- 2 months ago
Ready for some tasty bootlegs? From cleverly rebranded burger joints to daring coffee clone shops, these fast food chain rip-offs will have you double-checking the logos. Whether it's upside-down arches, dragon mermaids, or mysterious names like Michael Alone, these imitators prove fast food inspiration can get pretty wild around the world!
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00:00Oh, I'd love a flame-broiled bopper.
00:02So frustrating. We all know what we're talking about.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're counting down our picks for the restaurants
00:10that try to knock off your favorite quick-service chains.
00:13They got the Golden Arches.
00:16Minus the Golden Arcs.
00:21Number 20. Al Donald.
00:24This McDonald's rip-off was located in the West African country of Togo.
00:28It gets extra points for its clever take on the Golden Arches.
00:32It split them in half and added an image of a burger
00:35to turn each arch into an A for Al.
00:37We're not sure who Al Donald is,
00:40or whether he's any relation to Ronald McDonald.
00:43Give back those burgers!
00:44Can you catch me?
00:45Ronald!
00:46I'm gaining on them!
00:48Bye-bye.
00:49If you're from North America and you want to try something closer to home,
00:53you can head to McTortas in LA or Mexico.
00:56These chains apparently aren't related to each other,
00:59but the LA location was known for fantastic Mexican food.
01:02The Mexican location, meanwhile,
01:05is ripping off McDonald's and stealing its mascot
01:07from the sitcom El Chaval del Ocho simultaneously.
01:10I? When?
01:12Your Miss Florinda told me to take those pantalons that he gave you Rondamon.
01:18The Kiko's mom told you that?
01:22Yes!
01:25We'll finish.
01:47There's at least two of these coffee shops in China,
01:50and they're both pretty shameless.
01:52One of them borrows Starbucks' dark green color scheme
01:55and has a similar looking logo,
01:57not to mention the name, of course.
01:59It's located in a shopping mall dedicated specifically to brand rip-offs.
02:03The other, also found inside a mall,
02:05straight up steals Starbucks' distinctive mermaid logo.
02:08Now we want to know,
02:09did each location come up with its name independently,
02:12or did one of them pilfer it from the other?
02:15Although China still doesn't drink as much coffee as the US,
02:18the beverage's popularity is growing rapidly,
02:20so it's no surprise that Starbucks knock-offs are popping up like dandelions.
02:24The Shanghai government says that there are over 8,000 cafes in this city.
02:29In this street, over a stretch of just 100 meters,
02:33or, well, a couple hundred meters,
02:3518 cafes.
02:37And every one of them has lots of customers.
02:40Number 18.
02:41Tim House
02:42American brands aren't the only ones at risk of getting ripped off
02:45by enterprising entrepreneurs overseas.
02:47Canada's favorite coffee chain, Tim Hortons,
02:50has its fair share of coffee cats, too.
02:58In 2015, a Canadian living in South Korea found this spot,
03:02complete with a familiar-looking red font,
03:04in a neighborhood of Seoul.
03:06The little coffee cup logo makes it pretty clear what the location sells.
03:10Her discovery made news in Canada,
03:12and executives at the real Tim Hortons got wind of it.
03:14Although they didn't come right out and say they would go after the Korean business,
03:18they made it clear that they plan to protect their intellectual property.
03:21Everyone in the world thinks Canadians say sorry.
03:24It's a Canadian thing, and it is.
03:26But we're not saying sorry in the way that they think.
03:29No, when a Canadian says sorry,
03:31what we're saying is,
03:33sorry you made things weird between us.
03:36You are at fault 100%.
03:37Number 17, the Taco Bell.
03:40You heard that right.
03:41This isn't Taco Bell.
03:43This is THE Taco Bell.
03:44You can find it in Kazi Asparagus Food Island,
03:47a major food court in Silet, Bangladesh.
03:49You've got traditional Indian Bangladeshi-style biryanis, etc.,
03:54as well as fast food.
03:56And there's a little Chinese influence, a Mexican influence.
03:59They've even got a place called Salt Bay.
04:01Although it uses the Classic Bell logo,
04:03you can probably tell by the font that this isn't a legitimate Taco Bell location.
04:08The menu also doesn't look much like what you'd find at a North American Taco Bell.
04:11It features burgers, fries, wings, pasta,
04:15plus traditional South Asian dishes like biryani,
04:18in addition to tacos and Mexican fried rice.
04:21Apparently, it's pretty good,
04:22at least according to reviews on social media.
04:24If you head over to Chiang Mai, Thailand,
04:27you can try the burgers and burritos at Taco Bell,
04:30which has its own Bell logo.
04:47Number 16. Mike Wong.
04:50If we gave you 10 guesses,
04:52we bet you couldn't name the country this chain was found in.
04:54If you said Switzerland,
04:56give yourself a pat on the back.
04:58Switzerland!
04:59Switzerland?
05:00Exotic Switzerland!
05:01It had multiple locations in Geneva and Fribourg,
05:04though they're closed now.
05:05The chain was reportedly pretty popular,
05:07serving fast food versions of Asian food,
05:10like sweet and sour shrimp,
05:11spicy pork,
05:12dim sum,
05:13and Thai green curry.
05:14Why did it use an upside-down version of the Golden Arches
05:17and a Nike swoosh in its logo?
05:19We can't begin to guess.
05:20I think we're gonna be here a while.
05:22I suggest you go get a Big Mac.
05:25Number 15. Pita Hut.
05:27Hey, hold on there.
05:28Could I get that pita?
05:29This pita?
05:30That's almost in my mouth.
05:32This knockoff looks like it's aiming for plausible deniability.
05:35The color scheme is different,
05:37and the italicized font and the roof logo that looks like a hat
05:40aren't exactly the same,
05:42but they're pretty close to Pizza Hut's old logo.
05:45This pita purveyor is found in Tbilisi, Georgia.
05:48That's the Eastern European country, not the U.S. state.
05:51And in addition to pitas, heroes, salads, and falafel,
05:55it also serves pizza.
05:56So in that sense, it's both a pita hut and a pizza hut.
06:00It's also probably a lot healthier than its American counterpart.
06:03What's in there?
06:04Uh, a salad.
06:06Salad?
06:07Yeah, it's a quaint dish sometimes used to precede large quantities of pizza.
06:14It's for me.
06:15Clearly.
06:16Number 14. Burger Queen.
06:19Big things are cooking at Burger Queen from food to fun and in between,
06:22so if you really want to see it, just follow me.
06:25There have been a lot of Burger Queens over the years,
06:27and some are more blatant ripoffs of Burger King than others.
06:30The original BK was founded in Jacksonville, Florida in 1953,
06:34and just three years later,
06:36the first Burger Queen appeared in Winter Haven, Florida.
06:39That version of Burger Queen expanded into a popular chain across the U.S.,
06:43and later changed its name to Druthers.
06:45Believe me, honey, everything at Burger Queen is bee-licious.
06:50Grab hold of a Burger Queen Royal Burger.
06:53It's a bee-lightful meal to bee-hold.
06:56There's a different Burger Queen in Viking, Alberta,
06:59and yet another version in Lakeview, Oregon.
07:02Then there's whatever this is,
07:04which is the most obvious copycat and the most shady-looking.
07:07Number 13. Dominic's Pizza.
07:10There are probably hundreds of pizza joints called Dominic's,
07:13and most of them aren't ripping off Domino's.
07:15After all, pizza's Italian,
07:17and Dominic is a pretty common Italian name.
07:24But the Dominic's in Derby, England was definitely inspired by the famous chain.
07:30Just look at that logo.
07:31Dominic's does boast a much larger menu than the Domino's chain,
07:35including burgers,
07:36kebabs,
07:37and a wider range of desserts.
07:39And, of course,
07:40they deliver.
07:40Interestingly,
07:41Domino's was originally called Dominic's.
07:44The founders changed the name five years after buying their first location
07:47from its original owner,
07:49Dominic DeVardy.
07:50What we think of is one of the largest pizza chains in the world.
07:53We know that, you know,
07:55that it came from Ann Arbor,
07:56but the fact that it came from Dominic's,
07:58and I always tell,
07:59I tell the story.
08:00Yes, the first Domino's pizza store was formerly a Dominic's.
08:03Dominic's,
08:04that's exactly right.
08:05Number 12.
08:06Duffin Daigles.
08:07I made the donuts.
08:08We make them at least twice every day.
08:10We have to make the donuts.
08:16If you were in Spain,
08:17and you wandered into a Duffin Daigles,
08:19if you weren't paying attention,
08:21you might not realize that you weren't actually in a Dunkin' Donuts.
08:24The color scheme,
08:26design elements,
08:26and layout of the store are shockingly similar.
08:30Duffin is popular, too,
08:31with multiple locations around the country.
08:33Dunkin' also has a presence in Spain,
08:36so we're a little surprised that Duffin is able to get away with this.
08:39No.
08:40Nada te alegra la tarde como un latte de Dunkin' Donuts,
08:43hecho con auténtico café expresso.
08:45Germany has its own Dunkin' knockoff in the form of Donkey Donuts,
08:49which sounds considerably less appealing.
08:51The Massachusetts chain Dippin' Donuts is another obvious Dunkin' copycat,
08:56right down to the orange font.
08:57With the apostrophe and everything,
09:00nice little area,
09:01nice shop,
09:02high volume,
09:02a lot of traffic,
09:03we're here at prime time,
09:04prime donut time.
09:05We're gonna give this thing a shot.
09:06No.
09:0611.
09:07Kennedy Fried Chicken
09:08Like Burger Queen and Dominic's,
09:10there are a lot of chicken shops called Kennedy's,
09:13particularly on the East Coast.
09:15They're not exactly a chain,
09:16but they do share a common origin.
09:18An Afghan immigrant started Kennedy's in 1969,
09:21naming it after the former president,
09:23who was popular in Afghanistan.
09:25Following his success,
09:26more Kennedys popped up,
09:28mostly owned by Afghan Americans,
09:30though they're imitators rather than franchisees.
09:32That creator actually got his start working in New York's Kansas Fried Chicken,
09:36not to be confused with the massive Egypt-based chain that shares its name.
09:40Another chain named after a U.S. president had a brief run in China,
09:44Obama Fried Chicken,
09:45which had to change its name after the real KFC threatened legal action.
09:50The 21-year-old owner of the shop changed the name to UFO,
09:53fearing legal action from KFC,
09:55but kept the Obama-Kernel hybrid logo.
09:58He says that he thinks Obama has a great smile,
10:01and that he hopes the president can bring some good fortune to his shop,
10:04like a money god.
10:06No.
10:0610.
10:07Mr. Charlie's
10:08This chain is another one that makes us wonder how they get away with it.
10:12The name isn't that similar to McDonald's,
10:14but the color scheme, decor, and packaging certainly are.
10:17They even serve a frowny meal instead of a happy meal.
10:20And they offer a royale with cheese.
10:23It was far better than any Whopper I've ever had.
10:26Plus, if you order the frowny meal, you can add on not chicken nuggets,
10:29fries, and a drink.
10:30And your money goes a lot farther than any schmappy schmeal you can get.
10:35The twist is that it's all vegan.
10:37The burgers, chicken sandwiches, and soft serve are 100% plant-based.
10:41It makes sense.
10:42McDonald's has been stubbornly refusing to offer anything to vegan eaters for decades.
10:47It was only a matter of time before someone else swooped in to pick up the slack.
10:51Our only question is, are the fries as good as Mickey D's?
10:55McWho?
10:56No idea who you're talking about.
10:58I'm sorry.
10:59I'm not from here, so I don't know.
11:02Number 9.
11:03Sunny Day
11:04Subway is one of the largest fast food franchises in the world,
11:07with locations in more than 100 countries.
11:10But one country it hasn't yet reached is Yemen.
11:13Fortunately for Yemeni residents, they can find this knockoff in the capital city.
11:17The resemblance to Subway is shameless,
11:20though this restaurant appears to serve burgers as well as subs.
11:23Since there's obviously a market for this style of fast food in Yemen,
11:27it's probably only a matter of time before Subway plants its flag there.
11:31We hope that doesn't prove to be a death knell for Sunny Day.
11:34Could be worse.
11:35How?
11:36Could be raining.
11:47Number 8.
11:487-12
11:48This Chinese convenience store isn't so much a rip-off as it is an exact copy of 7-11.
11:54In fact, if you were Chinese and didn't read English,
11:57you might not even realize it's not a real 7-11.
12:00It's especially strange given that the actual 7-11 has more than 2,500 locations in China.
12:06We're surprised it hasn't cracked down on this imitator.
12:09Why are you hogging my shelf space?
12:10And you, no one cares what Stone Cold says, and the rest of you!
12:15Stay out of my way.
12:16In South Boston, you can find 6-12, which was started by a former 7-11 franchisee.
12:22Abu Masa got fed up with the parent company's policies,
12:25so he walked away and opened up a competitor right across the street.
12:28He says he wanted to pull the hot food from his 7-11 because it didn't sell,
12:32but 7-11 wouldn't let him.
12:34Half of his customers are from his 7-11 days who heard about his story, and they want to support
12:40him.
12:40Number 7. Sun Bucks
12:42Shanghai has long been an international trading scene.
12:47We started drinking coffee a long time ago.
12:49This Starbucks clone in Shanghai, China gets points for having the coolest rip-off logo on our list.
12:55The Starbucks Mermaid is iconic and instantly recognizable, but that dragon is wicked.
13:00At this point, you probably won't be surprised to learn that there's another Starbucks knockoff called Sun Bucks,
13:05but this one is located in Syria.
13:08It trades in Starbucks Green for an orange color scheme,
13:11though it uses an almost identical version of the Mermaid logo.
13:14Those drinks look fabulous.
13:16Coffee originates in the Middle East, so it makes sense that they'd do it best.
13:19Sit, sip, talk, listen.
13:23You're not just drinking coffee.
13:25You're stepping into a culture where time slows down,
13:28warmth is sacred, and even bitterness can be meaningful.
13:32Number 6. Dairy King
13:34If the Burger Queen married the Dairy King, we'd have a match made in fast food heaven.
13:38There are so many burger and ice cream serving spots called Dairy King across the US,
13:43we can barely count them.
13:44It's a neighborhood walk-up ice cream stand, the same customers day in and day out,
13:49and year in and year out.
13:50And before it was Dairy King, I used to bring my own son here over 40 years ago.
13:55It was a Cremo-Freeze, so it's been a neighborhood staple for many, many years.
13:59These aren't franchises.
14:00They're mostly locally owned mom-and-pop operations.
14:03From Nebraska to Scottsbluff, North Dakota to Alabama, and Oklahoma to Michigan,
14:08you can find Dairy Kings everywhere.
14:11The version in southern Illinois seems to have made the biggest mark.
14:14It has two locations.
14:16I think the double cheeseburger is actually very special on Mondays,
14:19and it's just so popular.
14:20You can get it with a french fry and an extra large drink every Monday,
14:24which is super nice.
14:26Meanwhile, China has a more blatant Dairy Queen ripoff in Dairy Fairy.
14:30It even shows its Blizzard equivalents being served upside down.
14:33Number 5. Five Lads
14:35Aficionados of the American chain Five Guys are almost as obsessive as In-N-Out fans.
14:41The restaurant got its start in Virginia in the 1980s, but it was slow to expand.
14:46The first overseas franchise opened in London in 2013.
14:49It must have been a hit, because it had a copycat almost immediately.
14:53Look, Bob, we both had the same idea. We'll see who it works out better for.
14:57For whom it works out better?
14:59Nah, just go inside, Trev.
15:00What? Jeez, grammar matters.
15:02It's stealing, Jimmy. And you know what happens to thieves?
15:05What, Bob?
15:06They get their comeuppance.
15:08Comeuppance? What is that? From Mary Poppins?
15:10So what if it is? She was a great nanny.
15:13Five Lads opened in London in early 2015.
15:16Like the guys, the lads specialize in burgers and shakes, but they have much more variety on offer.
15:21Unique menu items across their three locations include lamb chops, hummus with pita, and a whole chicken.
15:28I think what's nice about it is the sauce on top.
15:31It's like, I don't like a peri-peri sauce, but it's different.
15:35I haven't tasted this type of peri-peri sauce before, so it's a bit unique.
15:39So yeah, it's quite, the chicken's good.
15:41Number 4. Burger Friends
15:43In the early 2010s, the popularity of American-style fast food began surging in Iraq.
15:48However, at the time, many American brands had no interest in establishing franchises in the war-torn country.
15:55That left the door wide open for imitators.
15:57Like the Chili House, Lee's Chicken, and Burger Friends.
16:01Although I feel Burger Friends may be hearing from the lawyers of Burger King, since that's the same exact logo.
16:08Located in Baghdad, Burger Friends also bears a striking resemblance to another American knockoff in Iraq's next-door neighbor, Iran.
16:15Burger, Madam, and Sir might be less noble than Burger King and less inviting than Burger Friends, but it is
16:22an extremely funny name.
16:23Dear Sir or Madam.
16:27They've invited me to become a patron!
16:29Not everybody gets that.
16:30I did.
16:30Me too.
16:31I got three.
16:32Number 3. Michael Alone
16:48Obviously, this Chinese spot is ripping off McDonald's, since it's taken the golden arches and simply flipped them upside down.
16:55The question is, how in the world did they come up with the name Michael Alone?
16:58One Reddit user has a convoluted theory that involves a mistranslation of the movie title, Home Alone.
17:04I can tell you that.
17:06Why not?
17:07Because you're a stranger.
17:13Until someone comes up with a better explanation, that's the best we've got.
17:17Even more puzzling is the restaurant's sister location, Weichel Alone, spelled with a W.
17:22The two spots appear to be identical aside from one letter, which makes the question of the name's origin even
17:28more mysterious.
17:30Number 2. KKFC
17:31Excuse me, I want to pop on chicken, crispy hot wings, crispy chicken strips, grilled sausage with fries, hot wings
17:38with double fries, double tender chips.
17:41There are probably as many KFC impersonators out there as there are McDonald's, but most of them change a single
17:47letter in the name rather than adding one.
17:50Taiwan has KLG, which translates to happy chicken when pronounced in Chinese.
17:55Iraq has KFG, which the owner claims stands for Kentucky Family Group.
17:59Israel has JFC, short for Jerusalem Fried Chicken.
18:03And Ontario has HFC, also known as Halal Fried Chicken.
18:07KKFC stands for crispy crunchy fried chicken, and it boasts that it's Nepal's most loved chicken joint.
18:13They might not just be bragging.
18:15More than one online reviewer says it's better than the real KFC.
18:18And they have robot waiters.
18:21Oh, she's coming!
18:26No way.
18:27Please talk.
18:29Okay, that'll do.
18:30Still a ways to go, but that's fine.
18:32Number 1. Pizza Hat
18:34Remember when we said the roof in the Pizza Hut logo kind of looks like a hat?
18:38This place took that idea and ran with it.
18:40You can find it in Iran, which is famous for its plagiarized versions of American restaurants.
18:45You can see it in the fact that they have knockoffs of American restaurants there called
18:49Mash Donald's, ZFC, and Pizza Hat.
18:53The logo might remind you of Carmen Sandiego, but it's actually weirder than that.
18:58Pizza Hat stole it from an American software company called Red Hat.
19:02It's an old version of their logo known as Shadow Man.
19:05This Pizza Hut ripoff is almost as hilarious as another Chinese dupe, Pizza Ha.
19:10The confusion in this one is built right into the name.
19:13What kind of rubbish is that?
19:15I'm sorry, but all questions must be submitted in writing.
19:18Which of these fast food knockoffs would you like to try?
19:20Let us know in the comments below.
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