Runza (restaurant)

Runza Restaurant (formerly called Runza Drive-Inn[2] and Runza Hut[3]) is an American fast food restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States whose flagship menu item is the runza sandwich.

History

Founded in 1949 by Sally Everett, the chain began its expansion under Sally's son Donald Everett Sr. in 1966, and started franchising restaurants in 1979. As of November 2020, there are 85 Runza restaurants operating: 80 in Nebraska, two in Iowa, two in Colorado, and one in Kansas.[4][5] The restaurant chain is still owned by the Everett family, and Sally's grandson Donald Everett Jr. serves as President.[6] In addition to the namesake sandwich, the chain serves chili and cinnamon rolls[7] (another Midwest dish), as well as other fast food staples like hamburgers, french fries and onion rings.

The chain attempted to expand beyond the region in 1989. Executives tried to open a restaurant in the Latvian republic of the Soviet Union,[8] going as far as shipping two hundred frozen Runza sandwiches to the Soviet Ministry of Agriculture as a part of its negotiations.[9] The deal fell apart after Latvia was invaded by the Soviet government in an attempt to keep it in the Union.[8] Stores did open in the Las Vegas Strip at the Fashion Show Mall's food court[10] and a mall food court in Moline, Illinois[11] but both failed to gain traction and closed within a few years.[8]

Promotions

Runza is a vendor in Memorial Stadium, home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, In 2017, the Omaha Storm Chasers, Omaha's Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball team, rebranded themselves as the "Omaha Runzas" in a cross-promotional event.[12] The team's rebranded uniforms featured a cartoon runza sandwich and shared the green and yellow livery of the Runza restaurant chain.[12] Runza operated a 1950s themed Rock n' Roll Runza featuring memorabilia, vintage automobiles and roller skating carhops out of downtown Lincoln from 1991 to 2004.[13]

Nebraska Union controversy

The Runza restaurant operating in the Nebraska Union, the student union at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, closed in 2018 after a decade of operating in the location.[20] The Runza was outbid by a combination of two vendors (Steak 'n Shake and Chick-fil-A franchisees) bidding together.[21] There was public outcry from the student body,[20][21] as the runza is strongly identified as a Nebraskan dish, and students felt that it should be sold at Nebraska's flagship university. Runza returned to the university in 2025 as a vendor inside the Selleck Hall food court.[22]

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