List of defunct fast-food restaurant chains

This is a list of defunct fast-food chains. A restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants with the same name in many different locations that are either under shared corporate ownership (e.g., McDonald's in the U.S.) or franchising agreements. Typically, the restaurants within a chain are built to a standard format through architectural prototype development and offer a standard menu and/or services.

A former Red Barn location in Mississauga, Ontario, now a Mr. Sub restaurant

Defunct fast-food restaurant chains
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
A former 1970s-era Burger Chef in Essexville, Michigan, occupied by health offices, as seen in October 2008
A former Pup 'N' Taco restaurant on old Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • The All American Burger – a regional American fast-food restaurant chain founded in 1968 in Los Angeles by Aaron Binder and made famous in the movie Fast Times At Ridgemont High;[1][2][3][4] The last location, in Hollywood, was replaced by a Chipotle in 2010.[5][6]
  • Ameche's Drive-in - Five suburban locations in metropolitan Baltimore.
  • Bajio Mexican Grill – Mexican food chain; acquired by Costa Vida in 2011[7][8][9][10]
  • BBF (Burger Boy Food-O-Rama) – West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, 1961–1970; sold to Borden Inc. in 1970[11]
  • Burger Chef
  • Burger Queen
  • Carrols - chain in western New York State and Pennsylvania with 150 stores at its peak in the 1960s; featured the Club Burger and sold popular Looney Tunes drinking glasses[12]
  • Chicken George
  • Chicken Unlimited - chain specializing in fried chicken. Popular in the Chicago area in the 1960s-1970s. [13]
  • Chooks Fresh & Tasty
  • Clock
  • D'Lites
  • Dee's Drive-In
  • Doggie Diner
  • Druther's – chain based in Louisville, Kentucky, that became a regional Dairy Queen franchise in 1991; a lone franchised location in Campbellsville, Kentucky, is the only survivor
  • Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour
  • Forum Cafeterias
  • G.D. Ritzy's – chain with a 1950s diner theme that specialized in hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, and homemade ice cream; founded in 1980 by former Wendy's executive Graydon Webb in Columbus, Ohio; at one time had 120 locations, but only 3 or 4 franchises remained open in Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia after the company liquidated by 1991[14][15][16][17][18][19]
  • Geri's Hamburgers
  • Gino's Hamburgers
  • G.W. Jrs – Owned by Church's, by 1982, the company would operate 62 of these restaurants in Texas. J. David Bamberger served as Church's president on an interim basis until he was able to lure Richard F. Sherman away from the Hardees restaurant chain. Efforts were also made to grow the G.W. Jrs. chain, but management soon gave up on the concept, exiting the burger market in 1985.[20]
  • Heap Big Beef  – chain serving roast beef sandwiches that was launched in the mid-1960s. Franchises International solicited franchisees through ads in national publications such as Life[21] and through classified ads in local newspapers.[22] The restaurants used an American Indian theme and a distinctive A-frame building.[23] Several restaurants were built in various locations across the United States, but the chain was apparently out of business by the early 1970s.
  • Henry's Hamburgers
  • Hill's Snappy Service  – hamburger restaurant founded in 1925 in Trenton, Missouri. National chain especially strong in the Midwest.Ray Kroc expressed interest in partnering with founder Paul C. Hill.[24]
  • Horn & Hardart
  • L&K Family Restaurant
  • La Petite Boulangerie
  • Little Tavern
  • Lum's
  • Mighty Casey's
  • Milligan's Beefy Burgers  – opened in Starke, Florida in 1942 and sold 450,000 hamburgers during its first year of operation. In 1950 it expanded to Jacksonville, Florida with two locations and by 1967 had 10 locations in that city. All locations had closed by the end of 1974.[25]
  • Mr. 'S' Burger  – New Jersey burger chain from coast to coast. Had operations in Waukegan, Illinois, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • Naugles – acquired by Del Taco in 1988;[26] all locations were closed or converted by 1995; fans and new investors attempted to revive the brand in 2015[27]
  • Noon Mediterranean
  • Pioneer Chicken
  • Pizza Haven  – Australian pizza chain[28][29][30]
  • Pumper Nic  – chain in Argentina; founded in 1974 and closed in 1999
  • Pup 'N' Taco
  • Red Barn
  • Royal Castle – one franchise location survived after chain was liquidated in 1975[31]
  • Sandy's
  • Shrimp Boat – chain of seafood restaurants that grew to 95 stores in the southeast, based in Macon, Georgia, 1955–1974; seven independent stores still exist in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina[32]
  • Taco Viva – chain serving Mexican style fare in the late 1960s and through the 1980s. At its peak there were 85 restaurants located in 11 states ranging from South Florida (Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas) to as far north as Dayton, Ohio (one restaurant). While the menu was similar to Taco Bell it was different enough to draw a substantial fan base.[33]
  • Tops Drive Inn  – chain of drive-in restaurants located in the Washington, D.C., area. The first opened in Arlington, Virginia, in 1953, and the chain grew to 18 locations. Tops also held the franchise rights to Kentucky Fried Chicken in the Washington region. Tops merged with Gino's Hamburgers in 1967 and its restaurants were subsequently sold or rebranded.[34]
  • The Training Table - was a regional chain of fast food restaurants in the U.S. State of Utah. Founded in 1977, the chain focused on gourmet burgers. The chain had five locations in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.
  • Two Pesos
  • Wag's
  • Wetson's
  • White Tower Hamburgers  – one location remains in Toledo, Ohio
  • Wimpy Grills – founded in Bloomington, Indiana in 1934, it eventually grew to 25 locations within the United States and 1,500 outside of the US. The international locations were eventually sold to J. Lyons and Co. in the United Kingdom, which remains open, while all of the American locations eventually closed by 1978.[35][36][37][38]
  • Winky's  – a Pittsburgh institution in the 1960s and 1970s that filed for bankruptcy in 1982[39]
  • Wuv's – Fort Lauderdale, Florida burger chain; filed for bankruptcy in 1981[40][41]
  • Yankee Doodle Dandy

See also

References
  1. "SEC Administrative Ruling 3-4857" (PDF). Security and Exchange Commission. June 30, 1975.
  2. "All American Burger To File Under Chapter 11". Wall Street Journal. April 20, 1981. p. 38. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  3. "All-American Burger Franchises". Wall Street Journal. January 16, 1980. p. 43. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  4. Delugach, Al (October 8, 1981). "All-American Burger Founder Is Accused of Fraud by the SEC". Los Angeles Times. p. G3. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  5. "Chipotle Lovers Rejoice! New Location Opening on Sunset". Weho Daily. October 9, 2010.
  6. Tomicki, Hadley (April 30, 2010). "Is Burritofication Kinda Like Scarification?". Grub Street.
  7. "Costa Vida, Bajio to merge". Provo Daily Herald. February 16, 2011.
  8. Warnock, Caleb (February 17, 2011). "Bajios to become Costa Vidas". Provo Daily Herald.
  9. "Utah firm acquires Bajio brand". Salt Lake Tribune. October 30, 2009.
  10. Andrus, Elyssa (January 14, 2003). "Bodacious burros and speedy service at Bajio". Provo Daily Herald.
  11. "BBF". columbusrestauranthistory.com.
  12. Morrell, Alan (January 23, 2014). "Whatever Happened To ... Carrols?". Democrat and Chronicle.
  13. https://vanishedchicagoland.blog/2020/01/18/my-memories-of-eating-at-chicken-unlimited-in-chicago/
  14. Ball, Brian R. (September 13, 2012). "Restaurant vet Graydon Webb lands at PSB Realty". Business First.
  15. Eaton, Dan (April 14, 2008). "New era dawning at Rise & Dine with new leadership team in place". Business First.
  16. Brawley, Peggy (June 4, 1984). "Here's the Scoop!". People.
  17. Phillips, Jeff (October 22, 1990). "Ritzy's Discussing Sales of Assets". Business First. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  18. Phillips, Jeff (February 24, 1992). "Ritzy's Owners Seek $100,000 From Franchisee". Business First. Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  19. Stuertz, Mark (October 28, 2004). "Ritzy Flitz: Ritzy's making a comeback". Dallas Observer.
  20. "History of Church's Chicken – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  21. "Heap Big Beef franchise solicitation ad". Life. June 23, 1967. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  22. "Classified ad". Toledo Blade. October 3, 1967. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  23. "A-Frame Chains & Other Eateries (page 1)". RoadsideArchitecture.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  24. Jakle, John A.; Sculle, Keith A. (1999). Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. Johns Hopkins University Press pp. 104-112. ISBN 0-8018-6109-8.
  25. "Lost Jacksonville: Milligan's Beefy Burgers". Metro Jacksonville. Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  26. Galante, Mary Ann (February 2, 1988). "Ganging Up on Taco Bell: Restaurateur Will Merge Del Taco, Naugles to Battle Industry Leader". Los Angeles Times.
  27. Luna, Nancy (August 5, 2015). "Fast food hero or failure? Naugles' co-owner faces fan support and backlash". Orange County Register. There was a possibility that we could have opened and had a small trickle of customers come only once or twice and then forget about it. Then Naugles would have breathed its last dying breath and be gone for good.
  28. "Eagle Boys devours Pizza Haven". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  29. Nguyễn, Hằng (April 30, 2010). "Đồ chơi gỗ". Đồ chơi gỗ.
  30. Nguyễn, Hằng (April 30, 2010). "Đồ chơi gỗ Mother Garden". Đồ chơi gỗ.
  31. Fiero, Peter (April 10, 1975). "Polk's Business: Royal Castle Wants To Quit". Lakeland Ledger. p. 6B.
  32. "Shrimp Boats: The Story of a Shipwreck and its Survivors". Marie, Let's Eat (blog). November 13, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  33. https://www.tacoviva.com
  34. Johnson II, William Page (Summer 2007). "Tops Drive Inn" (PDF). The Fare Facs Gazette (Historic Fairfax City Inc.).
  35. "Edward V. Gold, 70, the Founder Of the Wimpy's Restaurant Chain". New York Times. October 16, 1977. p. 42. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  36. "Restaurant Chain Formed". New York Times. April 5, 1957. p. 50. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  37. Lazarus, George (July 28, 1978). "Wimpy's for sale; is there 2d Ray Kroc?". Chicago Tribune. p. D9. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  38. "Edward V. Gold, 'Wimpy' Entrepreneur". Washington Post. October 17, 1977. p. C6. Alternate Link(subscription required) via ProQuest.
  39. McDonough, Tim (July 8, 1982). "Winky Woes: Sewickley-Based Chain Is Trying To Make The Best Of Bankruptcy". Pittsburgh Press. p. S9.
  40. "Wuv's Chain Files Under Chapter 11". New York Times. December 23, 1981.
  41. Edwards, John G. (September 30, 1986). "ESM Can Keep Money Awarded In Earlier Fraud". Sun Sentinel.
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