The stories of how 7 famous fast-food chains got their names
As chains like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, and Panera have become such an essential part of our vocabulary, sometimes it is easy to forget their humble beginnings.
However, even the biggest fast-food chains in the world started with a simple idea, a single location, and the perfect name.
The manner in which chains came up with their iconic names is often a little more complicated than you may think. For some, the connection is obvious, like McDonald’s, which was named after the founding McDonald’s brothers, or Jimmy John’s, named after founder Jimmy John Liautaud.
Here are the others — seven restaurant chains whose origins may surprise even the most informed fast-food customer.
Starbucks
The original Starbucks logo.
The novel ‘Moby Dick’ is responsible for the name of the coffee chain — plus an offhand remark from an advertising expert.
According to Starbucks co-founder Gordon Bowker (who left the company and today sits on the board of rival Peet’s Coffee & Tea), the company’s founders began looking into names that started with “st” after Terry Heckler, founder of ad agency Heckler Associates, mentioned that words beginning with “st” were powerful.
“Somebody somehow came up with an old mining map of the Cascades and Mount Rainier, and there was an old mining town called Starbo,” Bowker told the Seattle Times. “As soon as I saw Starbo, I, of course, jumped to Melville’s first mate [named Starbuck] in ‘Moby-Dick’.”
Today, Starbucks’ website says its name “evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders.”
Panera
If you think for a second (or took high school Latin), you can probably figure out where Panera gets its name.
The company was originally called St. Louis Bread, but in 1998, changed its name to Panera, which founder Ron Shaich said has its roots in the Latin word for “breadbasket.” The translation makes even more sense when you know that, when the name was adopted, Panera was owned by Au Bon Pain — French for “the place of good bread.”
Little Caesars
While plenty of chains are named after their founders, Little Caesars has a special twist.
Founders Mike and Marian Ilitch originally considered calling the restaurant ‘Pizza Treat,’ but Marian thought the name was too generic. Even though they had only been married for four years when they founded the chain, Marian had no doubts that Mike would become a pizza emperor. Her pet name for 5-foot-9 Mike was her “Little Caesar.”
Arby’s
Arby’s is widely rumored to be named after its famous roast beef sandwich — an "R. B." sandwich.
In fact, the chain is named after R.B., but not the meat. It comes from Leroy and Forrest Raffel, the Raffel Brothers, or "RB," the chain says on its website.
Pizza Hut
The pizza chain could have been called Pizza Inn or Pizza Pad — as long as the second part of the name was only three letters.
A local Coca-Cola distributor had provided founders Dan and Frank Carney with a complimentary sign when they prepared to open their first location. The sign was larger on top than the bottom, meaning it could fit five letters on top but only three underneath. Pizza was an obvious choice for the first word, and “hut” beat out the competition because Dan’s wife, Beverly, said the building looks like a hut.
Chick-fil-A
The pun in Chick-fil-A’s name is pretty obvious: the chain serves chicken fillets.
The “A,” however, has a double meaning. The company says that the letter symbolizes the high quality of food served.
Sonic
Troy Smith’s root beer stand which would one day become Sonic was originally called “Top Hat.” However, since the phrase had already been trademarked, he decided to come up with a new name.
The alternative name was Sonic, thanks to the preexisting tagline, “Service at the Speed of Sound.” The first official Sonic drive-in opened in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1959.
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