Industry WIKI

Benihana (Japanese: 紅花; "Safflower") is a chain of Japanese restaurants. Originally founded by Yunosuke Aoki as a cafe in Tokyo in 1945, Benihana spread to the United States in 1964 when his son Hiroaki "Rocky" Aoki opened its first restaurant in New York City.

Bob Evans Restaurants is an American chain of family style restaurants based in New Albany, Ohio, and owned by Golden Gate Capital until 2026 when 4×4 Capital bought it. After its founding in 1948 by Bob Evans (1918–2007), the restaurant chain evolved into a company with the corporate brand name "Bob Evans Farms, Inc." (BEF), and eventually established a separate food division to handle

California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. (CPK) is an American casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza. The restaurant was started in 1985 by attorneys Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax in Beverly Hills, California, United States. California Pizza Kitchen introduced and popularized BBQ Chicken Pizza.

CBOCS Properties, Inc., doing business as Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company's headquarters are in Lebanon, Tennessee, where Cracker Barrel was founded by Dan Evins and Tommy Lowe in 1969. The chain's early locations were positioned near Interstate Highway exits in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, bu

Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and several other international locations.

Fogo de Chão, Inc. (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈfoɡu dʒi ˈʃɐ̃w]; Portuguese for 'Ground Fire') is a Brazilian chain of rodízio-style steakhouses (churrascarias) founded in 1979 by brothers Arri and Jair Coser, along with Jorge and Aleixo Ongaratto. The restaurant chain specializes in Southern Brazilian cuisine, primarily serving churrasco barbecued meats and traditional side dishes. First es

Grandy's Country Cookin' (shortened to Grandy's) is a homestyle cooking and comfort food restaurant chain based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hooters is the registered trademark used by an international restaurant chain Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida and its associated franchise group Hoot Owl Restaurants LLC. The Hooters name is a double entendre referring to both an American slang term for women's breasts and the logo (a bird known for its "hooting" calls: the owl).

Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon is an American casual dining restaurant chain with a single independently owned and operated franchise still in business in 2021 on the island of Guam. The chain served steak, seafood, salad, and similar food items. Lone Star opened its first restaurant in 1989 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In March 1992, Lone Star became a public company with eight rest

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. is an American seafood restaurant chain, formerly based in Portland, Oregon. As of December 2024, the company operates 15 locations and one catering service in the United States and one Canadian location that operates under the Boathouse name. A sale to the parent company, Landry's, Inc., was completed in January 2012. Landry's corporate hea

Darden Concepts, Inc., doing business as Olive Garden, is an American casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American cuisine. It is a unit of Darden Restaurants, Inc., which is headquartered in Orange County, Florida. As of 2022, Olive Garden restaurants accounted for $4.5 billion of the $9.63 billion revenue of Darden.

P. F. Chang's China Bistro is an American casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang that serves Asian fusion cuisine. Centerbridge Partners owned and operated Chang’s until acquired by the private equity firm TriArtisan Capital Advisors on March 2, 2019. P. F. Chang's is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

PizzaExpress (Restaurants) Limited, trading as PizzaExpress (also called Pizza Marzano or Milano), is a British multinational pizza restaurant chain based in Uxbridge, England. It also ran the brand Za between 2019 and 2023.

Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico), and Canada, as well as in Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, and Thailand. Golden Gate Capital was Red Lobster's parent company after it was acquired from Darden Restaurants on July 28, 2014. Seafood supplie

Darden Concepts, Inc. doing business as Ruth's Chris Steak House, is a chain of over 100 steakhouses across the United States, Canada and Mexico. On May 22, 2008, the company underwent rebranding and became part of Ruth's Hospitality Group after its acquisition of Mitchell's Fish Market. The group's headquarters are in Winter Park, Florida. Darden Restaurants later acquired the chain.

Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. As of October 2026, the company operates 45 locations in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Barbeque Integrated Inc., doing business as Smokey Bones Bar and Fire Grill (or simply Smokey Bones) was an American casual dining restaurant chain owned by FAT Brands. Its franchise headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California. In January 2026, Smokey Bones had 31 restaurants in 15 Eastern states. Under its previous owner, Smokey Bones had as many as 128 restaurants across most of the

Darden Concepts, Inc. doing business as The Capital Grille, is an American restaurant chain of upscale steakhouses owned by Darden Restaurants. The brand has locations in twenty-five states, the District of Columbia, and Mexico City. There are 74 locations, including one location in Costa Rica.