Long John Silver’s is a nautical themed franchise. Its main attraction is its fast-food seafood meals. Breaded and fried, the company uses various fish for its meals. The restaurants have a chill atmosphere, complete with an oceanic theme. It’s a unique restaurant among other franchises with a burger or other meat theme. As one of the few seafood themed fast food restaurants, it stand out amongst its pears.

The franchise has long history. The groundwork of the company being a hamburger stand. Since then however, the company has weathered success, bankruptcy, and mergers. Truly its history is as twisted as a grapevine. Now a part of YUM! Brands, the franchise continues to grow as you read this article. 

History

The history of Long John Silver’s is marred with management changes and franchise drama. The company can trace itself back to a hamburger stand in Shelbyville, Kentucky, created in 1929. The stand, founded by the late Jerome Lederer, found success, even during the great depression. In 1946, Mr. Lederer founded Jerrico Inc., and made a new restaurant, Five and Dime.

Mr. Lederer hired Warren W. Rosenthal as a manager. He had met Mr. Rosenthal while he rented out one of Mr. Lederer rooms during college. Rosenthal was the one to come up with the idea of a seafood fast food restaurant. He took time to examine the competition, such as the H. Salt Fish and Chips chain.

His research culminated in the creation of the Long John Silver’s. The name was inspired by the pirate fantasy adventure, Treasure island. Over 621 restaurants were opened by June 1976. The company continued to grow, until Bankruptcy set itself upon the helpless chain. Triarc Companies, Inc. tried to buy the fishy franchise for $75 million in cash and $450 million in assumed debt, but the deal sadly fell through.

Credit Suisse First Boston, the chief debtholder and major shareholder of the bankrupt franchise owned around 80% of the company. The effectively owned the chain. Eventually A&W bought the company for $227.5.  A&W was then under the control of Yorkshire Global Restaurants, and then joined YUM! Brands in March 2002. The franchise is currently still owned by them.

Menu

Due to the nature of the fish market, the price of Long John Silver’s food changes by a state by state basis. However, there are some general prices to the food served usually varies by a few dollars or cents.  Some recommended menu items include the 2 fish meal for the general price of $7.00. This meal comes with 2 hush puppies and 2 sides of your choice.

There are a variety of meals offered. Due to the nature of the franchise as a seafood restaurant chain, almost all meal have a seafood element. There are kids meals offered for around $4.00. Others offered are the combo meals of fish and chicken. The franchise’s stores tend to have okay hygiene.

The food service of Long John Silver’s is generally fast. In addition, the staff are as friendly as the average fast food restaurant. Wait times tend to small. The busiest times will be the lunch and dinner rushes. The ambience is nautically themed. You can expect a low key and relaxing dining experience. Some restaurants even have surf boards as part of their decor.

This restaurant is very unique; because of its seafood themed menu. Not many restaurants have such a menu. This makes Long John Silver’s a special experience for fast food eating. There are a variety of locations across the country, with 1,132 stores and the possibility of future expansion. In addition the franchise employs about 8,400 people across the world.