Alternate History Fast Food Restaurants

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And remember that the name transliterated into English as "Putin" is transliterated "Poutine" in French.

e.g. http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/mo...ompu-affirme-le-tresor-americain_1757322.html

So if he immigrated to Québec, the spelling would be identical, not just similar.
 
You want an alternate history? What about this: Not unlike some European countries, fast food franchises develop similarly to the beer franchises in bars: The bar signs up with a brewery to serve their line of beers and other beverages, but otherwise keeps its own name and character. In Belgium most French fry eateries get their supplies from just a handful of distributors and every eatery is bound by franchise to its distributor, but instead of 'Bikkie Burgers' naming the franchise for itself, they leave naming and layout of the place to the franchisee so the place would be called 'Saint Thomas Street Burgers" with in small letters under the logo "Proudly serving Bikkie Burgers". And everybody reading this would know they can get a 'Double Bikkie Fried Sausage" with their fries and it would taste exactly the same as in the 'Hollywood Canteen Burger Place" five streets down that is also "Proudly serving Bikkie Burgers".

So imagine something like this in the US. I guess McDonald would still be a major player with franchisees all over the US, but its main competitor would now be Sisco Foods and Ben E Keith.

Excellent! :) (And as someone who works in food services, I don't think many people realize how prevelant Sisco is.)
 
Honestly, don't think McDonalds can remain small, even with the death of Kroc. McDonalds made the Speede Service that we can see today, it's hard for them not to become large. Yes, the McDonald brothers didn't want to go spread McDonals by themselves, but they could simply hire someone else to do it for them.

Correct. In fact, without Ray Kroc, all that does is delay the expansion of McDonald's beyond its southern California base by only 12-15 years.

Imagine around 1968. Richard and Maurice McDonald wants to expand McDonald's beyond their southern California (and possibly southern Nevada and Arizona) group of franchised restaurants. Looking for a person that could lead this expansion, they find an ambitious former franchisee owner in Ohio named Dave Thomas, who sold four Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in 1968 and is searching for a new challenge in the fast food field. Thomas becomes the head of McDonald's as its begins its national expansion in 1969; as such, Thomas becomes the "face" of McDonald's in the corporate world as it expands first across the USA in the 1970's, then across the world in the 1980's.
 
Anyone remember Burger Chef & the bird houses? Look carefully & you can still find one of their bird houses in a collectors display. I even spotted one still on a pole a few years ago.
 
Gyros are Americanized & catch on somewhat like Italian pizza did?

Why not. In Germany and Belgium, they are actually pretty prevalent as 'fast food' joints. Mostly they are run by second generation Turkish immigrants. What isn't happened yet is the emergence of a real 'chain' of franchise stores. Most shops are typical mom & pop eateries with no resemblance to the gyros joint from two streets down. Kind'of like the taco joints in the southern US.

Then again, this is mostly a European cultural thing. In the US, I think once gyros takes off, the formation of a gyros franchise chain is inevitable.
 
More Gadishu's

Ethnic Somalian fast food chain from Nebraska. Began in 1970. Despite being starkly different form any other "local" food from the American Midwest and Rural provinces in Canada, they are a highly treasured specialty and in every block of Midwestern cities. Famous for their "camel meat sandwiches" and "Kanjee-ro Rolls".
 
From a world where White Maple Land was real, "Iggies"; the best iguanodon burger in the world.

For the future, "Babyburger"; succulent FauxFlesh human veal, tank cultured for purity, finely ground, seasoned and served in a high fibre bun.
Also known as 'Terran Veal' ("The other white meat").

"Splurge". Another futuristic fast-food joint, this one sells nothing but various flavours/combinations of "splurge", a cake/bar hybrid that's inflated by gas producing an aerated cake with multiple layers.
Try the mustard beef with strawberry jam and cream, it's a classic.
 
Why not. In Germany and Belgium, they are actually pretty prevalent as 'fast food' joints. Mostly they are run by second generation Turkish immigrants. What isn't happened yet is the emergence of a real 'chain' of franchise stores. Most shops are typical mom & pop eateries with no resemblance to the gyros joint from two streets down. Kind'of like the taco joints in the southern US.

Then again, this is mostly a European cultural thing. In the US, I think once gyros takes off, the formation of a gyros franchise chain is inevitable.

kebab shops are also common in the UK
 
What if there were a chain of mac & cheese specialty restaurants, either regional or national in the USA? ... Would such a concept, for mac & cheese, have been a viable chain/franchise concept?
It currently is a viable regional chain in OTL USA, at least in some places. "The Melt" has maybe 20 locations spread throughout California and Colorado, specializing in mac-and-cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches, along with a handful of things like burgers and dessert items. They appear to have gone with a more minimalist mac-and-cheese menu than offering umpteen different variations or anything, but it's assuredly a plausible concept.
 
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