House.
Taco Bell and Mexican Chains
Glen Bell opened a hot dog stand in California following his service in the Marines during World War II. Business was so good that he added hamburgers to his menu. Then he sold the old stand and built a new one. Sales grew, so he added another unit, just as the two McDonald brothers were starting their hamburger restaurant in the same town. Wanting to be different from McDonald's, Bell added Mexican food to his menu. Soon he devised ways to make tacos quickly using fresh ingredients. The tacos were a big hit, so he started Taco Bell in 1962. In 1969, he took his company public, and in 1978 the company was bought by PepsiCo.
Taco Bell is the largest fast food restaurant offering Mexican food, with over 2,000 units in the 50 states, Canada, Guam, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Puerto Rico. Approximately 45 percent of the units are corporate owned, and the others are independently franchised. The total system sales have more than tripled and the number of restaurants have doubled during the past five years as the popularity of Mexican food has soared. More than two million tacos are served in Taco Bell restaurants every day, and 9.8 million people walk through the doors of these restaurants each week.
Arby's and Roast Beef Chains
In 1964 in Youngstown, Ohio, Arby's opened its first fast food restaurant. Its specialty was roast beef sandwiches. Today, the chain has over 1,500 units in the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and the Virgin Islands. It is rated number one in the sale of roast beef sandwiches.
When one fast food specialty restaurant succeeds, others quickly follow. Rax opened its first roast beef unit in 1977 in Columbus, Ohio. Since then, the menu has been expanded and hundreds of restaurants have been added to the chain.
Pizza Chains
Pizza Hut: In 1957, the Saturday Evening Post reported that a pizza craze was sweeping the nation. The Carney brothers, Frank and Dan, decided to get in on the action. The two college students borrowed $600 from their mother, found a pizza cook, and opened the first Pizza Hut in 1958. The first night they gave away free pizza to attract customers. However, soon the tiny restaurant was a great success, and the brothers opened more restaurants. By 1963, there were 43 Pizza Hut restaurants owned by the company and franchisees. Today, Pizza Hut is the largest pizza restaurant chain in the world with over 5,000 units. The company is now owned by PepsiCo and is truly an international chain with restaurants in a large number of foreign countries. Though technically riot a fast food restaurant because it does provide sit-down table service, the Pizza Hut chain has the same kind of product consistency and limited menu for which fast food operations are known. Most stores maintain a brisk carry-out business as well.
Domino's Pizza: Thomas S. Monaghan and his brother bought a pizza store in 1960 to help put themselves through school. The Domino's Pizza chain is built on the concept of speed. In fact, the chain even has a guarantee that if your pizza is not delivered to your door within 30 minutes, you will get a three-dollar discount. The chain has no sit-down facilities and serves only pizza and cola. Domino's is one of the fastest growing pizza chains in the world with over 3,000 stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, England, West Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong. It is the world's largest pizza delivery company.
More Pizza Chains: The popularity of pizza has brought many chains which sell pizza. Many are full-service restaurants rather than fast food outlets. Two other fast food chains are Little Caesar's, with its take-out-only strategy, and Sbarro, which has many outlets in shopping malls.
Subway Sandwiches & Salads
Fred DeLuca opened his first store in 1965 at the age of 17. Now there are more than 3,000 Subway Sandwiches & Salads units. The chain wants consumers to forget hamburgers and buy submarines, grinders, and hoagies. Big plans are being made for future expansion of this chain.
