[Sly Fox]

Everyone considers them either the bane of our existence or greatest success of American culture. After spinning through the latest rankings in Entrepreneur Magazine, I thought it might be fun to rell off our favorite chain outfits in several categories. You can either use regional deals or national.

Lets try to list our top three under several categories:

1. Automotive

2 Baked Goods (Donuts, Bagels, Bakeries)

3. Convenience Stores

4. Fast Food - Hamburgers

5. Fast Food - Chicken

6. Fast Food - Seafood

7. Fast Food - Asian

8. Fast Food - Mexican

9. Ice Cream

10. Juice Bars

11. Pizza

12. Steakhouse

13. Italian

14. Mexican Sitdown

15. General Fare Sitdown

16. Haircare

17. Home Improvement

18. Hotels/Motels

19. Petcare

20. Sporting Goods

[bigsmooth]

1. BMW, volvo, mercedes
2. krispy kreme, panera, dunkin donuts
3. sheetz, wawa, 7-11
4. wendy's, burger king, mc donalds
5. chick fli-a, kfc, bojangles
6. long john silvers
7.
8. taco bell
9. ben and jerry's, edy's, haagen-dazs
10.
11. mellow mushroom..raleigh, pizza hut, pepper's pizza..chapel hill
12. smith and wollensky..chicago, sullivan's...raleigh, ruth chris
13. carabbas, olive garden
14. abuelo's, el rodeo
15. chili's, uno, applebee's
16.
17. lowe's, home depot
18. hilton, hampton inn, any doubletree hotel
19. petsmart, petco
20. dick's, modell's, omega sports

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for getting this rolling, smoothie. Although I guess I should've been more specific in regard to automotive. Keep in mind these are franchised chains.

1. Automotive
- Pep Boys
- Jiffy Lube
- Christian Bros.

2 Baked Goods (Donuts, Bagels, Bakeries)
- Einsteins
- Dunkin Donuts
- Auntie Anne's

3. Convenience Stores
- 7/11
- Valero
- Sheetz

4. Fast Food - Hamburgers
- In N Out Burger
- Braums
- McDonalds

5. Fast Food - Chicken
- Popeyes
- Chick-fil-a
- Wingstop

6. Fast Food - Seafood
- Captain Ds
- Long John Slivers Seafood Sloppe
- Arthur Treachers

7. Fast Food - Asian
- Pei Wei
- Panda Express

8. Fast Food - Mexican
- La Salsa
- Taco Bell
- Taco Bueno

9. Ice Cream
- Coldstone
- Marble Slab
- Brusters

10. Juice Bars
- Jamba Juice
- Smoothie King

11. Pizza
- Little Caesars (Can't beat the price)
- Papa Johns
- Pizza Inn

12. Steakhouse
- Outback
- Mortons
- Ruth's Chris

13. Italian
- Carabbas
- Macaroni Grill
- Olive Garden

14. Mexican Sitdown
- Pappasitos
- Gringos
- On the Border

15. General Fare Sitdown
- Cheddars
- Chilis
- Steak N Shake

16. Haircare
- Sport Clips
- Great Clips
- ProCuts

17. Home Improvement
- Home Depot
- Lowes
- Habitat for Humanity ReStore

18. Hotels/Motels
- Marriott Family (I love their point system better than Hilton)
- Magnolia Hotels
- La Quinta

19. Petcare
- Petsmart
- Petco
- Petland

20. Sporting Goods
- Academy
- Oshman
- Dicks

[bigsmooth]

what was i thinking sly! for automotive, i would say:
1. advance auto
2. auto zone
3. pep boys

pizza: take out peppers and put in domino's. mellow mushroom is regional.
ice cream: rmove haagen dazs since i have not seen a store, and put in coldstone.
hair care: I HAVE NO HAIR, SO THAT ANSWERS THAT

[SuperJon]

There's a Mellow Mushroom downtown that people keep raving about but I haven't made it down there yet.

Edit: Downtown Winston.

[JDUB]

mellow mushroom is really good. i ate at the one in boone, but i think there is one in durham

[jcmanson]

1. Cadillac, Mercedes, BMW
2. Krispy Kreme, Mixing Bowl, Dunkin Donuts
3. WaWa, Sheetz, 7-11
4. McDonalds, Wendys, Hardees
5. ChikFila, KFC, Arby's
6. Don't like seafood
7. or Asian
8. Don't eat alot of Mexican
9. Coldstone, Dairy Queen, Baskin Robbins
10.
11. Papa Johns, Little Caesars, Pizza Hut
12. Ruths Chris, Outback, Texas Roadhouse
13. Carabbas, Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden
14.
15. Ruby Tuesday, Five Guys, Cracker Barrel
16.
17. Lowe's, Home Depot
18.
19. Pet and Aquatic Warehouse, PetSmart
20. Dicks

[El Scorcho]

I've done Mellow Mushroom in Chapel Hill and Asheville. Both were good experiences, for me. I know people who hate it. To each their own.

[PAmedic]

1. Automotive: Auto Zone, Pep Boys, NAPA

2 Baked Goods (Donuts, Bagels, Bakeries) : YUM YUM (regional, SCAR may know) DUNKIN, thats it.

3. Convenience Stores : WAWA, Sheetz (yes, we have one now in Bethlehem, PA), the "Sev"

4. Fast Food - Hamburgers: Wendy's, Arby's, McDonalds (addictive fries and the kids insist on it for the toys)

5. Fast Food - Chicken: Limited experience, gotta say KFC

6. Fast Food - Seafood : NO, I don't eat anything that swims or crawls thru its own waste in the sand

7. Fast Food - Asian : again, NO- don't like cat

8. Fast Food - Mexican: the TB baby, no doubt about it- diahrrea and all

9. Ice Cream : DQ, Friendly's (not real fast, at ALL), Baskin Robbins for MrsPA

10. Juice Bars : are you kidding me?

11. Pizza: Any number of local shops FIRST, then Pizza Hut, actually liked Dominos back in the day

12. Steakhouse : Jack Creek, Texas Rodehouse

13. Italian: AUTHENTIC little hole in the wall which I refuse to reveal- complete w/ accordian music. Gotta love the NE

14. Mexican Sitdown: Don Pablo's, not much other experience

15. General Fare Sitdown : we don't, in this family

16. Haircare: again, see #10 (whats wrong with you people in TX?)

17. Home Improvement : The "po", Lowes, Ace/Service Star

18. Hotels/Motels: Bear in mind I'm cheap: Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn Suites, Pop Century- Orlando

19. Petcare : I really don't, but the wife and kids like Petco

20. Sporting Goods: Dicks (what does that say about me?), Sports Authority, Golfsmith.com