Find out ‘The Top 5 Regional Burger Chains for Food Quality’ It might be challenging to distinguish between regional and national brands when it comes to burger businesses.
“Regionality” is by no means a barrier to commercial success and consumer acclaim, as innumerable regional businesses have demonstrated over the years—from Culver’s and Hardee’s to Checker’s and Carl’s Jr.Culver’s / Facebook
In fact, over half of the top 14 burger businesses by sales in 2020 were chains with fewer than a thousand locations (several of which grossed more than a billion in sales). In a congested market, it’s important to assess which local chains receive the majority of positive client reviews.
Here are the top four fan-recommended smaller-scale burger chains, in order of meal quality.
Check out The Top 5 Regional Burger Chains for Food Quality
1. Dick’s Drive-in
Not merely because of its reasonable rates and stellar customer service, Dick’s Drive-in is a favorite among burger fans throughout the state of Washington. All of the chain’s straightforward menu items are made with 100% genuine beef that is daily supplied fresh and never frozen.
There are only eight Dick’s Drive-in sites in the West, but regular patrons have praised the Deluxe cheeseburgers, hand-cut fries, and hand-dipped milkshakes for the past 60 years. It also held the top spot in USA Today’s annual list of the best regional fast food for 2022.
2. Culver’s
The Wisconsin-based restaurant, which opened its first location in 1984 and is known for its iconic ButterBurger prepared with fresh, never-frozen beef, has been in the better burger business for close to 40 years. Culver’s earned nearly $1.9 billion in sales in 2020 with just 782 outlets, placing it in the top 25 American fast-food companies in terms of sales. Despite being dispersed over 26 states, the chain’s restaurants are concentrated in Wisconsin on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
Frank Olito of Insider hailed the chain’s burgers as “the tastiest burger I’ve ever tasted,” while famous chef Andrew Zimmern recently cited Culver’s as his go-to fast-food spot for road trips. Culver’s placed among the top five on this year’s USA Today’s Best Regional Fast Food list. On Twitter, the franchise also enjoys a devoted fanbase, with users praising it as “[the] Midwest’s In N Out but better.”
3. Whataburger
The 1950-founded Texas restaurant business is well-known for its famous eponymous entrée, a burger that “needs two hands to handle.” Similar to Culver’s, Whataburger outperforms its peers in terms of sales: in 2020, the company brought in more than $2.7 billion while having just 844 locations. The majority of Whataburgers are in Texas, but the brand now has locations in 14 states and will add more in the years to come.
They are a highly regarded regional burger chain, are frequently compared favorably to the In-N-Out franchise from California. (The discussion about comparing the chains is ongoing on Twitter, and there is even a Reddit thread dedicated to the subject.) Business Insider conducted a side-by-side comparison test in 2019 and decided in favor of In-N-Out in an effort to settle the debate. But in a survey done by USA Today that same year, they came out on top.
4. Cook Out
Since its inception in 1989, Cook Out has grown to include 313 locations throughout ten states. The Southeast is where the majority of the North Carolina-based burger and barbecue chain is found.
They place a premium on using only the freshest ingredients possible. The brand, like In-N-Out, has its own meat commissary (established in 1999), which supplies its restaurants with fresh beef that is never frozen and is ground, delivered, and cooked every day.
Rated by Tasting Table they place their burgers “essentially like eating a burger off the grill in your backyard” among In-N-Out and Shake Shack.
5. Milo’s Hamburgers
Milo Carlton, a former U.S. Army mess cook, created Milo’s Hamburgers, a small-scale burger company in Alabama, in 1946. Currently, there are only 20 locations. Carlton created and polished “Milo’s Famous Sauce” during the first summer of the restaurant’s operation by listening to customer comments and determining the ideal ratio of sweetness and spice.
Today, Milo’s is famous for its signature burger (which is “soaked” in the Famous Sauce) and its three-ingredient Sweet Tea, which is so well-liked that the establishment has a separate company that bottles the tea and sells it to shops.
Milo’s, a staple of Alabama cuisine, was listed by the Alabama Department of Tourism in 2019 as one of the “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die.”
Don’t pass up one of these local burger chains if you see one! Choose one of these restaurants for fast meals that uses the best ingredients.
