Romacorp Inc., which does business as Tony Roma's, is an American casual dining chain restaurant specializing in

baby back ribs Pork ribs are a cut of pork popular in Western and Asian cuisines. The ribcage of a domestic pig, meat and bones together, is cut into usable pieces, prepared by smoking, grilling, or baking – usually with a sauce, often barbecue – and then ...

. The first location was established by the founder, Tony Roma, in 1972 in North Miami, Florida.

Clint Murchison Jr. Clinton Williams Murchison Jr. (September 12, 1923 – March 30, 1987) was a businessman and founder of the Dallas Cowboys football team. A son of Clint Murchison Sr., who made his first fortune in oil exploration and became notorious for exploit ...

purchased a majority stake in the restaurant in 1976, and he and Roma established the jointly owned Roma Corporation. The first international location opened in 1979 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, followed by an international expansion with both company-owned stores and franchises. As of 2020, there are over 115 locations on six continents.

History

1972−1999

Tony Roma, the driving force and namesake behind the casual dining eatery, opened the first Tony Roma's in

North Miami North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University, and the North Miami campu ...

on January 20, 1972. Prior to opening his self-named restaurant, Tony Roma was the food and beverage specialist for the

Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club R ...

. Originally a steak and burger restaurant, one weekend, chef David Smith grilled baby back ribs and served them with Tony Roma's BBQ sauce. The ribs proved to be popular, and were added to the permanent menu, and quickly became what Tony Roma's was known for. Tony Roma's menu further expanded to include seafood, pasta, chicken, and sandwiches.Tony Roma, 78 – Began Chain of Rib Restaurants – NYTimes.com
/ref> Four years later, in 1976,

, the owner of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

, was in Miami for Super Bowl X. Murchison purchased the majority stake in the restaurant, going on to become the driving force behind Tony Roma's international expansion. Murchison and Roma established Roma Corporation, a jointly-owned company that oversaw the restaurants and sold franchises. In 1979, the first international location opened in

, Japan, and by 1983; there were 30 Tony Roma's restaurants around the world. During the mid-1980s, Roma Corp's growth plan included opening more franchises, rather than company-owned stores. Murchison sold his shares in Roma Corp to his children in 1984, and Kenneth Reimer, a Murchison business associate, took over as CEO of Roma. Tony Roma himself also sold his interest in the company to the Murchison children.

2000–present

Under Reimer, Tony Roma's expanded, growing the menu, opening more locations, and remodeling older restaurants for a more modern feel. In 2002, Frank Steed took over as CEO and president of Roma Corp and David Grail became head of menu development. Steed signed agreements to open an additional 60 Tony Roma's across South America, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2001, original head chef David Smith retired and Tony Roma's first executive chef, Bob Gallagher, came on board in 2006. In 2003, Tony Roma died in Hemet, California, at the age of 78. As of 2006, there were 1,725 employees. On March 3, 2015, Tony Roma's launched TR Fire Grill in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, with more locations planned for the following months.

Menu and retail products

When the first Tony Roma's opened in the 1970s, the restaurant was known for its burger and steaks until chef David Smith cooked up some

and they became popular. Today the menu includes ribs, burgers, and steaks, as well as chicken and seafood dishes, appetizers, vegetarian dishes, desserts, and a cocktail list. Many international locations provide additional options that conform to local customs. Tony Roma's menu is routinely updated with specials, new chef-created dishes, and seasonal cuisines. In 2015, Roma Corp's introduced a new concept, TR Fire Grill & Lounge, in

, featuring modern American cuisine and modern cocktails. A number of entrees from the Tony Roma's menu are available as prepackaged frozen meals, sold in supermarkets. The entrees are manufactured and distributed by Rupari Food Services. Tony Roma's original

barbecue sauce Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated as BBQ sauce) is a sauce used as a marinade, basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork or beef ribs and chicken. It is a ubiquitous condiment in the Southern ...

is also available in supermarkets.

Locations

As of 2020, the franchise has over 100 locations"Locations"
Tony Roma's on six continents. In 1976, Tony Roma's was one of the first US chain restaurants to expand into the international market, opening their first store in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Tony Roma's expanded into

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Tony Roma's has also expanded to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, including the UAE, where the prince of

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

, Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, dines. As of 2015, Tony Roma's had around 120 international stores spread across five continents, with 20 restaurants in the United States. The franchise introduced a brand makeover in 2016 with a new store model."Openings: New barbecue restaurant to debut at Hilton near PBI in West Palm"
Palm Beach Post, Liza Balmaseda, January 9, 2018 As of 2016, the only location near New York City was inside Newark Liberty International Airport, after the Commack branch closed as part of a downsizing. There also remained a location in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

at the time. The closure left 20 locations in the United States, with most remaining restaurants international.""
Melissa Cart, October 18, 2016, ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

'' In 2018, the company opened its first US franchise in six years, and also its first new US restaurant since 2014."Tony Roma's Opening First U.S. Franchise in Six Years"
Franchise Times, January 17, 2018 As of 2020, there are two locations in Southern California. There is one near the SouthBay Pavilion in

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

, and another in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, near the

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks ...

. Tony Roma's is consistently opening new restaurants in emerging markets. In 2015, Tony Roma's became one of the first US-based restaurants to open a store in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. As of 2018, Tony Roma's had "new licensing deals in the United States, Europe, Mexico, Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

" and "new development agreements in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Countries and territories with restaurants

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Corporate (U.S) website
Restaurant chains in the United States Barbecue restaurants in the United States Restaurants in Florida American companies established in 1972 Restaurants established in 1972 1972 establishments in Florida Restaurants in Malaysia Companies based in Orlando, Florida