Steak ‘n Shake
Gus Belt owned a Shell gas station in Normal, Il in the 1930’s and was looking for ways to increase revenue. He began offering customers chicken, coleslaw, and beer. When the local community started to…
View PostPizza Hut
Pizza was becoming a trend in American culture in the 1950s, and two brothers from Kansas decided to get in on the action. Dan & Frank Carney chose to borrow $600 from their mom and…
View PostO’Charley’s
How many restaurants are started by a 20 year Marine veteran? I dare say not many. Charley Watkins served his country well. He was a pilot and retired as a Major in the USMC in…
View PostBuffalo Wild Wings
BW3, as so many of their fans know them, began when an 11-year-old boy from Kentucky moved in with a family in Cincinnati in 1959. The couple later adopted him, and thus he grew up…
View PostCulver’s
The restaurant business was in the genes of Craig Culver when he was born. His parents, George and Ruth, had owned three restaurants, one of which Craig turned into the first Culver’s in 1984 after…
View PostCaptain D’s
Captain D’s traces its origin back to Nashville, TN in 1969 when a man named Raymond Danner opened the first restaurant. The first restaurant at that time was called “Mr. D’s Seafood and Hamburgers” (Danner).…
View PostZaxby’s
Driving around most neighborhoods in America, you will often find teenagers out playing basketball, few of them are talking about opening up a restaurant, and even fewer than that go on to do it, much…
View PostDickey’s BBQ
Travis Dickey had two things going for him when he opened his first restaurant in 1941, the love for talking and the one to make barbecue. A big personality and the ability to smoke barbecue…
View PostJason’s Deli
Success was in the family of Joe (not Jason) Tortorice Jr. More than just success, but also two prior generations of successful restaurant owners. Both Joe’s dad and grandfather had owned restaurants themselves before Joe…
View Post