Find Out Which Restaurants Are The Oldest In The United States

There are some chain restaurants that seem like they have been around forever. Yet, some of them that have actually been around for decades might surprise you. Do you remember when certain fast food restaurants opened up near you and it was so different and fun to order something new? Here is a list of some of the oldest chain restaurants in the United States, starting with the oldest: 1. A&W Wikimedia Commons When was the last time you got a hot dog and a root beer from A&W? A&W was the first chain restaurant in America and it first opened in 1919. Now you can buy A&W root beer from the grocery store, but there is nothing like rolling into an A&W restaurant and ordering it fresh. 2. White Castle Wikimedia Commons While Castle started in 1921 and has been called the most influential burger of all time by Time Magazine. The first sliders were only five cents! What is your favorite thing to order from White Castle? 3. Dairy Queen Wikimedia Commons The first Dairy Queen restaurant opened up in 1940. Originally it only served soft serve but now you can order those delicious Blizzards and even chicken and hot dogs. What is your favorite Blizzard flavor? 4. McDonald's Flickr You might consider McDonald's to be the first fast food restaurant, but it didn't open until 1948 and wasn't really popular until the mid-1950s. Reminisce about some of the things that McDonald's had when you were a kid that isn't around in any of the newer restaurants. 5. Dunkin' Donuts Flickr Dunkin' Donuts is now trying to be called just Dunkin', but this wasn't their first name change. It opened in 1948 but was called Open Kettle. The name changed to Kettle Donuts then eventually Dunkin' Donuts. Read on to the next page to see which restaurant opened next! 6. In-N-Out Wikimedia Commons A staple in California, the first In-N-Out opened in 1948 as well. This was a big year for fast food restaurants! The logo even looks vintage, don't you think? 7. Jack in the Box Flickr Jack in the Box opened in 1951 and they were the first fast food restaurant to use an intercom system for their drive through. Can you imagine a drive-through window without the intercom system and two windows? 8. KFC Flickr Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC was founded in 1952 in Salt Lake City. It was the first fast food restaurant to use a rotating sign. The sign was a giant bucket of chicken that spun completely around. Do you remember it? 9. Denny's Flickr Denny's was first opened in 1953 and was originally all about donuts. Eventually, it transformed into a 24-hour diner. The current logo looks pretty vintage, but it was designed in 2002. 10. Sonic Flickr Sonic might make you think about those old drive-in stations. The first Sonic was built in 1953 and everyone loved how the drive-in stations worked. Now they have a drive-through as well and over 168,000 drink combinations to choose from. Read on to the last page for even more iconic chain restaurants in the United States and when they started! 11. Waffle House Wikimedia Commons Waffle House started serving up delicious waffles in 1955. The first Waffle House is now a museum in Georgia. Have you ever visited it? 12. IHOP Flickr Another amazing breakfast joint, IHOP or International House of Pancakes, was started a few years later in 1958. Now you can get burgers and other items, not just pancakes. 13. Pizza Hut Wikimedia Commons Pizza Hut was the first pizza chain restaurant in the United States. It was started in 1958 as well. The first Pizza Hut was so small, that is why the name is relatively short. They only had space for nine letters on the sign. 14. Domino's Wikimedia Commons After the success of Pizza Hut, other fast food pizza restaurants started popping up. Domino's started in 1960 but was originally called DomiNick's. 15. TGI Friday's Flickr TGI Friday's was started in New York City in 1965. It was originally supposed to be a bar for single people! Which chain restaurant is your favorite on this list? Do you remember when any of them opened for the first time in your city? If you enjoyed this article, please SHARE with your friends and family!