Whether youre looking for great-value Tex-Mex (see also 17 Most Popular Chilis Menu Items) or your standard burger and fries, you wont be disappointed by a trip to this restaurant. But in 1987, Beefsteak Charlie's was sold to Bombay Palace Restaurants and went out of business soon thereafter. "You could make money anywhere." Next time you have a craving for Mexican food or Tex-Mex, we challenge you to try out a new Mexican chain restaurant with friends or family (see also 17 American BBQ Chain Restaurants You Need To Visit). Buffalo locations, 1979. Get the best food tips and diet advice every single day, Now, you'll have the best and latest food and healthy eating news right in your inboxevery Family Style. Unlike some other Mexican restaurant chains, Taco Bell restaurants are not confined to a small selection of states, and most states in the U.S. have at least one if not many more Taco Bell restaurants. "Come on into Pup 'n' Taco and give your tummy a treat"we wish we could! The British-based market research and data analytics company YouGov determined recently that some 86% of Americans who had tried Mexican food liked it; the only cuisine scoring higher was Italian, at 88%. 25. Finally, if youre looking for really high-quality, rustic-inspired Tex-Mex, theres nowhere better than Uncle Julios. With that being said, Taco Bells menu has expanded and evolved a lot in recent years, including some exciting and creative options such as the Mexican Pizza and the Cheesy Gordita Crunch. Inc. (Big Bite). In many cases, these restaurants serve a variation of Tex-Mex (Americanized Mexican cuisine) but its also possible to find authentic Mexican food at several of these chains. In 1956, the Taco puppy started engraving roads in southern California. By the 1980s, there were more than 350Gino places throughout the east coast. Serve customer fast. That is, until 2008 when Bennigan's went bankrupt. Friday's and Applebee's, serving up similar menus of standard bar fare and ambiance. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. Del Taco The original Pollo Loco was in Sinaloa, Mexico, and there is a Mexican chain today, unrelated to the U.S. one. Still, if you were lucky enough to experience Pup 'N' Taco, then you probably can't get the jingle out of your head. As you might expect from the name, Torchys Tacos specializes in tacos and offers exciting and adventurous taco fillings such as fried avocado or blackened salmon. Starting in the 1980s, Mighty Casey's began popping up in Atlanta, Georgia, serving your . Chicken George was a character in the 1977 ABC miniseries "Roots," which was based on a novel about slavery by Alex Haley. At the time, the addition of tacos was a game changer, as opposed to the integral part of the fast food lexicon it is today. Pizza Haven - Australian pizza chain; 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; Sandy's; ShowBiz Pizza Place - Merged into Chuck E. Cheese Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, the chains locations are focused in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. This is a list of notable Mexican restaurants. 57. We hope that this guide to the best Mexican restaurant chains in America (see also Ranking The Top 18 Pizza Chains In America) has shown you that there are plenty more Mexican food options than Chipotle and Taco Bell although these two have more than earned their popularity! Foodio / Shutterstock. 1982 Having introduced nouvelle cuisine at Ma Maison in Los Angeles, Chef Wolfgang Puck presents "California cuisine" to patrons of his new chic-casual Sunset Strip restaurant, Spago. In 1981, more than 50 VIP sites had taken along the highways of Washington, California, Idaho and Nevada, In addition to the locations of Oregon. Many Naugles became Del Tacos, and eventually, Naugles disappeared. Name Head office location Original location Year started Number of locations Notes Acapulco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina: Cypress, California The company sold most of its locations in the '90s, though, before they all fizzled out. La Belle Vie. The trade publication Restaurant Business releases an annual ranking of the nations top 250 restaurant chains. 14. It took on the rest of the East Coast in the '70s, too. xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain;charset=UTF-8'); Seven locations were revived a few years later, but they were all closed by 2016. . The basic staples remain native foods such as corn, beans and chili peppers, but the Europeans introduced many other foods, the most important of which were meat from domesticated animals (beef, pork, chicken, goat and sheep), dairy products (especially cheese) and various herbs and many spices. Lauren Gray is a New York-based writer, editor, and consultant. Taco Johns Fast Casual. 7. Simpson. Bombay Bicycle Club was a hugely popular restaurant and bar in the 1980s. I only ate there once but I really liked it. 23. Big Bite expanded to a chain of approximately 30 restaurants. Though Beefsteak Charlie's slogan was, "I'll feed you like there's no tomorrow," sadly, tomorrow came for this chain restaurant by the end of the 1980s. Fast-food tacos, burritos, tostadas, and quesadillas make up much of the menu, though there are also American-style burgers. "Prepare food fresh. In 1967, the chain was established in Abilene, Texas, by Bill R. Waugh, an art graduate from Abilene Christian University. Nevertheless, if you had the chance to experiment with the puppy 'N' Taco, you probably can not get thetinkle out of your head. But it was true only for so long. 24. Leo's Mexican Restaurant In 2001 Leo's Mexican Restaurant closed its doors, to the chagrin of Tex-Mex connoisseurs and ZZ Top fans. In 2010, he became recognized as aOfficial city. There were 60 locations in the New York metropolitan area by 1984. There were at least 140 locations at its height, with spots serving up bread in Denver, New Jersey, San Francisco, and more. > Number of U.S. units: 170. Unlike some other fast food restaurants, where you get served your chosen condiments along with your order, at Taco Cabana, you get to go and take your pick from the condiment bar and help yourself to whatever you like! Howard Johnson's. There is one Howard Johnson's restaurant left in the country, in New York's Lake George. RIP VIP's. Bennigan's 200 nationwide locations shuttered their doors a decade ago, but the new owners now run a much smaller-scale operation out of Dallas, Texas, and the menu does include the Irish pub-inspired items you loved in the 1980s. At its height in 1984, there were 102 Pup 'N' Taco locations across California and New Mexico. RELATED: Your ultimate survival guide and supermarket is here! > Number of U.S. units: 204. This restaurant is part of a larger family of restaurants known as the Pappas family-owned restaurants. xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain;charset=UTF-8'); > Number of U.S. units: 743. Sadly, there are no more D'Lites today. 1977: Fine Wine and Italian Style. here is19 old joyful toys that will bring you back to your childhood. Not only does Chuys serve some examples of classic Mexican food, but youll also find menu items inspired by Southern Texan cuisine and the Rio Grande Valley. But in 1970, he left this company to build his own Mexican style chain: Naugles in the south of California. The name Sambo comes from a combination of the names of the founders: Sam Battistone and Newell F. Bohnett. Ever wonder if your favorite is actually the most popular? Dam it was good Mexican food. At its pinnacle in the 1970s, Burger Chef had 1,200 locations and was a thriving competitor of McDonald's. A 1980 sales department accounted for many happy customers who say that Chicken George was better than the chicken of their wife or mother. Another Dallas-born chain, on the border launched in 1982, featuring mesquite-grilled meats, hand-pressed tortillas, and small-batch salsas. } It serves traditional Tex-Mex-style tacos, nachos, and burritos, and other Mexican style meals. Another famous item on the Taco Cabana menu is the queso, which many lovers of Tex-Mex have labeled the best queso at any of Americas Mexican fast food restaurants. In the early 1990s, Bennigan was sold to Metomedia's restaurant group. However, in the late '80s, La Petite Boulangerie was purchased by Mrs. Field's, where cookies were the name of the game. And any New York kid in the 1980s grew up loving this chain, thanks to its unlimited portions. But expanding your horizons may add additional costs. The fun meal, as they called it, launched in the early 1970s and included stories about Burger Chef Lore, including the mascot of Jeff chain, La Burgerini (a magician), Count Fangburger (a vampire), Burgerilla (a gorilla), and Cackleburger (a witch). March 2, 2023 11:00 am. Though Restaurant Business lists this chain in the chicken category, not the Mexican, and although chicken is the only protein on the menu, El Pollo Loco calls its food L.A. However, Pappasitos Cantina really stands out for a few reasons. Uncle Julios restaurants can be found in Wisconsin, Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, Mayland, Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. Though there's an unrelated restaurant of the same name in New York, the last real All-American Burger on Sunset Boulevard has since closed. Personally, we cant get enough of the incredible Tex-Mex menu items at On the Border, and we think you should visit one of the 120 On the Border restaurants in the U.S. if you havent already. With the exception of six locations in Florida, Rubios remains a western chain, with shops in Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, as well as California. > U.S. sales: $324 million The timing was . This Mexican restaurant is the original home of the frozen margarita, tableside guacamole, and the fajita platter, so other Mexican chain restaurants owe a lot to this establishment. If youre looking for something fresh and new, you can also choose to order the Taco of the Month, which never fails to impress. The American company has units all over California (and especially in the southern portions of the state), as well as in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, and Louisiana. Many locations were converted to Hardee's in the '90s after the burger chain bought Rax. is the restaurants focus on fresh, non-processed ingredients. After it was acquired by the Marriott Hotel chain in 1971, it grew to 130 locations, but by the late 1980s, most of them had closed. > Number of U.S. units: 118. } > U.S. sales: $213 million (est.) The first one was opened by Campbell in Arizona last February. Not only is El Toritos extensive menu filled with Mexican favorites like beef enchiladas, flame-grilled fajitas and traditional burritos, but you also get the option of building your own plate made up of the restaurants most popular menu items. Bennigan was becoming one of the most efficient mid-range casual catering chains in America. Unfortunately, Webb could only put on the Ritz for so long. Dont forget to try one of El Toritos frozen margaritas while you have the chance! Taco Bueno is a famous fast food restaurant chain situated in the southern United States. Sadly, to the dismay of fans across the country, Burger Chef failed to keep up and was ultimately sold to the owner of Hardee's in the early '80s. Walgreen's has a penchant for branching out beyond your traditional pharmacy goodssome even sell beer and wine these days. Bennigan had its start in Atlanta in 1976, but in the early 1980s they were everywhere. Baja Fresh has been around since 1990, and its yet another Mexican restaurant chain to emerge from California. Del Taco is headquartered in Lake Forest California, and is led by CEO John D. Cappasola Jr. . We love that Moes Southwest Grill strives to provide an entertaining and unique Mexican dining experience by combining traditional Mexican fast food with a playlist of game-changing musical artists. Whether you are in their delicious skins of red potatoes or the iconic Irish tower O'Rings, Bennigan was a success in the 1980s. ), After the movie came out, All-American Burger, which was only in the Los Angeles area, experienced a brief boom. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. That was the motto of Mexican fast-food chain Naugles. There were serious noise complaints from neighbors at the Huntington Harbour location in 1981, and, in the mid-1980s, claims that the chain excluded minorities on a regular basis from several of its Orange County . Taco Bell Interestingly, the chain was founded by a Greek family. 167). 3. The International House of Pancakes is one of those chain restaurants that has come and gone a handful of times in Western New York. 9. Football Hall of Famer Gino Marchetti opened the first Gino's Hamburgers in 1957, and by the 70s, he was able to boast over 300 locations. In 1956, Pup 'N' Taco began gracing roadsides in Southern California. Howard Johnson could simply hold the title of the most failed failed restaurant chain, not only the 80s, but a time. Winsight is a leading B2B information services company focused on the food and beverage industry, providing insight and market intelligence to business leaders in every channel consumers buy food and beverage - convenience stores, grocery retailing, restaurants and noncommercial foodservice - through media, events, data products, advisory . This fast food chain was founded by Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson in Barstow, California on September 16, 1964. Translating to the crazy chicken in Spanish, El Pollo Loco is one of the most famous Mexican-style chain restaurants in the United States, and definitely the winner of the funniest name contest! 11. Rip Vip's. Founded in 1974, Chi-Chi's was a Mexican-restaurant chain operating in the United States and Canada up until it filed for bankruptcy in 2004, according to a Journal Times report. Many were not surprised when the metromedia filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The original Lum's storefront closed its doors in 1983. The chain marketed an all-you-can-eat salad bar plus unlimited beer, wine, and sangria. Every TV show based in the city, from Friends to Saturday Night Live, has joked about it for the last few decades. 13. There are even vegan options like the Beyond Beef taco! Launched by a former Del Taco partner in 1970, Naugles featured simple Cal-Mex food like basic cheese burritos or ground beef crispy tacos. In particular, he was a founding partner of Del Taco. 11. 4. First of all, the tortillas at Pappasitos Cantina are made fresh, from scratch, every hour, and you get the satisfaction of watching your guacamole be prepared in front of you at the table, so you never have to worry about stale ingredients spoiling your meal. And for more 1980s trivia, Only 1980s Kids Will Remember These Restaurants. The sale has put the "completely out of food activity" of WalgreenThe New York Times reported. "Howard Johnson was the king of the road," said a former franchise led by eater. Howard Johnson's. Photo courtesy of thedailymeal.com. The chain has locations in 15 states today, focusing on California, Oregon, and Washington (though Las Vegas has more Del Tacos than any other city). By 1984, there were 60 locations. Founders John Zapp and Mike Young opened the first Chuys restaurant because they wanted to create a relaxed, casual dining restaurant specializing in food from the American Southwest and thats exactly what they did! The chain was sold 630 million dollars in 1979 and heading towards the 80s, Hojo became avictim of his own success. Impossible brand plant-based protein is an option. It's risky ranking Chipotle at the bottom of a Mexican-American food roundup, considering the sheer size and ferocity of Chipotle's die-hard fan club. In 1979, new owners bought the company for real estate purposes. Today, one of the dachshunds still rotates near the San Francisco Zoo. 2. His fried chicken joint quickly became one of the country's largest minority-owned chains. Don Pablo's is another Mexican-inspired chain . If you like to be sure that the ingredients in your food are all-natural and that any meat is raised responsibly in accordance with animal welfare standards, Chipotle is one of the best fast food restaurants you can go to. (The number of units for each chain was computed at the same time, and may have changed since then.) > Number of U.S. units: 143. Ted N. Holmes founded Chicken George in 1979. Torchys Tacos With increased competition and not enough to distinguish the Bennigan tastes of Chile and T.G.I. By 1982 or 1983. The extensive menu featured foods from around the world: potato skins and fried veggies, chicken .
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