Checkers, Inc. Rally's, Inc. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc.
Type	Private
Industry	Fast Food
Founded	1986 in Mobile, Alabama as Checkers 1985 in Louisville, Kentucky as Rally's 1999 (Merger of Checkers and Rally's)
Headquarters	Tampa, Florida
Products	Burgers, Hot Dogs, Chicken, Fish, Hot wings, french fries, Shakes, Soft Drinks
Owner(s)	Wellspring Capital Management
Website	www.checkers.com www.rallys.com

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. is one of the largest chains of double drive-thru restaurants in the United States. In June 2006, the company went private through a merger with Taxi Holdings Corp., an affiliate of Wellspring Capital Management, a private equity firm.

The company operates Checkers and Rally's restaurants in 28 states and the District of Columbia. They specialize in hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, and milkshakes.

History
Originally separate companies serving different geographic areas with Checkers serving the Southeast and Rally's serving the Midwest, Checkers and Rally's Hamburgers, Inc. merged in August 1999. The joint company houses its headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Checkers was founded in 1986 in Mobile, Alabama and went public in 1991. Rally's was founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1985. From 1996 to 1999, Rally's was owned by CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.

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An exterior of a Rally's near New Orleans, LA

Checkers and Rally's had similar concepts, being almost exclusively drive-thru with very little seating. After the merger, Rally's began redesigning its restaurants to follow the Checkers look. Today, with the exception of a different name on the sign, Checkers and Rally's restaurants look nearly identical.
Checkers Drive-In (originally a Rally's), Taylor, Michigan

The Big Buford burger

Menu
The menus of the two restaurants are nearly identical, differing in that Checkers' menu includes additional hamburgers (including the Bacon Choice Champs).The Checkers menu grew in size to include burgers, chicken, fish, hot dogs, classic wings, drinks, fries, and desserts. The chain's french fries are also served with a spicy coating.

Since at least the mid-1990s Rally's has offered a signature hamburger called the Big Buford.

Checkers and Rally's nutritional information is available through the company website.