Was on 7th ave. Just south of Van Buren at the bottom just before going over the bridge. 321. From authentic Mexican food to Mexican-American fusions like Tex-Mex and West-Mex, theres so much variety in these top 16 restaurants. Click here for the top 15 Mexican chains in America. And for more nostalgia, don't miss these 17 Failed Chain Restaurants From the 1990s. There were 225 locations by the mid-'80s, but Naugles merged with Del Taco, and locations slowly converted. The latest edition uses the most recent U.S. sales figures, from 2018, to rank the chains. And any New York kid in the 1980s grew up loving this chain, thanks to its unlimited portions. The sale put Walgreen's "completely out of the food business," The New York Times reported. In 2006, however, food blogger Christian Ziebarth posted about Naugles, and the response was through the roof. Red barn Had a small town debut in the Ohio of the 1960s, but it was destined for greater things. New Balance > Decline alone for the industry leader, McDonalds, exceeded $38 billion in 2018. So, if youre an ethically-conscious fan of Mexican cuisine, you should definitely check out Chipotle if you havent already! In 1983. he was elected to Big Bite's board of directors. Tortillas at Chuys are handmade daily, all the ingredients are fresh (not frozen), and there are 10 homemade salsas. > Number of U.S. units: 118. One of the reasons Taco Cabana is so popular is that it offers 24-hour service, so when college starts in the fall, you can expect to see a lot of students here in the early hours of the morning! Not only does On The Border deliver excellent value for money due to its impressive portion sizes, but many of the signature dishes on the menu at this restaurant are cooked on mesquite wooden grills, which enhances the flavor and makes the Mexican food at On The Border some of the best in America. Quesadillas, burritos and burrito bowls, and nachos are among the other offerings. Chi-Chi's. Wikimedia Commons/Nostaljack/Public Domain. 9. Founded in 1976 and has remained in same location. "Kiki's How a little neighborhood restaurant grew to be a community tradition", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Mexican_restaurants&oldid=1135522955, Belgium-based restaurant chain that was originally the European branch of the now defunct American company, Based in Mexico, not related to U.S. company, Based in the United States, not related to Mexican company. Its one of the biggest Mexican food chains worldwide, but its especially well-loved in the U.S., where more than 3,000 Chipotle restaurants have opened in total since 1993. 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. 12. Restaurant Review: Southern Fried Goodness and More to Try at Tupelo Honey. Cobb Lane Restaurant, Birmingham, 1948-2009. 23. quick serve. Big Bite expanded to a chain of approximately 30 restaurants. Check out the top 10 Mexican chains in the United States according to Restaurant Business based on sales: . RELATED: Your ultimate restaurant and supermarket survival guide is here! There arent as many Baja Fresh locations as there are for other Mexican fast food chains, so be sure to look up the nearest Baja Fresh and try it out when you can! Serve customer fast. There are a few states where people should leave quickly. New Balance (CC BY 2.0) by Mike Mozart 5. 6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e. 7. Investing in real estate can diversify your portfolio. Taco Cabana navigator.sendBeacon('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', payload); When similar style pizza place Chuck E. Cheese went bankrupt in 1984, ShowBiz purchased it. 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 > Number of U.S. units: 580. navigator.sendBeacon('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', payload); And for more failed eateries, Only 1970s Kids Will Remember These Restaurants. Franchises dominate in this market, with Taco Bell having more than twice as many restaurants as its nearest non-franchised competitor, and Qdoba and Moe's taking third and fourth place in the list of . U.S. sales alone for the industry leader, McDonald's, exceeded $38 billion in 2018. every day. 60 (tie) BOBBY SALAZAR'S MEXICAN FOODS. } ); It quickly expanded 225 points of sale by 1986. But, much like Mall Madness and acid-washed jeans, not all of the chains from your youth have survived, and there are plenty of failed fast-food restaurants that have come and gone. 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. Regardless, Mexican food and chains, in particular, have become increasingly popular in the United States over the years. Not only do Baja Freshs dishes taste well, fresh theyre also packed with all the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine. First opened a half-century ago in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and still based there, Taco Johns calls its fare West-Mex. Now operating in 22 states, the chain offers some unusual additions to the usual Mexican chain menu for instance, a meat and potato burrito, stuffed grilled tacos, and flauta-like Mexi Rolls, served with a choice of dipping sauces. Even though it's only been gone a short time, I miss the original Antone's on Taft. } ); Bennigan's was fast becoming one of the most successful mid-range casual dining chains in America. If youve ever heard the phrase Taco Tuesday, this was actually coined by Taco Johns, and what many people dont know is that the phrase has actually been trademarked by the restaurant! Of all the fast-food chains out there, only one could be the first to ever use . 1. 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. 4. Chains dont figure, for instance, in our list of the best Mexican restaurants in every state. A 1980 sales department accounted for many happy customers who say that Chicken George was better than the chicken of their wife or mother. It opened its first U.S. venue in Los Angeles in 1980, and since then, nearly 500 El Pollo Loco restaurants have been established. Carrols Restaurant Group. You could get the famous "Gino Giant," a massively stacked hamburger aptly nicknamed "a banquet on a bun," all over the place. Possibly theyrenamed several places At no place like Sam's or Jolly Tiger instead. Posted on March 19, 2016. The chain's name was a source of controversy: According to the company, the name was . At its pinnacle in the 1970s, Burger Chef had 1,200 locations and was a thriving competitor of McDonald's. And although there was a unique showcase holding a dear life life in Nebraska, toofirm In 2017. At one point, the Burger King-esque chain had as many as 27 restaurants around Illinois, but by the early 1980s, the chain was finished. The full list includes restaurants I copied from the telephone directory (and which were listed as "Mexican restaurants" in the yellow pages). ), but also offers flautas the rolled, fried tacos sometimes called taquitos. Starting out as RoBee's House of Beef in Indiana, Roy Rogers became the more common name for this chain in 1968. You could eat as many shrimp, salad, beer and rib as you could never want - all for less than $ 20, according toBklyner. > U.S. sales: $4.805 billion The first Taco Johns was in Wyoming, and it opened way back in 1968. But in 1970, he left that company to build his own Mexican-style chain: Naugles in Southern California. Each television show based in the city, fromFriends ToSaturday Night Live, has blocked about it for a few decades. 1983 The Food Marketing Institute reports that 2/3 of all fish consumed in the U.S. is eaten in restaurants. 6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e. Hi, my name is Jenna and I have been a professional chef for almost the entirety of my adult life. And controversy makes for good business! Full Member. AlthoughCharlie Beefsteak slogan Was: "I will feed you as there is no tomorrow," sadly, tomorrow came for this chain restaurant by the end of the 1980s. At the over 500 Del Taco restaurants across 16 U.S. states, you can order more adventurous Tex-Mex food like fish and cheese tacos, or stick to the classics with a meat-based tortilla. "Come on into Pup 'n' Taco and give your tummy a treat"we wish we could! The latest restaurant closed in 1989. In 1982,Denny's offered the company About $ 12 million to buy 35 VIP locations. 11. Taco Viva started in 1968, but it was at its peak in the '80s, when it had around 80 locations across the country. In 1984, G.D. Ritzy's was taking in about $5.2 million just from ice cream sales. A couple of years later, things came full-circle when Butler sold to Collins Food International, who decided to merge Naugles with none other than Del Taco in 1988. Howard Johnson's. There is one Howard Johnson's restaurant left in the country, in New York's Lake George. (Now owned by Yum! In 2006, however, food bloggerChristian Ziebarth Posted About NautglesAnd the answer was across the roof. The last original location shut down in 2006. Next week, the 10th of 20 stands in the Valley will be opened. Simpson. > U.S. sales: $214 million (est.) 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. In 1928, she opened a neighborhood restaurant, which her family expanded in the 1950s into the El Chico Tex-Mex restaurant chain. Today onlySome restaurants remain. First started in 1968 in Los Angeles, the chain's last location closed in 2010. Who doesn't love a restaurant with good food and a great happy hour? Many weren't surprised when Metromedia filed for bankruptcy in 2008. We finally started swishing and sipping when La Cave popped open "with a refr eshing idea whose arrival . The French and Italian eatery was a favorite of E.&J . 17 Failed Chain Restaurants From the 1990s, Only 1990s Kids Will Remember These Restaurants, Long Island and NYC Places that are no more/Facebook, The One '80s Snack You Should Never Eat Again, Says Science, Only 1970s Kids Will Remember These Restaurants, Only 1980s Kids Will Remember These Restaurants. "The love affair with Burger Chef remains strong," a Hardee's marketing executive said in 2007when Hardee's brought back Burger Chef's iconic Big Shef. There are still a couple of Rax locations in Ohio today, but the chain has diminished significantly since its heyday. Fast Casual. In the early 1990s, Bennigan's was sold to Metromedia Restaurant Group. with a character named "Family Sam," a friendly senior citizen chef. 14. And though there was a sole storefront holding on for dear life in Nebraska, it too closed in 2017. Lucia's Restaurant. Chipotle. ), After the movie came out, All-American Burger, which was only in the Los Angeles area, experienced a brief boom. The best Mexican restaurant chains list includes fast food Mexican restaurants like La Salsa, Rubio's Coastal Grill, and Chipotle as well as sit down Mexican chains like Acapulco and Chevy's. Mexican chain restaurants include any taco restaurant where you can order Mexican cuisine. D'Lites (1978-1987) Norcross, GA. More than 100. One food that is better left in the past? The five top chains, in fact, all exceeded the $10 billion-dollar mark (the others were Subway, Taco Bell, and Chick-fil-A). if( navigator.sendBeacon ) { We will not challenge yourself to have elapsed youFairy Failed Restaurants Failed. However, in the late '80s, La Petite Boulangerie was purchased by Mrs. Field's, where cookies were the name of the game. Unfortunately, Webb could only put on the ritz for so long. > U.S. sales: $213 million (est.) Second-place Starbucks managed a mere $19.66 billion, just over half the McDonalds number, but still not bad. day, 2022 Galvanized Media. But that was only true for so long. Taco Bueno combines Mexican cuisine with American fast food culture with its meal combos. You can almost taste burgers, hot dogs and fries that look at him. xhr.send(payload); In addition, DoorDash, the nations number-one food delivery service, revealed recently that five of 2019s 15 most popular food orders in America were Mexican in style. > U.S. sales: $868 million If you're from that neck of the woods, then you probably remember the chain's seven-foot-tall, rotating dachshunds in chef's hats and bowties that stood outside each of the restaurants. } Lauren Gray is a New York-based writer, editor, and consultant. Two professional football players from Baltimore Colts helped create Gino burgers in 1957. there was a well-known family style restaurant chain called . The monster of the Mexican chain business (though how Mexican it is may be argued), with sales more than twice those of second-place Chipotle, Taco Bell has outposts in all 50 states (though not, for some reason, Washington, D.C.) an average of 141 per state. 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. Chuys sets itself apart from much of the competition in the Mexican restaurant industry by rolling their tortillas by hand and serving only fresh ingredients. Bennigan's. This fast food chain was one of America's first casual dining and sports bar chain. El Torito is one of the longest-standing Mexican chain restaurants in America, dating all the way back to 1954! The final restaurant closed in 1989. But according to The Washington Post, Holmes "knew little about cash flow," despite the restaurant's great marketing. 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. xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain;charset=UTF-8'); Howard Johnson's. Photo courtesy of thedailymeal.com. Its fried chicken articulation quickly became one of the largest chains belonging to the country. Sambo started in 1957 in Santa Barbara, California, reachingMaximum popularity In the late 1970s, more than 1,100 restaurants in 47 states. The extensive menu featured foods from around the world: potato skins and fried veggies, chicken . The Bannister Mall was the location I remember visiting. Uncle Julios restaurants can be found in Wisconsin, Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, Mayland, Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. Without that bright orange chicken, Monday Night Football was never the same. Pizza with Duck Sausage wins quick stardom. New French Cafe. The first On the Border location was in Dallas, so the choice of name goes beyond the style of cuisine served at this restaurant. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. November 15, 2005. Fast Casual. But the chain got an extra boost in the 1980s, thanks to its spokesman,O.J. The original Pioneer Chicken opened in 1961 next to a Pioneer Market, a grocery store chain in Los Angeles. JoJos in the ring around the mall 625 . And thanks to the boom offast food Chains In the 1970s and 1980s, we could sip the same shakes and nibble the same fries for decades. The chain Antone's pale in comparison to the original locations. Originally Sambo's Restaurant (chain) in the 1960's, then rebranded as Jolly Tiger in the early 1970's. Oddly, it was changed back to Sambo's in the early 1980's rebranded (again!) advice every day. But the name was re-franchised in 2003, and there are still some Roy Rogers in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Moes Southwest Grill In the late 1990s and . Whether your usual order consists of nachos, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, or even a Mexican-style salad you name it, its on the menu. This health-conscious fast-food chain offered healthier options than their competitors, but when chains like McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's began to do the same in the form of salads, baked potatoes, and other items, it spelled the end for D'Lites. First founded in Ohio in 1980, the 1950s-style restaurant grew quickly, with about 100 locations at its peak. The company sold most of its locations in the '90s, seeing this list might take you back to your childhood. In fact, Moes is actually an acronym that stands for Musicians, Outlaws, and Entertainers. xhr.open('POST', 'https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', true); The company filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and never quite recovered. Family Style. More than half of the locations were eventually converted to Roy Rogers, and the rest were closed. That's what you call to live your childhood dream. } In the mid-1980s, the company was sold to Marriott, which sold off the hotel chain and began converting non-franchise HoJos into Big Boy restaurants (which Marriott also owned). If you were wondering where this restaurant gets its name from, its called On The Border because its named after the border between Mexico and Texas. Now Holidays Restaurant. Interestingly, the chain was founded by a Greek family. 20+ New & Recently-Opened Restaurants in Columbus in 2023. > U.S. sales: $236 million (est.) 17 Failed Fast-Food Chains From the '80s You Have to See, 15 Classic American Desserts That Deserve a Comeback, Hardee's marketing executive said in 2007, 19 Old Happy Meal Toys That'll Bring You Back to Your Childhood. } else { "I used to eat here as a kid at lunchtime with my father," one Yelper wrote. Chicken George was a character in the 1977 ABC miniseries "Roots," which was based on a novel about slavery by Alex Haley. "Bennigan was the lowest of the main stakeholders," said an analyst at theAssociated pressat the time. The name Sambo's comes from a combination of the founders' names: Sam Battistone and Newell F. Bohnett.

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