Hot 'n Now is an American

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

based in

Holt, Michigan Holt is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The CDP is located within Delhi Charter Township and occupies a majority of the township. The population was 25,625 at the 202 ...

. Founded in 1984, the chain once grew to more than 150 locations throughout the United States at its peak. Subsequently, under the ownership of

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

, the chain filed for bankruptcy in 2004, and was then sold to STEN Corporation. As of September 9, 2016, only the

Sturgis, Michigan Sturgis is a city in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,994 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the northeast corner of Sturgis Township and at the intersection of US 12 and M-66. Sturgis is just nor ...

location remains in operation. The majority of the chain's locations focused entirely on

drive-thru A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the Unite ...

service, featuring a small-footprint building with a tall, slanted roof style. Some previous locations were more traditional fast-food locations, complete with seating, and others were combined with

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

History

Hot 'n Now was founded in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

in 1984 by William Van Domelen. Van Domelen had opened the first Michigan Wendy's restaurants and was a franchisee of

Burger Chef Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973 had 1,050 locations, including some in Canada. The chain featured severa ...

in Southwest Michigan. By 1990, the chain operated more than 100 stores in 15 different states, having grown due to the success of its simplistic operation and 39 cent price for burgers, fries, and soda - substantially less than what competitors charged. That same year, it was acquired by

, which placed operations under its

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

unit. Van Domelen resigned from the company soon after the sale. The company began making changes to the chain's concept that frustrated the franchisees, starting in 1992 with the menu. Hot 'n Now President Don Pierce left the company in 1993. Support to franchisees declined soon thereafter. Hot 'n Now was treated as a test brand. In the first quarter 1995, the company closed 80 corporate owned stores with the expectation to sell all the corporate owned locations to franchisees or licensees. Richard Loehr, an automobile dealership owner, purchased a franchise for

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

, in January 1990. By the end of 1995, Loehr had five locations, but he wanted out. Hot 'n Now would not buy his locations after initially showing interest and blocked any sale to other parties. After 1993 profits for Loehr's locations dropped. Loehr laid off all 300 employees and closed his six locations by March 1995. On March 16, 1995, Loehr filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell. The case went to trial in December 1998. Taco Bell sold Hot 'n Now to a Connecticut company in 1996. By 2002, the company was based in

, with 53 locations. The company closed a handful of locations. The company started an El Toro-branded Mexican menu to be co-located with Hot 'n Now; two such locations opened in January 2002. In October 2003, Proquest Capital Corporation acquired Hot 'n Now assets and some liabilities from Hot 'n Now, LLC. Proquest was soon renamed to Hot Brands, Inc. At the time of acquisition, the chain had 44 locations (23 corporate and 21 franchisee owned), in three states: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana. In 2004, the company filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

and was then sold to STEN Corporation, which also owns the

Burger Time Burger Time is a regional chain of drive-through fast food restaurants that is headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota. Its original restaurant was founded in Fargo, North Dakota in 1987, and it currently has nine locations in North Dakota, Mi ...

chain. Burger Time was sold to BTND, LLC, which owns the Hot 'n Now name. One of the last two locations, which was in Bay City, Michigan suffered a fire on September 5, 2016. Only the

, location now remains, though Hot 'n Now's popular Olive Burger and cheesy tots are still on the menu at the Bay City location, now known as Burger 81. The chain briefly used the characters from ''Mad'' magazine's "

Spy vs. Spy ''Spy vs. Spy'' is a wordless comic strip published in '' Mad'' magazine. It features two agents involved in stereotypical and comical espionage activities. One is dressed in white, and the other in black, but they are otherwise identical, and ...

" in its advertising.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hot 'N Now Fast-food hamburger restaurants Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1984 Fast-food chains of the United States Former PepsiCo subsidiaries Taco Bell Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 1984 establishments in Michigan 1990 mergers and acquisitions 1996 mergers and acquisitions 2003 mergers and acquisitions 2004 mergers and acquisitions

History

See also

References