Fosters Freeze
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (June 2009) |
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| Industry | Fast food |
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| Founded | Inglewood, California, United States (1946)[1] |
| Founder(s) | George Foster |
| Headquarters | Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States |
| Number of locations | 91 (2010) [2] |
| Area served | California |
| Key people | Randy Fritchie (CEO) [3] |
| Products | Soft serve, hamburgers, chicken |
| Parent | Fosters Freeze LLC |
| Website | fostersfreeze.com |
Fosters Freeze (full name Foster's Old Fashion Freeze) is a chain of fast-food restaurants in California. It was founded by George Foster in 1946 on La Brea Avenue in Inglewood, California, a location that still remains, and claims to have been the first fast-food chain in the state. George Foster later sold the Foster's Freeze franchise to William Bouldier and his affiliate who owned and managed the restaurant chain for several years. After a decade of success, Bouldier sold his stake in the business to his partner due to a conflict in the business' international expansion.
The Fosters Freeze name comes from the fact that it is best known for its soft-serve ice cream and milkshakes, which is reflected in the marketing slogan, "California's Original Soft Serve." Its mascot is an ice cream cone wearing a chef's hat.
At franchise locations, the company also offers a variety of foods, including hamburgers, chicken strips, and fish. It has not followed the trend of other fast food restaurants in offering a healty diet menu.
The restaurant's original slogan was "Everything at Foster's is wonderful to eat" and the slogan has taken on a retro appeal in recent years.[citation needed]
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History[edit]
The Fosters Freeze franchise in Hawthorne, California is known to be the location at which Beach Boy band member Dennis Wilson saw the girl in the Thunderbird he sang about in his song titled "Fun, Fun, Fun."[4] Recently the USA softball team was seen eating at the Salinas location before heading off to Beijing to participate in the 2008 Olympics.[5] Also, the Atwater location was used in a scene of the movie, Pulp Fiction where Bruce Willis' character runs over Ving Rhames.[6] The historical significance that Fosters Freeze has is what attracts patrons and unites community members to try to keep developers from taking away a piece of nostalgia from them. In 2006, a neighborhood in Menlo Park, located in northern California, presented to their city council a petition with about 800 signatures to avoid demolition of their local Foster's.[7]
After 60 years in the business, Fosters Freeze has 92 locations in California as of 2010.[8] Some of the company's earliest locations in California included Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. The Palo Alto location, across the street from the Stanford University campus on El Camino Real, remains virtually unchanged since c. 1950.[citation needed] The oldest locations are often historic landmarks.[citation needed] In its humble beginnings it was bigger than McDonald's, Del Taco, and other chains.[citation needed]
Fosters Freeze today[edit]
El Pollo Loco enacted a master franchise contract with Fosters Freeze in 1994.[9] Mark Hardinson, the director of marketing for the grilled-chicken chain, stated that sales increased from three percent to six percent at El Pollo Loco's co-branded locations that served Fosters Freeze's soft-serve desserts.[9] There are 92 Fosters Freeze branches, not including the 163 El Pollo Loco restaurants that serve Fosters Freeze products. Over half of El Pollo Loco's serve Fosters Freeze products.[9] The corporate office is currently located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, a suburb of Los Angeles,.
References[edit]
- ^ Fosters Freeze (company)
- ^ Fosters Freeze - Locations
- ^ Cold Arms, Warm Heart at Longtime Ceres Eatery. Salerno, Christina. Fresno Bee. 20 June 2005. 20 June 2010
- ^ Smith, Andrew F. Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food, p. 105. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006.
- ^ USA Softball, 31 May 2009
- ^ Where Bruce Willis Runs Into Ving Rhames., Atwater Village Newbie, June 2006, 31 May 2009
- ^ Kids Fight to Save Foster[dead link], Palo Alto Online: Home Page. 31 May 2009
- ^ Fosters Freeze
- ^ a b c Wienerschnitzel parent Galardi Group Gobbles up Tastee-Freez, Spector, Amy, BNET, 16 June 2003. 31 May 2009
