Checkers (fast food)
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 (Checkers) 1985 (Rally's) 1999 (Merger of Checkers and Rally's) |
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida |
| Industry | Fast Food |
| Products | Burgers, Hot Dogs, Chicken, Fries, Shakes, Soft Drinks |
| Parent | Taxi Holdings Corp. |
| Website | http://www.checkers.com/ |
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. is the largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants in the United States. In June 2006, the Company went private through a merger with Taxi Holdings Corp., an affiliate of Wellspring Capital Management, a private equity firm.
The company operates more than 815 Checkers and Rally's restaurants in 28 states and the District of Columbia with restaurants also operating in Israel and American Samoa. They specialize in hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, and milkshakes.
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[edit] History
Originally separate companies from serving different geographic areas, Checkers and Rally's Hamburgers, Inc. merged in August 1999. The joint company houses its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Checkers was founded in 1986 in Mobile, Alabama, and went public in 1991. Rally's was founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1985, with its first location in Jeffersonville, Indiana. From 1996 to 1999, Rally's was owned by CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.
[edit] Image
Checkers and Rally's had similar concepts, being almost exclusively drive-thru with very little seating. After the merger, Rally's began redesigning its restaurants to follow the Checkers look. Today, with the exception of a different name on the sign, Checkers and Rally's restaurants look nearly identical.
[edit] Menu
The menus of the two restaurants are nearly identical, differing in that Checkers' menu includes additional hamburgers (including the original Big Buford hamburger). Over time, the Checkers menu grew in size to include chicken and fish sandwiches, chicken strips, and a wider selection of hamburgers. The chain's french fries are also served with a unique spicy coating.
[edit] Controversies
Checkers has long been subject to criticism due to their lack of nutritional data or information about the ingredients in their food. When asked for this information, they stated their menu is in the process of undergoing change, and thus no information was available. While a select few items had basic nutrition info, the majority of the menu was without any nutritional information whatsoever. This has caused concern among vegetarians that beef and chicken products are used in the french fries. Dietitians have also raised concerns about the type of oil used and the sharing of fryers among different menu items. The fast food chain has stood out as the only mainstream fast food chain that is secretive about its menu ingredients and nutrition.[1] [2] Checkers and Rally's nutritional information has been made available through the company website.[3]
[edit] Advertising and promotions
The slogan of the restaurant from in 1999-2000 was "High performance Human Fuel" and was then changed and used from 2000-2007 to "You gotta eat!" Although they still say that slogan in commercials, the current slogan is "Little Place, Big Taste".
In 1991, a then-unknown Seth Green starred in a Rally's commercial, giving life to the now-famous "cha-ching" interjection. The 17-year-old struggling actor was welcomed by New Orleans Saints fans at a home game that season, as the team had unofficially adopted the phrase as a cheer of sorts.
In September 2007, ML Rogers, LLC., a Madison Ave. advertising agency, won the advertising rights for Checkers Restaurants. They completely restructured the advertising campaign. Among one of the many changes is their new slogan, "little place. BIG TASTE." which can been seen in commercials airing since October 2007.[4]. ML Rogers, LLC. also does advertising for The Scotts Company and is owned by President and Executive Creative Director Michael Rogers, who was previously employed by DDB Needham Worldwide, Inc., and the Wolf Group.
Checkers Restaurants' in-house advertising and marketing team is led by Kris Miotke (Senior Director of Advertising) and Nick Riegel (Marketing & Advertising Manager). Design duties are held by Riegel and the company's two in-house designers, Rebecca Cochran (formerly of Dutcher Group, a Tampa-based PR and advertising agency) and Phil McCollam (founder of Philrules.com).
In 2008 Checkers awarded " Vendor of the Year" awards to 3 of over 200 vendors for their help and support:[5]
[edit] Slogan History
- 1990-1997 "Well at Checker's/Rally's, You Still Can"
- 1990-1997 "Checker's Has It Right" (also known as "Rally's Has It Right")
- 1997-1999 "Fresh. Because we just made it."[7]
- 1999-2000 "High performance Human Fuel"
- 2000-2008 "You gotta eat!"
- 2008- "little place. BIG TASTE."
[edit] References
- ^ "Diet Facts". http://www.dietfacts.com/html/items/9975.htm.
- ^ "Eat Foo". http://www.eatfoo.com/archives/2006/06/what_is_checkers_hiding.php.
- ^ "Checkers and Rally's Nutritional Information". http://www.checkers.com/pdfs/nutrition.pdf.
- ^ "New Advertising Campaign". http://www.franchising.com/pressreleases/2103/.
- ^ "Award Press Release". http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/news/story.phtml?id=7237.
- ^ "Other Partners". http://www.schwartzconsulting.com.
- ^ "Checkers' CEO Drives Double Successes: FirstQuarter Profits and Increased Same Store Sales." All Business. 1 May 1998. 18 May 2008.
[edit] External links
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