Below is a list of ten restaurant/fast food chains our readers have mentioned over the years that they wished were in MoCo, and where you can find their closest location.
1. Sonic Drive-In
With how often we see their ads on television in the DC metro area, it’s hard to believe that Sonic has yet to open a location in Montgomery County. One of the top 15 largest restaurant chains in the country, Sonic is known for its rotating menu of hamburgers, hotdogs, and slushes that are delivered to you by carhops on roller skates. The nearest Sonic location is at 7420 Guilford Drive in Frederick, MD.
2. Bojangles
Bojangles is a southern fast food chain that specializes in Cajun fried chicken and biscuits. While a location is expected to open this year at 1312 West Patrick St in Frederick, MD, it’s closest location to MoCo is currently at 46160 Potomac Run Plaza in Sterling, VA. Menu items include bone-in fried chicken, chicken strips, biscuits, sweet tea, green beans, and dirty rice. Image courtesy of Bojangles on Facebook.
3. Cookout:
Cook Out is a fast food restaurant that was founded in North Carolina in 1989 and primarily operates in southern states. Their menu features grilled hamburgers and cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, North Carolina barbecue and quesadillas. A signature to their menu is the Cook Out Tray which features combinations of entrees, sides and a drink for a low price. Another feature of Cook Out’s menu is their selection of more than 40 flavors of milkshake. A featured drink on their menu is Cheerwine, a local North Carolina cherry soda usually only served in North Carolina and surrounding states, that is now also offered in Maryland. It’s closest location is at 8502 Centreville Road in Manassas Park, VA. Photo courtesy of Cookout on Twitter.
4. Olive Garden
While Olive Garden is not most people’s idea of great Italian food, it would be nice to have endless breadsticks and pasta a little closer to home. With over 900 locations around the globe, the closest location to us at 5609 Spectrum D in Frederick. “At Olive Garden, we know that life is better together and everyone is happiest when they’re with family. From never ending servings of our freshly baked breadsticks and iconic garden salad, to our homemade soups and sauces, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.”
5. In & Out Burger
In-N-Out Burger, California’s first “drive-thru” hamburger stand founded by Harry and Esther Snyder in 1948, announced in January its plans to open future restaurants in Tennessee with an Eastern territory office to be built in the city of Franklin. While the Nashville area isn’t very close to Maryland, the existence of an “Eastern territory office” could be the first steps towards potentially opening restaurants on the east coast and this will be the first In-N-Out restaurant west of the state of Texas. Currently, the closest location to Montgomery County to get a famous “Double Double” is in Dallas.
6. Raising Canes
Founded by Todd Graves in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., Raising Cane’s has more than 460 restaurants in 27 states, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with multiple new restaurants under construction. The menu is simple and focuses on chicken finger combos , chicken finger sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, sweet/iced tea, and Cane’s sauce. The closest location to Montgomery County is 45545 Dulles Eastern Plaza in Sterling, VA. Image courtesy of Raising Canes on Instagram.
7. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Cracker Barrel is a chain of southern comfort food restaurants that feature an adjacent gift shop which sells home décor, candy, toys, and apparel. Known for menu items like chicken and dumplings, the company currently operates 663 stores across the county. The closest location is at 7408 Shockley Dr in Frederick. According to Cracker Barrel, “we offer warm welcomes and friendly service. It takes a dedication to pleasing people and treating our guests and staff like family. Maybe that’s why, for more than 50 years, millions of folks have trusted Cracker Barrel as a home-away-from-home where they can get a warm, comforting meal. It’s a trust we take seriously and couldn’t be more grateful for.”
8. Bob’s Big Boy
At the height of its popularity there were close to 250 Bob’s Big Boy’s in the U.S., with multiple locations across Montgomery County. In the early 90’s, the majority of them became Shoney’s, and later IHOPs. While Bob’s Big Boy was best known for its breakfast, the restaurant was named after the Big Boy hamburger, which the company claims is the original double-decker style hamburger, made with a middle bun slice and two patties. Today there are four Bob’s Big Boy locations in California, and a few dozen ‘Big Boy’ franchise locations, the closest being at 7800 Granger Rd in Valley View, OH.
9. Hardees
Hardee’s used to be everywhere in Montgomery County. In the early 90’s, Hardees replaced almost all Roy Rogers locations in the area (and continued to sell their chicken). By the mid 90’s, all the Hardees closed and many were replaced by McDonalds. Now the closest location is at 2635 Annapolis Rd in Hanover, MD. Image courtesy of Hardees on Facebook.
10. Shakey’s
Known for their pizza, mojo potatoes, and game rooms, Shakey’s Pizza Parlor is fondly remembered by many MoCo residents over the age of 30. The restaurant was popular with both children and adults as parents could drink pitchers of beer while the kids played Pac-Man or watched the chefs prepare pizza through their open kitchen. As the first franchise pizza chain in the United States, the company expanded to as many as 500 stores worldwide at the height of it’s popularity. Shakey’s had multiple locations in Montgomery County in the 70’s and 80’s, including in Gaithersburg on Bureau Dr. and in Rockville on the pike. Today there are 46 locations in California and two in Washington state.
