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Casual dining restaurant chains became famous in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, with pioneers like TGI Fridays and Applebee’s offering affordable, family-friendly dining experiences with diverse menus.
These sit-down establishments rapidly expanded across the country, becoming a staple of American suburban culture and offering a middle ground between fast food and fine dining.
The Fred Harvey Company, founded in 1876, revolutionized train travel in the American West by establishing a chain of high-quality restaurants and hotels along railroad routes, employing thousands of well-mannered "Harvey Girls" as waitresses.
In an era of poor traveling conditions, the company's strict standards were so influential that they are credited with helping to "civilize the American Southwest," with Harvey Girls even becoming known as a source of wives for cowboys and settlers in the region.
Applebee's, founded in 1980 by Bill and T.J. Palmer as a neighborhood pub-style restaurant.
It grew from a single location in Decatur, Georgia to become one of the largest casual dining chains in the United States before being acquired by IHOP in 2007 for $2.1 billion.
Applebee's saw a significant financial turnaround in 2017 by offering extremely low-cost cocktail promotions like $1 margaritas ("Dollaritas") and Long Island iced teas.
Outback Steakhouse, founded in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, is an American chain of Australian-themed casual dining restaurants that grew to over 1,000 locations in 23 countries, despite not actually being Australian.
The restaurant chain owns two blimps named after their signature appetizer, the Bloomin' Onion. It also has been one of the largest political donors in the food and beverage sector.
The Cheesecake Factory began as a small bakery in Detroit in the 1940s before evolving into a restaurant chain known for its extensive menu and large portions.
Its first restaurant opened in Beverly Hills in 1978.
Despite its reputation for indulgent, high-calorie dishes, the company once faced legal trouble for misleading investors during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a $125,000 fine from the SEC.
Olive Garden, founded in 1982 as part of General Mills.
It quickly became the fastest-growing unit in the company's restaurant division, expanding to 145 locations by 1989.
The chain later faced criticism for advertising a non-existent Tuscan cooking institute, actually sending managers to stay at a rented hotel in Italy and spend only a few hours at a local restaurant.
Chili's, founded in 1975 by Larry Lavine as a casual dining restaurant in Dallas, Texas, has grown from a single converted postal station into a global chain with over 1,600 locations worldwide.
The restaurant chain faced legal trouble in 2024 when the Beastie Boys filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Chili's parent company for allegedly using their 1994 hit song "Sabotage" in social media advertisements without permission.
Denny's, originally founded as Danny's Donuts in 1953, evolved from a donut shop to a 24-hour coffee shop chain before becoming the iconic diner-style restaurant known today.
When Denny's decided to close for Christmas in 1988 for the first time ever, many restaurants had to buy locks because they were built without them and some had even lost their keys due to never closing.
TGI Fridays, founded in 1965 by Alan Stillman in Manhattan, began as a singles bar that unintentionally revolutionized the social scene for young adults, particularly benefiting from its location next to an apartment building housing 480 stewardesses.
The chain's popularity led to rapid expansion and franchising, with some locations achieving record-breaking profits, such as the Haymarket branch in London which in 2009 broke the world record for the biggest profit made in any week throughout TGI Fridays' history.
Red Lobster, founded in 1968 in Lakeland, Florida, grew from a small seafood restaurant into a major casual dining chain with over 700 locations worldwide before filing for bankruptcy in 2024.
The company suffered an $11 million loss in 2023 after underestimating how much shrimp customers would consume during its "Ultimate Endless Shrimp" promotion, forcing them to raise prices twice.
P.F. Chang's China Bistro, founded in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang, has grown from a single restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona to an international chain with over 300 locations in 22 countries.
Despite specializing in American Chinese cuisine, P.F. Chang's didn't open its first location in China until 2018, where it marketed itself as an "American bistro.”
Ruby Tuesday was founded in 1972 near the University of Tennessee campus by Sandy Beall, who used a $10,000 endowment from a friend to open the first location.
He named it after a Rolling Stones song.
In a 2008 marketing stunt, the company faked the accidental demolition of a neighboring restaurant during a planned implosion of an "old Ruby Tuesday" to promote their brand makeover. Filming the event on a miniature set with Hollywood special effects.
Buffalo Wild Wings, originally named Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, was founded in 1982 by James Disbrow and Scott Lowery after they were unable to find Buffalo-style chicken wings in Kent, Ohio.
The company's finances were so disorganized in its early years that when Sally Smith became CFO in 1994. She was unable to determine the firm's net income or loss prior to 1995 due to the founders' haphazard business practices.
IHOP, originally founded as International House of Pancakes in 1958 in Burbank, California, grew from a single pancake house to a multinational restaurant chain with over 1,800 locations across the Americas, Middle East, and South Asia.
IHOP acquired the bar-and-grill chain Applebee's in 2007 for $2.1 billion. It briefly changed its name to "IHOb" in 2018 as part of a marketing stunt to promote burgers—and is now exploring the possibility of Applebee's-IHOP dual-branded restaurants.
Cracker Barrel, founded in 1969 by Dan Evins as a gas station and restaurant combo, grew from a single location in Lebanon, Tennessee to over 660 stores across 45 states by 2023.
It shortly became an iconic Southern-themed restaurant and retail chain.
The company faced controversy and legal action in the early 1990s for having a policy of firing employees who did not display "normal heterosexual values," which it eventually reversed after public backlash.
Red Robin originated in 1940 as Sam's Tavern in Seattle, named after owner Samuel Caston who reportedly loved singing "When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along)" in a barbershop quartet.
The original Red Robin location was demolished in 2014 to make way for a residential building named "Robin's Nest.”
Texas Roadhouse, founded in 1993 by W. Kent Taylor in Clarksville, Indiana, rapidly expanded from a single location to a major international steakhouse chain with over 600 restaurants across 11 countries.
In a remarkable display of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, founder Kent Taylor donated his entire 2020 salary and bonus, totaling over $800,000, to support his employees.
Sadly, he tragically took his own life in 2021 after struggling with severe tinnitus.
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