Restaurant Timeline

Welcome to When did it happen? The Restaurant Franchise Timeline Compiled by Dacy Nottingham.

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Restaurant Franchise Timeline
Compiled by Dacy Nottingham

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1910's	1920's	1930's	1940's	1950's	1960's	1970's	1980's	1990's

1910's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916	1916- Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, Nathan Handwerker, Coney Island, NY	1916 - Nathan's begins serving Coca Cola. Today, Nathan's holds the distinction of being Coca Cola's longest chain customer.
1917
1918
1919		1919 - Roy Allen (A&W) starts selling Rootbeer

1920's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1920	Orange Julius, Julius Freed, CA
1921	White Castle Hamburgers, Wichita Kansas
1922	A&W started, Roy Allen & Frank Wright, CA
1923
1924
1925
1926	Pizzeria Regina, Anthony Polcari, Boston, MA
1927
1928
1929	Karmelkorn, WY

1930's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936	Carvel Ice Cream, Tom Carvel, New York, NY
1937	Krispy Kreme, Vernon Rudolph, Salem NC
1938	Big Boy, Bob Wian, Glendale, CA
1939

1940's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1940	Dairy Queen, Grampa McCullough, Joliet, IL
1941	Carls hot dog stand, Carl Karcher, South Central LA, CA
1942
1943
1944	Baskin Robbins, Bert Baskin, Irv Robbins,	1944 - Marie Callendar sells her pies to restaurants
1945		1945 - Carls Full Service Restaurant, Anaheim, CA
1946
1947	Shoneys Big Boy, Alex Schownbaum, Charleston, WV Bell’s Burgers, Glen Bell, San Bernardino, CA
1948	McDonalds, Maurice & Dick McDonald, San BerdooCA In-N-Out, Harry Snyder, Baldwin Park, CA Marie Callendar's Bakery, CA, Callendar Family Winchell's Donuts, Verne Winchell, Temple City CA Coco's, John McIntosh, Corona del Mar, CA
1949	Bob's Big Boy, Scott MacDonald & Ward Albert, Burbank, CA

1950's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1950	Whataburger, Harmon Dobson, Corpus Christi, TX Dunkin Donuts, Bill Rosenberg	1950 - Carls Jr., Anaheim, CA
1951	Jack in the Box, Robert Peterson, CA Bakers, Neal Baker, Rialto, CA
1952	KFC, Colonel Sanders, Corbin, KY Churchs Chicken, George Church, San Antonio, TX Fatburger, Lovie Yancey, Los Angeles, CA	1952 - Carls Jr. puts a star on their signposts
1953	Danny's Donuts, Harold Butler, Lakewood, CA
1954	Burger King, James Mclomore/Dave Edgerton, MiamiFL El Torito, Larry Cano, Encino, CA Taco Tia, Glen Bell, San Bernardino, CA Polcaris,	1954 - Danny's Donuts Changes to Danny's Coffee Shop
1955		1955 - McDonalds is purchased by Ray Crock, Headquarters moved to Des Plaines, IL 1955 - Glen Bell gets divorces, wife gets Bell’s Burgers 1955 - Nathan's Famous Hot Dog's Opens it's 2nd Location
1956	El Taco, Glen Bell, Long Beach, CA Burger Chef, Frank and Donald Thomas, Indianapolis, IN
1957
1958	IHOP, Al Lapin, Toluca Lake, CA Sizzler, Culver City, CA Pizza Hut, Wichita, KS Sbarro, Gennaro Sbarro, Brooklyn, NY Village Inn, Merton "Andy" Anderson and Jim Mola, Denver Colorado	1958 - Burger Chef opens first official Restaurant at 1300 W. 16th St in Indianapolis - 7 more followed this same year
1959	Little Caesars, Garden City, Mich Round Table Pizza, William Larson, Menlo Park, CA Taco Time, Ron Fraedrick, Eugene, Oregon	1959 - Danny's Coffee Shop changes to Denny's

1960's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1960	Domino’s Pizza, Tom/James Monaghan, Ypsilanti, MI Hardees, Wilber Hardee, NC
1961	Wienerschnitzel, John Galardi, Long Beach, CA	1961 - James Monaghan trades his half of Domino’s Pizza to brother Tom for a Volkswagen Beetle 1961 - First Village Inn Franchise Opens
1962	Taco Bell, Glen Bell, Downey, CA
1963
1964	Arby's, Raffel Bros "RB", Youngstown, OH Blimpie, Tony Conza, Hoboken, NJ Del Taco, Ed Hackbarth, Yermo, CA (Del Taco Website claims Barstow)	1964 - Marie Callendars opens 1st full restaurant. 1964 - John Brown & investors purchase KFC for $2 Million
1965	H Salt, Haddon Salt, Sauslito, CA TGI Fridays, Alan Stillman, NYC, NY	1965 - McDonalds goes public 1965 - Nathans Famous HotDogs opens its 3rd Location
1966		1966 - KFC & Denny's goes public
1967	Taco Bill, Queensland, Austrailia Steer 'n Stein, Huntington Beach, CA Chickfila, S. Truett Cathy, Atlanta, GA Minnie Pearl / Mahalia Jackson Chicken, John Jay and Henry Hooker, Tennessee	1967 - The Big Mac was developed to feed hungry construction workers in Pittsburgh
1968	Red Lobster, Bill Darden, Lakeland, FL	1968 - Foodmaker Inc. (Jack in the Box) bought by Ralston Purina Co 1968 - J. Peter Grace Company purchases Coco's 1968 - Burger Chef is sold to General Foods for $20 million
1969	Wendy’s, Dave Thomas, Columbus, OH Red Robin, Seattle, WA Taco Johns, Juan, Cheyenne, WY Long John Silvers Old Spaghetti Factory, Gus Dussin, Portland OR	1969 - The 1000th Burger Chef Opens

1970's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1970	Naugles, Dick Naugle, Riverside, CA Carrows, David Nancarrow, Santa Clara CA	1970 - General Mills acquires Red Lobster 1970 - Nathan's Famous Hot Dog's goes public and opens restaurant #4 1970 - Ronald Reagan (Governor of California) passed the first Franchise Law
1971	Schlotzskys, Austin, TX Togo’s, Micheal Cobler, San Jose, CA Starbucks, Seattle WA Angelo's and Vinci's, Fullerton, CA	1971- Heublein Inc. purchases KFC for $285 Million 1971 - Harold Butler purchases Naugles
1972	Popeyes, Al Copeland, New Orleans, LA The Cheesecake Factory, David Overton, Los Angeles, CA Gladstone's 4-Fish, Robert Morris, Malibu, CA Mrs. C's Restaruant, Des Moines, IA (To become Poppin' Fresh Pies/Bakers Square)	1972 - Pizza Hut goes public with 1000 stores 1972 - Shoneys drops the name big boy from its name
1973	Godfathers Pizza, Omaha NB Miguels Restaurant, Mike & Mary Vasquez, Corona, CA	1973 - The Egg McMuffin was developed
1974	Subway, Fred DeLuca, Quaker Steak & Lube, George "Jig" Warren III and Gary "Moe" Meszaros, Sharon, PA
1975	Chili's, Dallas Texas El Pollo Loco, Juan Francisco, Guasave, Mexico Miguels Jr, Mike & Mary Vasquez, Corona, CA	1975 - 100th Carls Jr. Opened 1975 - Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs acquires Wetson Hamberger Chain and it's 70 units in NY
1976		1976 - Wendy’s goes public
1977		1977 - Pizza Hut merges into PepsiCo
1978	Chuck E. Cheese’s Ben & Jerry's, Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, Burlingon, VT	1978 - PepsiCo purchases Taco Bell
1979	House of Donuts, CA Yoshinoya, Los Angeles

1980's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1980	1980 - Applebees, Bill Palmer, Atlanta, GA 1980 - Fuddruckers, Phil Romano, San Antonio Texas	1980 - El pollo loco opened in US (Los Angeles) 85 in Mexico 1980 - Ben & Jerry's starts selling Ice Cream to Groceries.
1981	1981 - TCBY, Frank Hickingbotham, Littlerock, AK 1981 - Farmerboys, Havadjias brothers, Riverside, CA 1981 - Buffalo Wild Wings, Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery, Kent, Ohio	1981 - CKE goes public (Carl’s Jr.) 1981 - Ben & Jerry's open first franchise
1982	1982 - Olive Garden, Blain Sweatt (General Mills), Orlando, FL 1982 - Islands, Tony DeGrazier, West Lost Angeles, CA 1982 - Ruby's Diner, Doug Cavanaugh and Ralph Kosmides, Balboa, CA	1982 - RJ Reynolds get KFC in buy out of Heublein Inc. 1982 - Applebee's sold to WR Grace & Co 1982 - Gladstone's 4-fish moves to new location in Pacific Palisades 1982 - General Foods sells Burger Chef to Hardee's. Many converted to Hardee's
1983	1983 - Quizno’s, Denver, CO 1983 - Papajohns Pizza, John Schnatter, IN 1983 - Rubios, Ralph Rubio, San Diego, CA 1983 - Bruegger's Bagels, Burlington, Vermont 1983 - Panda Express, Andrew Cherng 1983 - Hooters, Clearwater, FL 1983 - Miami Subs, Gus Boulis, Key West, FL	1983- Denny's Purchases El Pollo Loco 1983- VICORP Restaurants purchases Mrs. C's/Poppin Fresh Pies and started Bakers Square
1984	1984 - Juan Pollo, Armando Parra, 1984 - Hooker Hamburgers, John Jay Hooker	1984 - Shultz pushes owners to open 2nd Starbucks 1984 - Gladstone's is purchased by W.R. Grace in 1985 1984 - Carls Jr franchises for the first time 1984 - Ben & Jerry's Goes Public
1985	1985 - El Torito Grill, El Torito, CA 1985 - Boston Chicken, Newton MA 1985 - California Pizza Kitchen, Rick Rosenfield & Larry Flax, Beverly Hills, CA	1985 - Shultz leaves StarBucks to open Il giornale coffee 1985 - Harold Butler Sells Naugles to Collins Food International
1986	1986 - Carrabba's Italian Grill, Johnny Carrabba & Damian Mandola, Houston TX	1986 - IDQ buys KarmelKorn & Orange Julious in 1987 1986 - PepsiCo purchases KFC for $840 Million 1986 - Pizza Hut opens store # 5000 1986 - Hooker Hamburgers sold
1987	1987 - Manhattan Bagel, Dunellen, NJ 1987 - 5 and Diner, Ken Higginbotham, Phoenix AZ	1987 - John Wooley bought Schlotzsky's 1987 - Shultz buys starbucks coffee opens 17 stores 1987 - Denny's bought by Advantica Group 1987 - Foodmaker Inc goes public (Jack in the Box) 1987 - Restaurant Enterprises Group Purchases Coco's
1988	1988 - Cold Stone Creamery, Donald Sutherland, Scottsdale, AZ 1988 - Koo Koo Roo, Los Angeles 1988 - Outback Steakhouse, Tampa FL 1988 - Roy's, Roy Yamaguchi, Honolulu, HI	1988 - Naugles merges back in with Del Taco 1988 - Applebees bought by franchisee starts Ap. Int.
1989	1989 - Market Broiler, Riverside, CA 1989 - Hogi Yogi, Mike Clayton, Logan, UT 1989 - Jose's Taco Shop, Jose Jara, Glen Avon, CA	1989 - Domino’s opens store # 5000

1990's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
1990	1990 - Baja Fresh, Jim Magglos, Newbury Park, CA 1990 - Juice Club, Kirk Perron, San Luis Opispo, CA (Jamba Juice)	1990 - Robert Morris forms Sea View Rest. and buys back Gladstone's 4-Fish.
1991	1991 - Kenny Rogers Roasters 1991 - Pat & Oscar's, Oscar & Pat Sarkisian, San Diego, CA 1991 - Pretzelvania, Jeffrey Trip, Layton UT (Pretzelmaker) 1991 - Logan's Roadhouse, Nashville, TN
1992		1992 - AFC buys Popeyes 1992 - Starbucks goes public 1992 - Pretzelvania changes name to Pretzelmaker 1992 - The Cheesecake Factory goes public 1992 - Restaurant Enterprises Group Purchases 160 Bob's Big Boy Locations 1992 - Gladstones opens at Universal Citywalk
1993	1993 - Juice Stop 1993 - PF Changs China Bistro 1993 - New World Coffee, Manhattan, NY 1993 - Texas Roadhouse, Kent Taylor, Clarksville, IN 1993 - Roadhouse Grill, Pembroke Pines, FL	1993 - Outback Steakhouse partners and eventually acquires Carrabba's Italian Grill
1994	1994 - Juice it up, Brea, CA	1994 - Family Restaurants purchases Coco's. 1994 - CKE restaurnats, Inc begins dual branding effort with Green Burrito
1995	1995 - Zuka Juice, Dave Duffin, Provo, UT 1995 - Teriyaki Stix, Mike and Rick Clayton, Provo, UT	1995 - GeneralMills spins off restaurants- Darden Rest Inc. 1995 - Boston chicken changes name to Boston market 1995 - Juice Club changes name to Jamba Juice
1996		1996 - Atvantica purchases Coco's and Carrows. 1996 - CKE Restaurants, Inc purchases the Taco Bueno Chain 1996 - New World Restaurant Group purchased Willoughby's Coffee & Tes 1996 - The last known Burger Chef was closed in Cookville, TN Carls Jr owns the rights to the name until 2006
1997		1997 - Juice Club changes name to Jamba Juice 1997 - Hogi Yogi Starts serving Smoothies 1997 - PepsiCo spins off all quick service restaurants and creates TRICON Global Restaurants 1997 - Wendy’s opens store # 5000 1997 - Rubios Fish Tacos becomes Rubios Baja Grill
1998	1998 - ETX, El Torito, Pasadena, CA 1998 - Flemings Steakhouse, Paul Fleming and William Allen III, Newport Beach CA	1998 - Prandium Inc buys El Torito, Koo Koo Roo & Chi'Chi's 1998 - CKE buys Hardee's from Advantica 1998 - Miami Subs partners with Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips to Co-brand 1998 - PF Changs Goes Public 1998 - Mrs Fields purchases Pretzelmaker 1998 - New World Restaurant Group purchased Manhattan Bagel Company
1999	1999 - Biaggi's, Bloomington, IL 1999 - Grand Lux Cafe, The Cheesecake Factory, Las Vegas, NV	1999 - Jamba Juice buys Zuka Juice 1999 - Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs purchases struggling Kenny Rogers Roasters 1999 - Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs purchases Miami Subs

2000's

	Restaurant First Opened	Other Notable Restaurant Dates
2000	2000 - Lee Roy Selmons, Outback Steakhouse, Tampa Florida 2000 - Bonefish Grill, Tim Curci & Chris Parker, St. Petersburg, FL	2000 - McDonalds purchases Boston Market
2001		2001 - CKE Restaurants, Inc sells the Taco Burno Chain 2001 - New World Restaurant Group purchased Einstein/Noah Bagels 2001 - VICORP Restaurants (Village Inn/Bakers Square) is purchased thus making is a private company
2002	2002 - Mi Tortilla, Jose Jara, Corona, CA 2002 - Cheeseburger In Paradise, Outback Steakhouse, Indianapolis, IN	2002 - CKE Restaurants, Inc purchases the Santa Barbara Restaurant Group acquiring Green Burrito and La Salsa.
2003	2003 - Glazies Bakery, Mike and Rick Clayton, Provo, UT
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009