A Restaurant Chain Once Famous For Unlimited Cheese Sauce Now Has Only A Fraction Of Its Locations

First opened as Freddie Fuddruckers in San Antonio, Texas, in 1979, the fast casual burger chain Fuddruckers became a popular destination for made-to-order burgers where you could add your own veggie toppings. The unlimited cheese sauce, in particular, had customers swooning, along with burger patties in your choice of four sizes and buns that were baked in-house daily.

The chain's founder, Phil Romano (who later founded Romano's Macaroni Grill), wanted to open a burger joint that was better than fast food, but easier and quicker than getting burgers at traditional sit-down restaurants. He also wanted the vibes of the place to be more grown-up than what many family-oriented fast food chains had going for them.

Fuddruckers experienced fast, early growth, expanding to 20 locations in Texas in just three years. The company looked to national expansion after going public in 1983, reaching 150 locations by 1988. Over the next decade, the company changed hands multiple times, and at its height, had somewhere between 200 and 500 international locations (reports vary). Those numbers are now down to just 44. So what happened?

The 2008 economic crash impacted Fuddruckers and other similar brands, as customers looked for cheaper alternatives at other fast food chains. By 2010, the parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. During this time, many locations closed. The company was then sold for $61 million to Luby's. Over the next few years, the chain faced legal struggles and customer backlash after banning firearms and weapons inside the restaurants.

The COVID-19 pandemic was the last nail in the coffin for Fuddruckers. Like many other chains, it struggled to stay afloat with changing customer habits, spending priorities, and public safety norms. After weak sales for years, in 2020, Luby's announced it was going to liquidate the chain, which had shrunk to 80 locations. In 2021, however, Nicholas Perkins of Black Titan Franchise Systems purchased what was left of the restaurant (14 locations), hoping to revive the brand. The chain lives on, but still ranks on our list of the eight most expensive hamburger chains. If you're a burger enthusiast, check our ranking of 21 American burger chains, worst to best.