Small restaurants that made it big

Even the largest restaurant chains with a global footprint started somewhere – and often, their journey began with the passion of just one or two individuals. They may be household names now, but you might be surprised to learn that these familiar chains had very humble beginnings indeed!

Cheesecake Factory, USA

When David Overton opened a salad and sandwich shop in Beverley Hills, he used the opportunity to promote his mom Evelyn’s specialty cheesecakes. No-one could foresee that those yummy cakes would soon eclipse everything else in the store! Today, the chain comprises an astonishing 208 separate establishments across the globe.

Yo! Sushi, UK

While the sushi craze has been surprisingly slow to hit the States, the massive success of this innovative chain in Europe, Australia and the Middle East shows no sign of slowing down. The first shop, which opened in Soho, London, in 1997, introduced the now-familiar color-coded dishes and‘kaiten’ conveyor belt serving method to the British public, and they fell in love straight away. They already had more than 70 international stores before the first one in the USA opened in Boston in 2016. They continue to show a spirit of innovation, becoming the first restaurant chain to adopt the Food Standards Agency’s ‘traffic light’nutritional color coding system in 2008, and taking pains to ensure their seafood is sustainably sourced.

Sandwich Baron, South Africa

Sally J’Arlette-Joy had already owned and managed a highly successful restaurant, and had every intention of winding down and running nothing more than a small sandwich shop. Apparently, she was just too good at her job! The shop, which offered busy office workers the opportunity to order a freshly made, healthy and affordable takeaway lunch that could be delivered right to their place of work, proved too popular to be ignored. Word spread, and soon enough the franchise had grown to 46 stores and counting.

International House of Pancakes (IHOP)

When three friends came up with the idea of a restaurant where you could order a pancake breakfast all day long, they had no idea just how successful the venture would turn out to be. Starting out from just one small restaurant that they opened in 1958, the beloved IHOP chain now has branches across the US, Canada and the Middle East. In 2007, they expanded their reach even further when they acquired another chain with similar humble beginnings, Applebee’s International.

Zambrero, Australia

When a 21 year old medical student from Australia opened his first Mexican-style fast food restaurant with just $17,000 (AUD), he had big goals in mind. The son of Sri Lankan immigrants, Sam Prince wanted philanthropy to be built into his business model from the very start. His Zambrero chain has achieved enormous success, earning the now 34 year old a whopping net worth of over $290 million, but it’s money he’s willing to share. The chain’s Plate 4 Plate initiative, where a meal is donated for each bowl or burrito served, has given more than 14 million meals to people from the developing world. He has also been heavily involved in the construction of schools back in his home country.

The Waffle House, USA

Now converted into a museum honoring the chain’s massive success, the very first Waffle House opened its doors on Labor Day of 1955 in Decatur, Georgia. The restaurant was the co-creation of Joe Rogers and his neighbor, Tom Forkner, and had just 13 seats when it started! In those days, take-out food was becoming all the rage, but the Waffle House chose to buck the trend – and it paid off big time. From that first shop, more than 2,000 Waffle House franchises have been built across the USA.

Jollibee, The Philippines

Constant reinvention, and being ready to branch out in a totally new direction wherever they expand to, has set this versatile chain from the Philippines apart from their would-be competitors. Founder Tony Tan Caktiong became involved in the food business at an early age when his father opened a restaurant that required every member of the family to pitch in. When he was just 22 years old, Caktiong started his own venture – an ice cream parlor. At the request of his customers, he added hot meals and savory snacks to the menu, and soon saw the potential to expand even further. The chain has since tried its hand at almost every type of cuisine you could think of, cleverly using proprietary trademarks to expand their offering. They use ‘Jollibee’ for their core fast food business,‘Chowking’ for their oriental food establishments, ‘Greenwich’ for their pizza and pasta chain, and operate under several other names including Bee Happy, Chickenjoy, Amazing Aloha and Yumburger.

The restaurant business is notoriously difficult to make your entrepreneurial start in, but as these brave restaurateurs have shown, when you get it right, the rewards can be astonishing!