The Top Fast-Food Chain in New Jersey May Surprise You

They dot the landscape throughout our state.  Fast-food joints are everywhere.  The web site stacker.com recently put out a list of the top 20 fast-food restaurants.  All the names we've come to know through the years are on the list.  However, you may be surprised by where they landed on the list.

#20 Carvel

They say everything happens for a reason.  Tom Carvel started his ice cream empire in 1929 as the owner of an ice cream truck.  One day, his truck had a flat tire and he had to sell from a set location for a few days.  It turned out to be a success, he decided to stay.  At its peak, Carvel had almost 900 locations nationwide.  Today Carvel still has around 400 locations nationally, and you can buy Fudgie the Whale, Cookie Puss, and the Hug Me the Bear Cake at thousands of supermarkets.  Here in New Jersey, they have about 49 locations.

#16 KFC

Harlan Sanders opened his first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise restaurant in Salt Lake City in 1952.  Through the years the chain grew dramatically, and Sanders sold the company in 1964.  Sanders remained the face of the company for years.  The KFC brand has changed hands several times, and today has about 62 locations in New Jersey.

#8 Taco Bell

Taco Bell was born out of a California hot dog stand in 1948.  Glen Bell, who owned that hot dog stand, saw the long lines at the taco stand across the street, and was inspired to open his own taco restaurant.  The first Taco Bell was opened in 1962 and the first franchise was opened 2 years later.  Today, Taco Bell has roughly 7,000 locations, including about 104 here in Jersey.

#1 Dunkin

The top fast-food chain in New Jersey according to the stacker report is Dunkin.  Talk about changes.  At one time, donuts were made on location daily at each restaurant.  The phrase, "It's time to make the donuts..." became a part of a massive tv campaign. Several years ago, the company announced that as people were becoming more health conscience, they were going to redirect their focus toward drinks (coffee).  They also shortened their name to take the emphasis off donuts.  Today they have approximately 885 locations in New Jersey.

You can find the complete list at stacker.com