WI: No McDonald's.

We had a Kentucky Taco Hut at Ohio State when I was there from 88-92. I doubt it is still there. I thought they existed because Pepsi owned all three at the time?

I think that Pepsi's ownership was the reason for the combo places. We have a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut here in Gastonia. I've been to KFC/Taco Bell combinations.

I like the Kentucky Taco Hut name. It should be in an alt history. I wonder if someone could open such a place in real life?
 
Whatever chain or chains replace McDonald's in an ATL would eventually have the same negative image as McDonald's. Popularity and size will do that. And at the same time, this regional McDonald's chain will be talked about has being superior to the national brands. It is where you eat, or say you've eaten at, if you are cool and hip.
 
Carrolls on the East Coast, for those old enough to remember. And I still miss Kenny Rogers' Roasters - laugh if you must, but the chicken was really good.

I think it depends in part on the POD - WHY is there no McDonalds. If one ties more to a more transit/fewer freeways kind of scenario, I can see things like the old Automats being updated for more modern tastes.

The first restaurant chain were the Harvey House, that started out along the ATSF RR line for the same reasons at the later, better known Fast Food Franchises along highways.

Good, consistent Food for a reasonable price, without a long wait.

Automats were a fad, a big vending machine. The chains that rapidly surpassed them, was from freshly cooked food
 
Carrolls on the East Coast, for those old enough to remember. And I still miss Kenny Rogers' Roasters - laugh if you must, but the chicken was really good.

I think it depends in part on the POD - WHY is there no McDonalds. If one ties more to a more transit/fewer freeways kind of scenario, I can see things like the old Automats being updated for more modern tastes.

I always saw Kenny Rogers' Roasters as a direct competitor to Boston Chicken/Market. To me those were the forerunners to the fast casual places that are big today.
 

nbcman

Donor
We had a Kentucky Taco Hut at Ohio State when I was there from 88-92. I doubt it is still there. I thought they existed because Pepsi owned all three at the time?
Probably so. That conglomerate killed my favorite fast food Mexican restaurant chain in the midwest-Zantigos. Fresher mexican food at a cheaper price than Taco Bell but sadly, they were converted to Taco Bells when they were bought out by KFC in the 1980s.
 
Their website still lists a few hundred stores, mostly in Florida.

I should have clarified "in the Northern VA area", I do know they and Rally's are franchises and there are lots of them around.

Yes, PepsiCo owned all three and that's why the combo. Selling Mexican food, chicken and pizza you would think would mean large groups could get what they want, if you added in burgers you could appeal to just about every taste.

I vaguely remember automats, never was impressed with the quality of the food though.

I've heard of Kenny Roger's Roasters but never been to one. Boston Market opened a lot of stores in the Northern VA area back in the 90's but I think a lot of them are gone now.

Has anyone else heard of Huddle House? It's a chain that apparently leans towards breakfast all day like IHOP. They seem to be mostly in the I-95 corridor in Southern VA and the Carolina's.
 
I've been to both Roy Rogers in Leesburg; especially the one south of downtown. Roy Rogers is still around as a regional chain (northern VA, DC, Maryland, maybe parts of Delaware and PA), neither really growing nor shrinking, I think.

There are but there aren't many left, the other two in Sterling VA got replaced by McDonald's...
 
I like the Kentucky Taco Hut name. It should be in an alt history. I wonder if someone could open such a place in real life?
You need Pepsi keep those three and be sucessful and a reverse of special having all three being the Vogue because variety
 
Burger King will takeover

Burger King had only 250 Franchises in 1967, A&W had over 2000 at that point. They really weren't a player till the mid '70s

Burger King popularity picked up speed after their 'Have it your way' ad campaign in the early 70s. Their earlier Whopper campaign came off 3rd best vs the Big Shef and Big Mac

No Mickey D helps Burger Chef most of all
 
The impact of McDonald’s UK expansion on existing chains was interesting. There tends (to this day) to be a sizeable independent fast food market (Fish and Chip shops, Indian/Chinese takeaway places). Chain wise, prior to the arrival of McDonalds, there was basically Wimpy (in the UK from the 50s) and Kentucky Fried Chicken (before it abbreviated to KFC). KFC pre-dated McDonalds (1974), Pizza Hut (about 1980) and Burger King(1977) in the UK by a decade (First branch was 1965 - surprisingly in Preston, Lancashire - the first London site was in ‘68).

Without McDonalds, I think Wimpy would probably have benefitted most in the UK - as a straight burger joint, they nearly got squeezed out by McDonalds. The rapid spread of the Golden Arches was only matched by the rate of their decline. The table service approach was their downfall - McDonalds was seen as fast and modern. However, by the 80s, I think if they hadn’t adapted, then Burger King would have had the same impact anyway.
 

Lusitania

Donor
At one time McDonald’s sold so much coke-cola that they had an exclusive contract with coke and everyone else was Pepsi. When things changed and coke was allowed to sell everywhere Pepsi responded by buying the restaurant chains so their product was sold there.
 
The first restaurant chain were the Harvey House, that started out along the ATSF RR line for the same reasons at the later, better known Fast Food Franchises along highways.

Good, consistent Food for a reasonable price, without a long wait.

Automats were a fad, a big vending machine. The chains that rapidly surpassed them, was from freshly cooked food

Forgot about the Harvey Houses - maybe because I'm an East Coast guy. But they would probably have provided much of the template in a more transit-oriented USA. I think of them as a forerunner of the pancake house or "family" type of restaurant, which also has roots in the diner phenomenon.

Automats wouldn't have stayed in their old 1940s format, for sure, but I can see something like the UK's Pret a Manger - quick packaged sandwiches, yogurts, and the like - catching on as a more modernized version.
 
Without McDonalds, I think Wimpy would probably have benefitted most in the UK - as a straight burger joint, they nearly got squeezed out by McDonalds.

In the late '60s I recall preferring eating at Wimpys, there were around a Dozen or so scattered around the Chicago Metro area, where the Chain originated. They were far more popular outside the US, never having more than two dozen or so locations across the Midwest.

Wasn't fan of MickeyD back then, not till the '80s . Hard to resist the fries and Chicken nuggets, and shakes were better than BK, that had been my choice for a quick burger in the late '70s, and cemented when they had the Supersize option in the '90s.

Hmm. Been eating Fast Food way too long.:eek:
 

nbcman

Donor
At one time McDonald’s sold so much coke-cola that they had an exclusive contract with coke and everyone else was Pepsi. When things changed and coke was allowed to sell everywhere Pepsi responded by buying the restaurant chains so their product was sold there.
Nope. Burger Chef was Coke from the beginning. And Pepsi didn’t start buying restaurant chains until the late 1970s. KFC wasn’t acquired by Pepsi until the mid 1980s from RJ Reynolds.
 
I should have clarified "in the Northern VA area", I do know they and Rally's are franchises and there are lots of them around.

Yes, PepsiCo owned all three and that's why the combo. Selling Mexican food, chicken and pizza you would think would mean large groups could get what they want, if you added in burgers you could appeal to just about every taste.

I vaguely remember automats, never was impressed with the quality of the food though.

I've heard of Kenny Roger's Roasters but never been to one. Boston Market opened a lot of stores in the Northern VA area back in the 90's but I think a lot of them are gone now.

Has anyone else heard of Huddle House? It's a chain that apparently leans towards breakfast all day like IHOP. They seem to be mostly in the I-95 corridor in Southern VA and the Carolina's.

I'm familiar with Huddle House. They are/were similar to Waffle House. Huddle Houses are in Georgia also. I don't think they spread across the river into Alabama. We had Waffle Houses in Dothan, AL, but no Huddle Houses. No Huddle Houses in the Charlotte area that I've seen.

eltf177, where and when did you encounter automats? I'm 50 (nearly 51) and grew up out west. I heard of them; the only automat I've seen in person is the one in the Smithsonian.
 
Forgot about the Harvey Houses - maybe because I'm an East Coast guy. But they would probably have provided much of the template in a more transit-oriented USA. I think of them as a forerunner of the pancake house or "family" type of restaurant, which also has roots in the diner phenomenon.

Automats wouldn't have stayed in their old 1940s format, for sure, but I can see something like the UK's Pret a Manger - quick packaged sandwiches, yogurts, and the like - catching on as a more modernized version.

I think something like automats are coming back. These days, order from a screen and have the robots assemble your meal.
 
It was back in the late 60's in California, IIRC in the San Francisco area near the bus station (my mother, brother and I took the bus from Monterey to San Francisco to visit my dad who was in the USN and who's ship was stationed there). I really don't remember all that much about it except it seemed straight from the 1950's (linoleum everywhere) and the food was poor at best...
 
Forgot about the Harvey Houses - maybe because I'm an East Coast guy. But they would probably have provided much of the template in a more transit-oriented USA. I think of them as a forerunner of the pancake house or "family" type of restaurant, which also has roots in the diner phenomenon.

Automats wouldn't have stayed in their old 1940s format, for sure, but I can see something like the UK's Pret a Manger - quick packaged sandwiches, yogurts, and the like - catching on as a more modernized version.
I always thought about him ads being in New York City cuz you saw them in the movies and I've never seen one in person I could be wrong. Harvey House started as a way to feed passenger train passengers the train would stop for using an example 30 minutes basically one meal was served on one plate and you had to eat it and get back on the train before it left or you were stuck there I had never heard that they branched out into other locations but they may will have. If you want to take a look at what they were like in the railroad era, Hollywood's version, there's a movie called I believe the Harvey House with Judy Garland. It's been a long time since I've seen it but it was a good movie then.
 
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