Casual dining establishments are typically less formal and more intimate than fine dining establishments. They should offer a satisfying experience without being too fussy.
To continue attracting repeat guests, casual dining chains should consider various options such as third-party delivery services and more promotions.
This list of casual dining restaurants in the world is organized in alphabetical order. Most of them offer moderately priced food.
| Name | Locations | Original location | Year |
| Applebee’s | 1,830 | Decatur, Georgia | 1980 |
| TGI Fridays | 870 | New York City, New York | 1965 |
| Bob Evans Restaurant | 500 | Gallipolis, Ohio | 1948 |
| Golden Corral | 498 | Fayetteville, North Carolina | 1973 |
| Ruby Tuesday | 491 | Knoxville, Tennessee | 1972 |
| Hooters | 420 | Clearwater, Florida | 1983 |
| Huddle House | 339 | Decatur, Georgia | 1964 |
| Johnny Rockets | 320 | Los Angeles, California | 1986 |
| Beef O’Brady’s | 235 | Brandon, Florida | 1985 |
| Village Inn | 212 | Denver, Colorado | 1959 |
| The Cheesecake Factory | 211 | Beverly Hills, California | 1978 |
| BJ’s Restaurant | 204 | Santa Ana, California | 1978 |
| O’Charley’s | 200 | Nashville, Tennessee | 1971 |
| Hard Rock Cafe | 185 | London, England, U.K. | 1971 |
| Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen | 171 | Arlington, Texas | 1979 |
| Black Bear Diner | 133 | Mount Shasta, California | 1995 |
| Shari’s Cafe & Pies | 95 | Hermiston, Oregon | 1978 |
| Houlihan’s | 84 | Kansas City, Missouri | 1972 |
| Luby’s | 83 | San Antonio, Texas | 1947 |
| Yard House | 80 | Long Beach, California | 1996 |
| Twin Peaks | 61 | Lewisville, Texas | 2008 |
| Boomerang Diner | 55 | Muskogee, Oklahoma | 1998 |
| Houston’s Restaurant | 51 | Dallas, Texas | 1977 |
| Bakers Square | 46 | Nashville, Tennessee | 1969 |
| Ted’s Montana Grill | 45 | Columbus, Ohio | 2002 |
| J. Alexander’s | 44 | Nashville, Tennessee | 1991 |
| Seasons 52 | 41 | Orlando, Florida | 2003 |
| Ruby’s Diner | 32 | Newport Beach, California | 1982 |
| Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant | 30 | Orland Park, Illinois | 2005 |
| Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar | 30 | Huntington Beach, California | 2003 |
| Bennigan’s | 29 | Atlanta, Georgia | 1976 |
| Rainforest Cafe | 24 | Bloomington, Minnesota | 1994 |
| Rusty Bucket Restaurant & Tavern | 23 | Dublin, Ohio | 2002 |
| Furr’s | 21 | Hobbs, New Mexico | 1946 |
The top 10 casual-dining players in the US generated annual sales of more than $25 billion. The average sales gain of these players was 4.6 percent.
Applebee’s
- Starting Year: 1980
- Founder:TJ Palmer
- Founded: Decatur, Georgia
- Locations: 1,830
Applebee’s is a casual dining chain with more than 600 restaurants in the US. The company’s menu features a variety of American dishes, including chicken, pasta, and burgers. Its bar area also serves alcoholic drinks.
The restaurant chain rose to popularity in the 90s due to its cheap menu and popular items such as buffalo chicken wings. The company’s concept offers American dishes such as chicken, pasta, and burgers.
In November 2007, IHOP purchased Applebee’s restaurant chain for $2 billion. The two companies then merged to create the world’s largest full-service restaurant chain with more than 3,750 locations.
In August 2017, DineEquity announced that it would close about 135 Applebee’s locations by the end of the year. The company’s same-store sales decreased by 7.3% in the previous quarter.
TGI Fridays
- Starting Year: 1965
- Founder:Alan Stillman
- Founded: New York City, New York
- Locations: 870
TGI Fridays is an American restaurant chain that specializes in casual dining. The term “Thank God It’s Friday” is often used to refer to the chain’s slogan.
They are a fast-casual restaurant chain that originated in the US. In fact, it was one of the first places to meet in America. TGI Friday’s has added “Endless Apps” to its list, which means that it’s available all day, every day. This means that it’s like a “Happy Hour” deal all day long.
The concept of Friday’s Front Row Sports Grill combines the atmosphere of a sports bar with the TGI Fridays concept. This concept is found at two Major League baseball stadiums: Chase Field in Phoenix and Miller Park in Milwaukee .
The first restaurant was established in the UK by Whitbread PLC. During this period, the company was positioned to expand into a wider consumer profile.
The highest-grossing location for the company is at the Haymarket Leicester Square branch, which opened in 1992.
In 2009, Haymarket became the biggest profit maker in any week in the history of TGI Fridays. It has also been home to some of the best bartenders in the Olympics.
Golden Corral
- Starting Year: 1973
- Founder:James Maynard
- Founded: Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Locations: 498
what is Golden Corral on Wikipedia?
Golden Corral is an American restaurant chain that offers an all-you-can-eat buffet. It is located in 43 U.S. locations.
They are known for their all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants. The lunch buffet at Golden Corral is $9.95 per adult. It’s served at 4 pm every day of the week.
As they continue to expand their operations, they have taken the necessary steps to ensure that their facilities are in compliance with the local and FDA guidelines.
Ruby Tuesday
- Starting Year: 1972
- Founder:Samuel E. Beall III
- Founded: Knoxville, Tennessee
- Locations: 491
Ruby Tuesday is a popular American restaurant chain that dates back to 1972. It’s known for its extensive menu and great food.
They are a chain with over 500 locations. Its flagship brand has locations on the eastern coast of the US.
In June 2012, Sandy Beall, the company’s founder and CEO, announced that he would be leaving. In 2017, NRD Capital Management purchased the company.
Ruby Tuesday filed for bankruptcy protection on October 7, 2020.
After exiting bankruptcy, the company had 209 restaurants, which included company-owned and operated locations. It also had 10 franchise groups.
Hooters
- Starting Year: 1983
- Founder:Lynn D. Stewart
- Founded:Clearwater, Florida
- Locations: 420
Hooters is the registered trademark of two American restaurant chains, both of which are owned by private investors.
The Hooters restaurant chain opened its first location in Florida in 1983. The female staff members are known for wearing the uniform of the fast-paced restaurant chain.
With over 430 Hooters restaurants in over 40 countries, you can indulge in wings wherever you are.
On Sundays, families tend to come in for meals. This is because the place is family-friendly and allows children to be loud and messier.
Kids have plenty of options when it comes to choosing from the Hooters Kids Meal menu, which includes chicken strips, boneless wings, grilled cheese, and sliders.
The company’s annual Wing Eating Championship is held in Florida every year. The event, which is officially recognized by Major League Eating, involves eating over 250 wings in 10 minutes.
Huddle House
- Starting Year: 1964
- Founder:John Sparks
- Founded:Decatur, Georgia
- Locations: 339
Huddle House, Inc. is a restaurant franchise company that owns and operates 339 units in 23 different states.
When John Sparks opened his restaurant, he saw a group of kids play around his restaurant after football practice. That moment inspired his restaurant’s name.
One of the reasons why Huddle House is different from other fast-food chains is that they have a fryer. This means that guests can order their food with their burgers or other premium items.
They work hard to raise the 40 million eggs that they sell each year. If just one hen laid the eggs, it would take her more than 133,000 years to lay them.
They plan to add 25% more units by 2019. They currently have 400 locations in 21 states and are planning on adding another 100 units in the next couple of years.
Repeat guests are the reason why Huddle House is consistently rated as one of the best places to eat in the country.
Since 1964, they have been serving fresh food and a friendly environment to the community.
Johnny Rockets
- Starting Year: 1986
- Founder:Ronn Teitelbaum
- Founded:Los Angeles, California
- Locations: 320
Ronn Teitelbaum opened Johnny Rockets in June 1986, and it was his attempt at recreating the 1940s-vintage atmosphere of his childhood. The first restaurant on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles closed its doors in 2015.
Before he founded the Johnny Rockets, Teitelbaum worked as a merchant for Eric Ross & Co., which sold European designer clothes to rich men.
The new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009 with Johnny Rockets stands. These establishments serve traditional American favorites such as hamburgers, french fries, and shakes.
Despite its American-themed image, Johnny Rockets has a large international footprint. There are 26 locations outside the US.
Beef O’Brady’s
- Starting Year: 1985
- Founder:Jim Mellody
- Founded:Brandon, Florida
- Locations: 235
Beef O’ Brady’s is a restaurant franchise that was founded in 1985 by Jim Mellody based in Florida. Family sports concepts are growing in the area and are known for their quality food and great beer.
Jim Mellody moved to Florida from Pennsylvania in 1971. He tried many restaurant ideas before settling on the concept of Beef O’ Brady’s, a family-friendly Irish pub.
In 1998, Mellody sold his majority interest in Family Sports Concepts, which was headed by Chuck Winship. He retained an interest in 13 stores. The company then started franchising in 2000, and by August 2000, it had 40 locations.
When Dave Mellody died in 2002, the company he founded grew to 88 locations in seven southeastern states. By December 2005, the company had 182 locations in 19 states.
In 2010, Chuck Winship stepped down as the CEO of Chick-fil-A, and he was replaced by Chris Elliott. The company then had a total of 150 locations as of September 2019.
Village Inn
- Starting Year: 1959
- Founder:James Mola Merton Anderson
- Founded:Denver, Colorado
- Locations: 212
Village Inn is a chain of casual dining restaurants in the US. They mainly serve breakfast and lunch items. Their pies have been awarded numerous times by the American Pie Council.
They operate over 137 locations in various states, and they have over 200 restaurants in 2015.
It is a casual dining chain that features a variety of food items. Some of these include breakfast items, sandwiches, and dinner favorites.
Top holiday pies include pumpkin with real whipped cream, country apple, and Southern pecan. Other popular pie flavors include caramel pecan silk, peanut butter cup, and key lime.
The Cheesecake Factory
- Starting Year: 1978
- Founder:David M. Overton
- Founded:Beverly Hills, California
- Locations: 211
The Cheesecake Factory is a restaurant chain with over 200 full-service restaurants in the US. The company operates under various brands, such as The Cheesecake Factory, Grand Lux Cafe, and RockSugar.
They are a leading bakery chain that operates two production facilities in California and North Carolina. It also licenses its bakery-based menus to other foodservice operators.
The first Cheesecake Factory opened in Beverly Hills in 1978. The restaurant featured a variety of menu items and signature cheesecakes.
They are known for their variety of cheesecakes. They have a wide variety of options and a good meal will cost you around $15-20.
The Cheesecake Factory features a variety of American dishes that are made with love. Their motto is “We make it taste good!”.
In 2020, The Cheesecake Factory was ranked 12 on Fortune magazine’s list of the best places to work in 2020.