Johnny Carino’s Country Italian
Founded in Austin, Texas in 1997, Johnny Carino’s has 55 locations, but it will be shutting down a few in the northeast. Creed Ford III and Norman Abdallah are two business executives who used to work for Brinker International and founded the chain. The chain’s parent company is Fired Up, Inc., which Ford III and Abdallah also own. In the past, Carino’s Italian struggled repeatedly and Fired Up, Inc. even filed for bankruptcy in 2016. It was the third time it filed for bankruptcy in just three years, but it was luckily bought out.
Johnny Carino’s Country Italian
PDQ
PDQ means “People Dedicated to Quality,” which was the idea for the PDQ chain of fast-food restaurants. Nick Reader and Bob Basham founded PDQ in 2011 and its headquartered are located in Tampa, Florida. It is similar to McDonald’s and Popeye’s, and it is especially popular in the South. PDQ is involved in donations to the military and police officers, onscreen and off. A PDQ in Farmington recently invited Robert Clohessy and Abigail Hawk from the TV show Blue Bloods for a meet and greet held at their restaurant. Here is a fun fact: One of its investors is NFL player Tim Tebow.
PDQ
