Originally published at: Why do Checkers and Rally's have different names? | Boing Boing
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Man, that was some impressive topic drift.
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Company A bought company B, company B had brand recognition and a significant customer base. Company A not being stupid kept the name of company B.
I am not good at dragging out a simple explanation.
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Something that I’ve noticed in a few places I’ve lived is that when a Rally’s/Checkers closes down for good, they leave behind a structure that is extremely difficult to repurpose. There’s one in my hometown that closed in the late 90’s and it still sits vacant and blighted.
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Seems to me that if a Rally’s closed down, it would be pretty easy for a Checkers to come in and take its place.
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I think Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s is essentially the same story. One bought the other. They both have their fan base based on regions. Keep the names and introduce menu items between the two.
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If there are regional differences, why not just put a K or a W in front of the name? 
/s
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Chief Big Wheel would like to put in a word.
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IDK. Old 1960s-1970s Taco Bells with their unique mission-style are currently repurposed and being used all over SoCal as independent Mexican food restaurants. The irony is that you expect crappy Mexican food but instead the food is quite tasty.
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Possibly, with the rise of ghost kitchens and lack of servers, more chef/owners can retrofit different kitchen equipment (if necessary) and run to-go restaurants.
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I moved from the east coast to the west coast last and realized many grocery brands have different names. Hellman’s mayo is Best Foods there. There’s several others like that. And Hardee’s was bought by Carl’s Jr. and it keeps its old name in the Midwest even though it’s pretty much identical now.
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Not to mention old Pizza Hut buildings…
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One of the frustrating things about living in the PNW is that I’ve never seen/been to tons of these ‘national’ franchises (closest Rally’s is 700 miles away, closest Checkers about 1000), so I don’t even know if they suck or not!
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The seasoned fries are the best!
There’s a Checkers about 15 miles from me, but that would require crossing the US/Mexico border and a ride on the MTS. All in all, about a 2-hour trip for me, and cold fries by the time I get home. 
“Whatever their current purpose, we can always be reminded of the mediocre pizza that was once served in these establishments.”
“Used to Be a Pizza Hut” is obviously too young to remember the days before Pizza Hut sold their soul.
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One thing about the Checker’s and Rally’s buildings which set them apart from places like Taco Bell and Pizza Hut is that that they’re mostly drive-thru. Most of them do have a walk-up window and picnic tables outside, but they don’t normally eat inside the places. The buildings are long and narrow, and some of them have drive-thus on both sides of the building. The surrounding parking lots and foundation of the building are tailored around the building too, with concrete curbs to direct the drive-thru traffic. In Louisville there was a Rally’s which closed down and it sat for a couple years too and started to get blighted, people in the neighborhood were complaining about apparently there was a doctor in California who owned it, but finally they did repurpose it into a drive-thru grocery store. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it certainly limits the building’s usefulness.
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More of these should exist.
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The place is called “Farm Stores” and it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of them. It appears that they’ve been around for a long time as a business and the fact that they’re expanding is indicative that they have some staying-power. https://www.farmstores.com/
it’s super cheap fast food. the quality of the ingredients is notably low even for fast food, but they season it really well and it tastes pretty great. if you’re low on cash (or just want it) it’s a good-tasting option but it’s pretty obviously really bad for you. otoh, thinking that “upmarket” fast food is better for you is a fool’s bargain, so may as well go nuts and save a few bucks, right?
as may be obvious, I have made this Faustian bargain a few times.
also, there’s no dine-in but there’s a drive-thru on both sides, so it’s faster than usual fast food, and there’s a walk-up window and several covered picnic tables so you can walk or bike at all hours and not be rejected at the drive-thru like a lot of other places. and it’s nicer to sit outside than going in most of the time, at least here in Atlanta.
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When I was kid there were several repurposed car washes, they were turned into drive through liquor stores.
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