This Beloved Southern Chain Was A Humble Hamburger Stand In 1960, Now They Have 285 Locations

For many Southerners, the name "Jack's" is as synonymous with fast food as "McDonald's." Jack Caddell opened the first Jack's hamburger stand in Homewood, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, in 1960. Back then, customers could walk up to the self-serve counter and order 10-cent sodas, 15-cent fries, and splurge on 20-cent milkshakes. As is so often the case in the South, folks flocked to Jack's for the food and stayed for the hospitality. 

Less than a decade after opening its humble Homewood stand, Jack's expanded to 57 locations. Jack's restaurants can only be found in the South, and today there are 285 locations across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee — and its first Florida location opened earlier in 2026. In celebration of its 65-year history, former CEO Todd Bartmess said, "Jack's was built by the same values that make the South special: hard work, love for our neighbors, and pride in what we do."

The chain's full name is Jack's Family Restaurants, and its roots run deep for Birmingham natives like me. In fact, my dad flipped burgers at one of the chain's first dine-in restaurants back in the mid-70s while he was in college. Around here, it's not uncommon to use Jack's as a directional landmark, "Take a left at the Jack's...", and the reasoning goes that as long as you're passing by anyway, you might as well stop in and get yourself a made-from-scratch biscuit, a fresh-off-the-griddle burger, or a hand-dipped milkshake. Jack's also embraces rural locations, and it's not uncommon for the chain to be the only quick dining option in a small Southern town. It's just one more way the restaurant serves the South, and Southerners are proud to claim it as their own in return. 

With its deep roots in Southern communities, Jack's knows how to best serve its customers. It offers one of the earliest fast food breakfasts around, with most restaurants opening between 4 and 5 a.m. The chain didn't start serving breakfast until 1979, but its golden buttery biscuits and silky sausage gravy quickly became emblematic of the brand. Jack's still makes its biscuits from scratch daily, along with grinding coffee beans and hand-breading chicken in-house. 

If that weren't enough to keep customers coming back, its signature Comeback Sauce seals the deal. Jack's fans say it beats out other fast food sauces, including other Southern favorites like Zaxby's and Cane's. Jack's milkshakes have always been a staple on the menu, and they are still hand-dipped today and made with Mayfield ice cream, another Southern brand. Jack's fans even say its milkshakes beat Chick-fil-A's — which are fightin' words in the South. In addition to shakes and ice cream scoops, you can also order a fried fruit pie for dessert, and Jack's includes the pies in its combo meals.

As Jack's continues to evolve, its food remains as Southern as its hospitality. Recent additions to the menu include Conecuh sausage dogs, the Country Rib sandwich, and the Big Country breakfast burrito, which rolls up sausage or bacon with eggs, hash browns, and gravy into two warm tortillas. Jack's also offers limited-time menu items that celebrate Southern flavors, like its Southern-fried catfish. The chain doesn't have plans to branch out into other regions anytime soon, so it's worth stopping by a Jack's next time you're below the Mason-Dixon line.