The kale salad at McDonald's has more calories than a Double Big Mac.
1. There's a Starbucks inside the CIA's headquarters known as "Store Number 1," where the employees aren't allowed to write names on cups.
2. The doughnuts at Dunkin' Donuts make up less than 10% of sales. According to several New England franchisees, the estimated sales breakdown is 65% beverages, 27% sandwiches, bagels, and other products, and only 8% doughnuts.
3. The Andes Mints you get at Olive Garden are different from the Andes Mints you find in stores. Traditional Andes have a layer of mint between two layers of chocolate, while Olive Garden's have two equal layers, one mint, one chocolate.
4. The kale salad at McDonald's has more calories (730) than a Double Big Mac (680). It also has more fat and sodium, and less protein.
5. Red Lobster lost millions of dollars by offering endless crab in 2003. The company lost an average of $1.1 million per month for a stretch during the year
6. Denny's (usually open 24 hours a day, all 365 days of the year) decided to close the majority of its locations for Christmas in 1988, only to discover that many stores didn't have locks and keys, because they'd never been needed. Of 1,221 locations, 700 had to install locks for the holiday.
7. When an order of sizzling fajitas goes out at Chili's, the cooks begin preparing more skillets, because the smell and sizzle of the dish prompts more orders. It's known as the "fajita effect."
8. Jack in the Box sells 554 million tacos a year — that's over 1,000 tacos a minute.
9. Subway's Italian BMT stands for "Brooklyn Manhattan Transit" — an actual subway that operated from 1923 to 1940.
10. Julia Stewart began as a server at IHOP and wound up becoming its CEO.
11. A Dunkin' Donuts in South Korea had an ad campaign in which it'd spray a coffee scent onto buses at the same time its jingle played. It led to a 16% increase in visitors to stores near bus stops, and a 29% increase in coffee sold.
12. On Halloween 2004, a customer ordered a burger from In-N-Out with 100 patties and 100 slices of cheese. In-N-Out fulfilled the request, but has since set a rule that allows a maximum of four patties and four slices of cheese.
13. That guac you pay extra for from Chipotle may've come from Jason Mraz, who owns an avocado farm and sells 30,000 pounds per year to Chipotle.
14. Wendy's chocolate Frosty is a combination of chocolate and vanilla, because the company's founder, Dave Thomas, was worried full chocolate would be overpowering with a burger and fries.
15. The creators of Taco Bell's chihuahua campaign weren't originally paid for the idea, but they won a lawsuit in 2003 for $30.1 million, plus an additional $12 million in interest.
16. To maintain its original recipe's secrecy, KFC mixes part of its herbs and spices at Griffith Laboratories, then sends them to McCormick to add the rest.
