Fast food companies love Columbus. Due to its central location and representative demographics, many fast food and fast casual chains are headquartered in the ‘Bus. So you won’t have to go far to find a quick and easy meal in order to celebrate National Fast Food Day today. Here’s a rundown of the fast-food restaurants that call Columbus home:
Wendy’s
Top of the list is Wendy’s, founded by Dave Thomas on East Broad Street in 1969. The chain now has more than 6,600 stores internationally and is the third-largest burger chain in the world. The Wendy’s Company and Wendy’s International, Inc. moved its company headquarters to Dublin in 2006.
In celebration of National Fast Food Day, Wendy's is offering a free order of fries in any size with any purchase when you use the Wendy’s mobile app to place an order.
White Castle
White Castle, home of the “most influential burger of all time,” according to Time, has its corporate home in Columbus.
It’s $65 million headquarters on W. Goodale St. was completed in 2019. The company built the new space next door to its previous headquarters, which it occupied for 85 years.
In 1934, White Castle moved its headquarters from Wichita, Kansas to Columbus, and it's been here ever since.
OUR WEEKENDSCENE NEWSLETTER OFFERS YOU RECOMMENDATIONS OF WHAT TO WATCH, READ AND EAT, AND THE CHANCE TO WIN A SWEET PRIZE. EVENTS THAT ARE COMING BACK ARE HIGHLIGHTED, TOO! SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Charley’s Philly Steaks
Charley’s Philly Steaks was created and established near The Ohio State University’s campus in 1986, after founder and CEO Charley Shin ate his first cheesesteak while attending OSU in 1985.
Today, there are over 600 locations around the world.
Shin is also the founder of BIBIBOP Asian Grill.
Recently, GOSH Enterprises, Inc., the parent company of Charley’s Philly Steaks and BIBIBOP, announced it would be moving to a new space for its headquarters in Upper Arlington. The company also owns Lenny’s Grill & Subs. The headquarters is set to open in 2022.
Sbarro
Food court staple Sbarro relocated its headquarters from Melville, New York to Columbus in 2014. It then opened its first free-standing restaurant in Clintonville in 2015.
Steak Escape
The first Steak Escape was opened in Columbus in 1982 and is still headquartered here today. Locations are often found in shopping malls as well as airports, as the franchise is considered the first to take on the mall cheesesteak concept. The company evolved with a new free-standing prototype of their restaurants six years ago.
