Minnie Pearl’s Chicken
One of Minnie Pearl’s biggest competitors was none other than KFC. In fact, Minnie Pearl’s Chicken was one of the only fast food chains built to compete with KFC.
It was co-founded by entrepreneur John Jay Hooker and the famous country singer, Minnie Pearl, which is how they came up with the name.
Horn & Hardart
Horn & Hardart was known as the first automated fast food joint, or “Automats.” Here, you could purchase food already laid out and prepared for you from behind a glass window.
All you had to do was grab what you wanted and pay for it as you would with a vending machine. It was this unique experience that kept customers flocking back for more, which is why it became so famous.
Minnie Pearl’s Chicken
Minnie Pearl’s was such a huge success, that at one point, there were over 500 restaurants around the country. Sadly, because of the lack of foresight in cohesive menus and recipes, the entire venture started crashing down.
The restaurant also started losing to its Kentucky Fried competitor, so they decided to close it.
TCBY
Unlike all the other restaurants on this list, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008, and requested a restructuring deal to avoid bankruptcy.
Between 2001 to 2011, TCBY shut well over 1,300 stores, leaving just 405 locations as of 2011.
TCBY
In 1981, TCBY started as “the country’s first frozen yogurt shop.” And who doesn’t love frozen yogurt? It’s healthy, and it's a better alternative to ice cream. We are definite fans!
The chain was purchased by Mrs. Fields Holdings in 2000. The Chicago Tribune noted that “both TCBY and Mrs. Fields have considerable brand equity among consumers,” at the time.