Jack in the Box fast food restaurant opens in Florida
Florida abounds in many things: people, sunshine, alligators… fast food restaurants.
And there is always room for more food.
Now the Jack in the Box restaurant chain returns to Florida.
The company said it is expanding into Florida and Arkansas and will open 14 new restaurants. While the company hasn’t said for sure where it will open, it has posted “franchise opportunities” in Tampa and Orlando. The California-based food chain features burgers, tacos, salads, and its own popular brand. Their primary mascot is familiar to anyone from the West Coast, a bizarre ping pong ball clown head, often seen nodding from car antennas.
This will be the first time the company has opened Florida restaurants in more than 30 years.
What are the best new restaurants in Florida?Here are 10 of our favorites opening in 2022
Other potential Jack in the Box locations in Florida
- West Palm Beach
- Boca Raton
- jacksonville
- Port St. Lucie
- Gainesville
- Lakeland
- Fort Myers
- Cape Coral
- Palm Bay
- Palm Coast
More possible locations:
- Miami
- St. Petersburg
- Hialeah
- Lauderdale Barracks
- Pembroke Pines
- Hollywood
- Miramar
- Coral Springs
- Pure water
- Pompano Beach
- Miami Gardens
- Dave
- sunrise
- Deltona
- Plantation
- Deerfield Beach
What kind of food do they serve? Jack in the Box menu items
What makes them unique is that they have an extensive menu, which varies by location. But apart from hamburgers and cheeseburgers, they serve all kinds of fries (regular, curly and “spicy triple cheese and bacon fried fries), onion rings, all kinds of fried chicken (strips and poppers), egg rolls, peeled tacos, stuffed jalapenos, Assorted salads, breakfast burritos, sausage croissants, milkshakes and mini churros.
Is Jack in the Box in Florida? They are used to being
According to Jack in the Box, this will be their first foray into Florida in 30 years. Burgerbeast.com reports that in 1979, Jack’s at then-parent company, Ralston-Purina, closed or sold all of their restaurants in the Southeast. The site says that all of the locations in Florida—in Tallahassee, Sanford, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, and Orlando—were gone by 1980.
Where is Jack in the Box?
According to the Jack in the Box website, the burger chain has locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee. Texas, Utah and Washington
What is Jack in the Box famous for? Interesting facts about the burger restaurant
◦ The restaurant was founded by Robert Oscar Peterson in 1951 in San Diego, just as the whole drive-through concept was gaining momentum (think old TV shows showing meals being delivered to cars in parking lots by waiters and waitresses on roller skates).
◦ According to Mashed, Jack in the Box was originally called “Topsy’s Drive-In,” part of a popular San Diego restaurant chain. But this is where Peterson has separated himself by taking the drive-in dining concept a step further.
◦ Although Jack in the Box wasn’t the first fast food restaurant to use an intercom system to speed up orders, it was, according to History.com, the first to use a two-way intercom system in a drive-thru .
◦ The restaurant’s mascot is Jack Box, a clown with a ping pong-like head. They got rid of the mascot in 1980, according to Mashid, and changed the name of some of the restaurants to Monterey Jack’s, which didn’t last long. The mascot returned in 1984 in a bizarre series of commercials.
Jack in the Box is a corporate sponsor of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, and once got free burgers and soda to everyone in the Bay Area if a team scored more than two goals in a game (they did).
A chain of restaurants that isn’t in Florida, but we wish it were…
Big boy
Famous for his mascot draped in red and white checkered overalls, and carrying his signature sandwich—the original double-decker cheeseburger—Big Boy serves breakfast; Burgers and sandwiches. authority; dinner; and several desserts, including Michigan 4-Berry Pie—its home office is in Warren, Michigan, after all—and its legendary strawberry pie.
Don’t be afraid to wash down the cheeseburger with the famous Big Boy Caramel Butter Pecan shake, too.
Big Boy was founded 82 years ago in California as Bob’s Pantry.
In-N-Out Burger
Besides serving delicious hamburgers, In-N-Out Burger gets crazy props for its first-class customer service. (It also ranks 28th on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers.)
Chomping on Double-Double’s signature—two burgers and two slices of cheese—sounds so much better when served to you nicely, right?
The In-N-Out menu is limited, but the not-so-secret menu shows customers how to add a little zing to their orders.
Can’t go without mentioning that the fries are freshly made, and you can taste that freshness.
Sheetz
Well, Sheetz is not a restaurant. However, like Wawa, she has a following and people are passionate about her, so she’s on the list. Both stores offer fresh food and also have gas stations.
Sheetz Altoona, Pennsylvania, sells a mix of fast food and other store items, including money transfer counters—food items made to order—cakes, burritos, French fries, and the latest specialty coffee brand called Sheetz Bros. Coffee.
Tim Hortons
In the 1980s Florida was home to two Tim Hortons, at Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach, but they proved unsuccessful, so here’s our plea to try again.
Founded 55 years ago in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Tim Hortons first specialized in coffee and cake. Now his menu includes breakfast, sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups and baked goods.
We want!…:6 National Restaurants, Supermarkets, and Convenience Store Chains We Want to See in Florida
(Psst! Florida is missing these too!)
The following restaurants are very local—for example, Taco Villa is only available in Central and North Texas, and Blake’s Lotaburger has locations in the Southwest—but they also deserve a mention.
The Sarasota Herald Tribune and Treasure Coast newspapers contributed to this report.