Runza (restaurant)
Company type | Private |
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Industry | Fast food |
Founded | Lincoln, Nebraska (1949 ) |
Founder |
|
Headquarters | Lincoln, Nebraska , U.S. |
Number of locations | 86 (as of July 2020)[1] |
Area served |
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Key people | Sally Everett, Alex Brening & Donald Everett, Sr. |
Products | Runza sandwiches, chili and cinnamon rolls, hamburgers, chicken strips |
Services | Fast food |
Website | runza |
Runza Restaurant (formerly called Runza Drive-Inn[2] and Runza Hut[3]) is an American fast food restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States whose flagship menu item is the runza sandwich.
History
Founded in 1949 by Sally Everett, the chain began its expansion under Sally's son Donald Everett Sr. in 1966, and started franchising restaurants in 1979. As of November 2020, there are eighty-six Runza restaurants operating: eighty in Nebraska, two in Iowa, two in Colorado, and one in Kansas.
The chain attempted to expand outside of Nebraska in 1989. Executives tried to open a restaurant in the Latvian republic of the Soviet Union,[8] going as far as shipping two hundred frozen Runza sandwiches to the Soviet Ministry of Agriculture as a part of its negotiations.[9] The deal fell apart after Latvia was invaded by the Soviet government in an attempt to keep it in the Union.[8] Stores did open in the Las Vegas Strip at the Fashion Show Mall's food court[10] and a mall food court in Moline, Illinois[11] but both failed to gain traction and closed within a few years.[8]
Promotions
Runza is a vendor in
Nebraska Union controversy
The Runza restaurant operating out of the
References
- ^ "Lincoln Runza locations & employees earn top honors". Lincoln Journal Star. 12 July 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 19 Nov 2020.
- ^ "Runza Drive - Inn Opens in Aurora". Omaha World-Herald. 31 March 1991.
- ^ "Omahan Charged In Armed Robbery". Omaha World-Herald. 31 May 1987.
Robert Benford, 33, 1825 Northwest Radial Highway, was charged Saturday with the armed robbery of Runza Hut, 1325 Northwest Radial Highway.
- ^ Krohe, Kalin (9 May 2018). "Runza Coming To Chadron". Panhandle Post. Alliance. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Garcia, Maria-Emilia (13 Feb 2020). "Runza Fans, Rejoice: The Franchise Will Open a Second Location in Colorado". Our Community Now. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 16 Nov 2020.
- ^ "Company Overview of Runza National, Inc". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
- ^ Mayfield, Trevor (23 September 2016). "Chili and cinnamon rolls: The murky origin of the nostalgic food pairing". Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
- ^ a b c Smith, Mitch (15 August 2011). "Epilogue: Three hours south of Lincoln, an edible bastion of Huskerdom". Lincoln Journal Star. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ "Runzas Pass Soviet's Test". Omaha World-Herald. United Press International. 4 May 1989.
- ^ "Runza Drive - Inns Bet on Las Vegas". Omaha World-Herald. 28 November 1989.
- ^ "Runza Opens Two New Stores". Omaha World-Herald. 21 October 1990.
- ^ a b O'Connor, Michael (5 June 2018). "Food fight: Omaha Runzas will face Green Chile Cheeseburgers at Werner Park this weekend". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Korbelik, Jeff (9 Dec 2004). "An end of an era': Rock n' Roll Runza set to close". Lincoln Journal Star. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ a b Larsen, Ben (3 May 2018). "Employees, final customers react to the Nebraska Union Runza closing its doors". The Daily Nebraskan. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Fast-Food Chain to Leave University of Nebraska-Lincoln". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. 6 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2021-09-19.