 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1950; 76 years ago (1950) Joliet, Illinois, U.S. |
| Founder | Leo A. Morenz Harry Axene |
| Headquarters | Newport Beach, California, U.S. |
Number of locations | 1[1] |
| Products | Fast food (includinghamburgers,french fries, andmilkshakes) |
| Parent | The Galardi Group |
| Website | tastee-freez |
Tastee-Freez is an Americanfranchised fast-food restaurant specializing insoft serve ice cream. The first Tastee-Freez was established inKeithsburg, Illinois and is now part of theWienerschnitzel andHamburger Stand franchise brand headquartered inTustin, California with roughly 350 locations nationally.
Tastee-Freez was founded in 1950 inJoliet, Illinois, by Leo S. Maranz and Harry Axene (formerly ofDairy Queen).[2][3] Maranz invented asoft serve pump and freezer which enabled the product, and their Harlee Manufacturing Company (aportmanteau ofHarry andLeo) produced the machines which franchisees would buy and use in their respective locations.[3] Originally stores focused onice milk and other frozen dairy-based desserts. Expansion of the brand was rapid in the 1950s; in 1952, there were 315 locations, more than 1,600 by mid-1956,[4] and by 1957, there were nearly 1,800 locations.[3] The chain attempted to expand intoEngland in the early 1960s where they began selling their products out ofice cream trucks. This business model was also attempted in the United States but proved so financially unsuccessful that Tastee-Freez filed forchapter 11 bankruptcy in late 1963. Herbert Molner, then an assistant of Maranz, bought the chain out of bankruptcy a year later. He began a renovation plan that included a withdrawal from England, closure of older stores in smaller towns, and revitalization of the menu to include fast food items such as hot dogs and hamburgers.[5]
In 1982, Tastee-Freez was sold to the Denovo Corporation ofUtica, Michigan, which also owned theStewart's Restaurants and root beer,Dog n Suds root beer and drive-ins andB&K Rootbeer drive-ins, and Dairy Isle ice cream shops. In 1992, there were 340 locations.[6]
By 2003, the Galardi Group became a franchisee of Tastee-Freez and made Tastee-Freez products available in its restaurants,Wienerschnitzel andOriginal Hamburger Stand.[7] The Galardi Group was so pleased with the increased sales at its restaurant that it bought the Tastee-Freez company that year.[7][8]