Amigos/Kings Classic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amigos/Kings Classic is a small Nebraska-based fast-food chain that serves Mexican and American foods. The restaurant was founded as Amigo's in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1980. The chain was solely a Mexican fast-food restaurant until around 2000, when many locations were co-branded with A&W Restaurants. After A&W was bought by Yum! Brands, Inc. in 2002, a defunct regional burger chain, King's Classic, was revived and replaced A&W in 2003. Several locations are also open for breakfast and offer a third brand, Winchell's Donuts. For a short time, a few of the chains also held Rezato's Fast Italian, these only lasted about a year between 2004 and 2005.
Amigos/Kings Classic has over 25 locations in Nebraska, most in the eastern part of the state and/or along Interstate 80. For more information, visit *www.amigoskings.com.
[edit] King's Food Host
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Before there was King's Classic there was King's Food Host, USA. There is no relationship between King's Classic and King's Food Host USA or to the Larry Price family. King's Food Host, USA, an eat-in/drive-in restaurant opened its first location in 1955 at 66th and Cotner Boulevard in the Bethany neighborhood of Lincoln. King's Drive Inn (as it was knwown then) was founded by Larry Price and Jimmy King, and advertised as the "World's Best Hamburger". Larry Price bought out Jimmy's interest a year later. The King's name had no connection with Jimmy's last name. The chain expanded to 160 stores (including franchises) nationwide before being sold by Mr Price in 1970. The new owners, a group of investers, declared bankruptcy three years later. King's was most known for its phone in order system. Each booth or carport had a telephone that customers would use to place their order. A specialty of the restaurant was the Cheese Frenchee, a deep-fried cheese sandwich. They were also known for their onion rings, fresh ground all beef hamburgers and thick shakes. Very early in the history of King's, they offered a very large hamburger they called the Topper. The Topper was the name of Larry's first hamburger stand which open in the early 30's at the Nebraska State Fair. The Topper hamburger soon became a double hamburger.
King's Food Host in Bethany was also known by local teenagers as the place to be during the 50s and 60s. Hundreds of cars packed with high school aged kids would drive around and around through the drive-in showing off their cars. After high school football games, King's was where everyone went after the game.
King's Food Host opened a location on Pembina Highway in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the late 1960's. There, you placed your order by telephone from your booth. That restaurant closed around 1973. It was bulldozed to make way for a Ponderosa Steakhouse, which opened around 1975.
