The best fast food joint in every 50 state of America
By Kareem Gantt
![CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 06: In this photo illustration a bacon cheeseburger sandwich and fries are served at a Shake Shack restaurant on May 06, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Despite beating analyst expectations with first-quarter earnings and revenues the company’s share price dropped as second-quarter guidance fell short of expectations. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images) CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 06: In this photo illustration a bacon cheeseburger sandwich and fries are served at a Shake Shack restaurant on May 06, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Despite beating analyst expectations with first-quarter earnings and revenues the company’s share price dropped as second-quarter guidance fell short of expectations. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/5ee57ac43f774347df6080b4ef853b22d934821dcbdc29301b738a0323f094b7.jpg)
North Dakota: The Kegs Drive-On
OK, this is not a fast food chain per se, and in fact, North Dakota doesn’t have a chain that resonates with the rest of America.
But this oil-slicked state does have one of the few fast food restaurants that are actually part of the National Historic Registry, The Kegs Drive-In, which has been on the fast food scene in ND since 1919, a lot older than many of the fast food chains that populate this state today.
Sure, The Kegs serve the usual drive-in food, but how many states can actually lay claim to having an NHR fast food place in their state? Not very many, and that’s why The Kegs made it on this list.
Ohio: Wendy’s
Ohio can easily lay claim to the birthplace of modern fast food. It’s the birthplace of White Castle, and while that chain has become legendary in its own right, there is another chain that we think represents The Buckeye State better.
Wendy’s.
Dave Thomas started the chain in Columbus in 1969, and although Dave is no longer with us, he has to be proud of how fast and how large his creation has grown. They revolutionized the fast food world by introducing their “square patties,” which is a concept that still hasn’t been copied to this very day.
Today, Wendy’s is part of a select group of fast food chains that we call “legacy chains,” a title that Wendy’s isn’t prepared to give up anytime soon.