It was here, starting in the 1970s, that chains began testing their latest products to see if they’d stick. A 1985 New York Times article dubs the state’s now-largest city the “fast food capital of the world.” The story goes on to describe Ohio 161, one of the metro area’s main thoroughfares, as “fast food row,” a 57-and-a-half-mile-long highway choked to the brim with every chain under the sun. White Castle was ahead of the curve, as its move foreshadowed Columbus’ transformation into one of the country’s premier fast food cities for both starting new businesses and testing new products. “It could be a lot more centrally located, and Columbus was really appealing.” “It freed up Billy to say, ‘if we’re really going to be around for the long haul, where are we going to be?’” Richardson said. However, founder Billy Ingram felt something was off with White Castle’s location, and when former partner Walt Anderson asked to sell his shares in order to enter Wichita’s burgeoning aviation business, Ingram had an epiphany. By the early-1930s, the company had expanded to the bustling industrial Midwest and East Coast, placing locations from Minneapolis to Philadelphia and several other large cities in between. There’s a laundry list of other fast food and casual chains, both large and small, that call - or used to call - Ohio home, benefitting from the state’s historically large, geographically diverse population: Buffalo Wild Wings (Columbus), Marco’s Pizza (Toledo), Skyline Chili (Cincinnati), and Swenson’s (Akron), among others.Īlthough founded in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, it’s White Castle that perhaps best speaks to Ohio’s being the fast food promise land. The concept somehow worked (the multinational chain’s now headquartered in suburban Atlanta). Farther north, Arby’s opened shop in Boardman, Ohio, right outside Youngstown, in 1964 when Fuzzy and Leroy Raffel wanted to introduce a higher-end fast food concept, slinging roast beef sandwiches instead of burgers. Since then, the burger chain has exploded into an international business with more than 6,500 locations worldwide. Perhaps the most notable is Wendy’s, which Dave Thomas founded in Columbus in 1969. Of course, none of that would’ve been possible without the chains that started in the state in the first place.
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It’s this freewheeling spirit - plus an assortment of other critical factors - that led to the state becoming a testing ground and incubator for new fast food creations. I think there's a spirit of innovation that transcends more than in other geographies.” And then 70 years later there’s Neil Armstrong. You know, you saw it with the Wright brothers. “It’s a place where good things could happen and not retreat.
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“Ohio is a place where people can be free to explore new ideas,” Richardson said. So why does Ohio often get the latest and greatest in fast food months before everyone else does? We had Jamie Richardson, vice president of Columbus-based White Castle, weigh in. Ohio’s track record with fast food innovation is as lengthy as it is overlooked. And in 2011, Toledo residents were among the very first to get their fingers stained by cheese dust from Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco.
Arby’s turned roast beef sandwiches into a quick-serve item in suburban Youngstown. Wendy’s and its signature square patties found their first hungry audiences in Columbus. While Southern California modernized the fast food industry, Ohio has served a vital role in helping shape its offerings in the decades since burgers, fries, and the drive-thru redefined America. But the Buckeye State also serves as an important birthplace for a fundamentally American product: new fast food items. We can thank Ohio for many history-defining innovations: the modern traffic light, aviation, and the basketball artistry of LeBron James, to name a few.
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