Villa Italian Kitchen

Villa Italian Kitchen

There isn’t a story here to be found, not at least in my research. The founder, Michele “Michael” Scotto came from Italy with some Italian pizza recipes and opened a store in New York City…

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The Old Spaghetti Factory

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Sally and Guss (George) Dussin opened their first restaurant, The Old Spaghetti Factory, in Portland, Oregon, on January 10, 1969. They had leased an old warehouse space in the historic Carriage and Baggage building in…

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Blaze Pizza

Blaze Pizza

The idea for Blaze Pizza came to Elise Wetzel one day when she was hungry and in a rush. She stopped at a Blaze Pizza restaurant in Pasadena, CA and as she was watching her…

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Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

The story of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen began in 1972 in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi, when Al Copeland opened Chicken on the Run, serving traditional southern-fried chicken. He had been working in his brother’s…

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Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Steve Ells was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1965 and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in 1990. He subsequently moved to San Francisco and got a job working…

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Perkins Restaurant & Bakery

Perkins Restaurant & Bakery

Matthew Perkins was born in Manes, MO, November 23, 1911. He served in the Army during WW2 and in 1958 opened Perkins Pancake House in the Cincinnati suburb of Silverton, with his brother, Ivan. Their…

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Arby’s

Arby’s

Arby’s was founded in Boardman, Ohio on July 23, 1964, by brothers Forrest and Leroy Raffel, of New Castle, PA. Forrest “Fuzzy” Raffel was a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration…

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Abuelo’s

Abuelo’s

To understand the story of Abuelo’s, one of the more upscale Mexican restaurants in our country, you first need to go to back to China where the very young founder, James Young fled to Taiwan…

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A&W All-American Food

A&W All-American Food

Before we can talk about A&W, can we first discuss root beer, the signature item of the chain that dates back to the colonists? Root beer is made of 16 roots and herbs with the most…

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Restaurant discounts: What you need to know

Restaurant discounts: What you need to know

Have you ever wondered why some chain restaurants offer kids eat free, or family promotions and the same restaurant across town doesn’t? Why some restaurants may offer military or Veteran discounts while others in the…

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