View source for Arthur Treacher's

{{short description|American fast food seafood restaurant chain}}
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips
| logo = Arthur Treacher's (logo).jpg
| image = Arthur_Treacher%27s,_Cuyahoga_Falls.jpg
| image_caption = Arthur Treacher's in [[Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio]]. By 2021 (photo) this location was the last in the country.<ref name="Emmanuel" />
| alt = The exterior of an Arthur Treacher's fast food restaurant
| type = Subsidiary of TruFoods Systems, Inc
| foundation = {{start date and age|1969}} in [[Columbus, Ohio]], US
| location = New York, U.S.
| num_locations = 4 stand-alone {{as of|June 2025|lc=y}}; plus other embedded stores
| area_served = [[Ohio]] and [[New York (state)|New York]]
| industry = [[Restaurant]]
| products = [[Seafood]]
| revenue = 
| operating_income = 
| net_income = 
| num_employees = 
| website = 
}}

'''Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips''' is an American [[fast food]] [[seafood restaurant]] and restaurant chain that specializes in [[fish and chips]]. At the peak of its popularity in the late 1970s, it had 826 stores.<ref name="Byard">{{Cite web|last=Byard|first=Katie|date=2021-07-09|title=The first of two Arthur Treacher's to stay in Cuyahoga Falls| url= https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2021/07/08/last-arthur-treachers-stay-cuyahoga-falls/7901262002/|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210709210827/https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2021/07/08/last-arthur-treachers-stay-cuyahoga-falls/7901262002/|archive-date=2021-07-09| access-date= 2021-08-18|website=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]}}</ref> As of 2025, there are only three stand-alone Arthur Treacher's locations remaining.<ref name=pd20250401 /> The menu typically offers fried seafood or chicken, accompanied by [[french fries]] (chips).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Products | publisher= Arthur Treacher's| website= officialarthurtreachers.com |url=https://www.officialarthurtreachers.com/products|access-date=2021-08-18}}</ref> The fish recipe is authentic having been purchased from Malin's in Bow, the first recorded [[fish and chip shop]]<!-- singular is correct --> in England (est. 1860s).

==Founding==

The [[Franchising|franchise]] was established in 1969 in [[Columbus, Ohio]], as National Fast Food Corp.<ref name=Nathans-Revive>{{Cite web|last=Klein|first=Danny|date=2021-05-26|title=Nathan's Plans to Revive Fast-Food Icon Arthur Treacher's|url=https://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/nathans-plans-revive-fast-food-icon-arthur-treachers|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625130348/https://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/nathans-plans-revive-fast-food-icon-arthur-treachers|archive-date=2021-06-25|access-date=2021-08-18|website=QSR Magazine}}</ref> The founders included S. Robert Davis, his friend [[Dave Thomas (American businessman)|Dave Thomas]] (future [[Wendy's]] founder), and L. S. Hartzog. They were looking to sell an authentic traditional British fish and chips.<ref name="Emmanuel" /> The company investigated the roots of the dish in London, where in the 1860s Joseph Malin opened the first recorded combined fish-and-chip shop, located in [[Bow, East London]], called "Malin's in Bow".<ref name="BBC History">{{cite news |title=Chipping away at the history of fish and chips |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20130409-chipping-away-at-the-history-of-fish-and-chips |access-date=19 June 2022 |work=BBC}}</ref> For over one hundred years, the Malin family ran that store until closing in the early 1970s.<ref name="BBC History" /> In 1969, Malin's sold the exclusive rights to their recipe to Arthur Treacher's.<ref name="Emmanuel" /> The chain kept the same recipe and cooking methods that had originated in 19th century London, thus their slogan "the original".<ref name="Emmanuel" /> At one point in 2021, there was only one Arthur Treacher's restaurant left, in [[Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio]], making it the only place in the world that still served the historic recipe.<ref name="Emmanuel" />

[[File:ArthurTreachers.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A since-closed Arthur Treacher's [[Brand alliances|co-branded]] with a [[Nathan's Famous]] in [[downtown Pittsburgh]]]]

The chain was also looking for a namesake and they purchased the rights to [[Arthur Treacher]] (1894–1975),<ref name="Emmanuel" /> an English [[character actor]] typecast as "the perfect [[butler]]" for his performances as [[Jeeves]], a butler in several [[Shirley Temple]] films in addition to the role of Constable Jones in ''[[Mary Poppins (film)|Mary Poppins]]'' from [[The Walt Disney Company#1955.E2.80.931965: Disneyland|Walt Disney Productions]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871546/?ref_=tt_cl_t10|title=Arthur Treacher |website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=31 December 2014}}</ref> At the time the chain was founded, Treacher was best known as the announcer and sidekick to [[Merv Griffin]] on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1560407/Merv-Griffin.html|title=Merv Griffin |work=Telegraph|date=August 16, 2007 |access-date=31 December 2014}}</ref> Although Treacher never confirmed whether he had a financial involvement in the restaurants, he was "a spokesman for the restaurant chain in its early years, underscoring the [[United Kingdom|British]] character of its food."<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Arthur:Treacher.htm |title= Arthur Treacher's Restaurant Chain Food Chips Fish Butler| website= economicexpert.com |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20130113090805/http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Arthur%3ATreacher.htm |archivedate=January 13, 2013 |publisher= | date= | access-date= }}</ref> Treacher sometimes visited the restaurants, arriving in a red [[double-decker bus]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Petkovic|first=John|work=The Plain Dealer|date=2018-03-15|title=Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips is alive and thriving in Northeast Ohio (photos)|url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2018/03/arthur_treachers_fish_chips_is.html|access-date=2021-06-01|language=en}}</ref>

==Later mergers ==

=== Fisher Foods ===

In 1970, [[Fisher Foods]] swapped capital with and licensed franchises from National, with a total of 550 franchises sold (106 to Fisher alone), but only 99 stores were actually in operation. [[Long John Silver's]], [[Captain D's]], [[Skippers Seafood & Chowder House|Skipper's]] and [[Alfie's Fish & Chips]] likewise employed the fish franchise concept about the same time. Aided by Arthur Treacher's advertisements, these companies introduced British fish and chips to northeastern America.{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}}

=== Orange Co. ===

By the early 1970s, National Fast Food had become Orange Co. Under this name, Davis conducted an aggressive expansion campaign from 1972 through 1976. Lacking equity, he relied on generous [[Leaseback|sale-leaseback]] agreements. Under the terms of the agreements, Orange Co. would sell to investors sites for new restaurants and then sign long leases unconditionally guaranteeing to continue lease payments if the restaurants failed.<ref name=orange>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19831218&id=DKlOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=afsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3705,856369|title=Orange-co Can Finally Concentrate|date=18 December 1983|work=Lakeland Ledger|access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref>

=== Mrs. Paul's Seafood ===

On November 21, 1979, Orange Co. sold Arthur Treacher's to [[Edward Piszek#Mrs. Paul's|Mrs. Paul's]]. However, under the terms of its original sale-leaseback agreements, Orange Co. remained liable for millions of dollars of payments to investors.<ref name=orange/>

The "[[Cod Wars]]" between the UK and [[Iceland]] during the 1970s caused cod prices to double.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.kiplinger.com/article/business/T062-C000-S001-whatever-happened-to-arthur-treacher-s-restaurants.html| title= Whatever Happened to Arthur Treacher's Restaurants?| website= kiplinger.com |first= Bob |last= Niedt| publisher= |date=5 July 2018 |access-date= September 20, 2023}}</ref> Mrs. Paul's responded by replacing  Icelandic cod in Arthur Treacher's recipe with less expensive [[pollock]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-28|title=Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips is being relaunched as part of a virtual restaurant concept spearheaded by Nathan's Famous|url=https://wgnradio.com/news/nathans-famous-is-relaunching-a-classic-fast-food-restaurant-chain/|access-date=2021-08-18|website=WGN Radio 720}}</ref> The move exacerbated tensions with franchisees&mdash;some of whom had already withheld a total of $5 million in royalties for what they perceived to be a steadily declining level of service. Litigation arising from the conflict eventually reached the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]].<ref>{{cite court|url=http://openjurist.org/689/f2d/1137| litigants= Arthur Treacher's Franchisee Litigation v. A & B Management Corporation| year=1982 |vol= 689 | reporter= F2d |opinion= 1137 |postscript=. via openjurist.org. |access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref>

=== Lumara Foods ===

After losing the case to the franchisees and having no way to compensate them, Mrs. Paul's sold Arthur Treacher's to a Youngstown, Ohio group of investors called Lumara Foods of America Inc. in March 1982.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arthur Treacher's To Be Acquired |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 1, 1982 |access-date=2025-05-22 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/01/business/arthur-treacher-s-to-be-acquired.html}}</ref> Lumara Foods filed for reorganization under [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11]] of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code four months later.<ref name=orange/>

=== Investment group ===

The company was then bought by a group of investors, and the corporate offices were moved to [[Youngstown, Ohio]]. It went into bankruptcy in 1983. Two years later, it was merged into a [[Shell corporation|shell company]] by Jim Cataland. From 1985 to 1993, Cataland slowly expanded the company again. In 1993, money from a new group of investors headed by Bruce Galloway and Jeffrey Bernstein was used to introduce a more modern seafood concept, to buy additional stores, and to move the company from its base operations in Youngstown to [[Jacksonville, Florida]]. <ref>{{cite web |last=Strugatch |first=Warren |title=L.I. @ WORK; Resuscitating Two Familiar Restaurant Chains |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 2, 2001 |access-date=2025-06-22 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/nyregion/li-work-resuscitating-two-familiar-restaurant-chains.html }}</ref> 

[[File:Twin Oaks Convienience Store with Attached Arthur Treacher's.jpg|thumb|The Twin Oaks Convenience Store in Pomeroy, Ohio, with an attached Arthur Treacher's location]]

In the mid-1980s, franchises in [[Detroit]] were converted by their owner to a new chain called Seafood Bay. Arthur Treacher's purchased back six Seafood Bay locations in 1997 but was unsuccessful in reverting them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-19126815/arthur-treacher-buys-six-shuttered-seafood-bay-units|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008221012/http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-19126815/arthur-treacher-buys-six-shuttered-seafood-bay-units|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 October 2014|title=Arthur Treacher's buys six shuttered Seafood Bay units.(Brief Article)|date=17 February 1997|work=Nation's Restaurant News|access-date=2 September 2014}}</ref>

The company experimented with [[Brand alliances|co-branding]], forming an alliance with [[Arby's]] (which originated in the Youngstown suburb of [[Boardman Township, Mahoning County, Ohio|Boardman]]) for co-branded locations. One such location existed in [[Breezewood, Pennsylvania]]. However, by the late 1990s, Arby's parent [[Wendy's/Arby's Group|Triarc Cos. Inc.]] removed the Arthur Treacher's portions of its co-branded Arby's.

=== PAT Franchise Systems ===

In 2002, the company holding the Arthur Treacher's trademark was acquired by PAT Franchise Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of TruFoods Systems. In 2006, [[Nathan's Famous]] bought the exclusive rights to market the Arthur Treacher's trademark and sell their products, co-branded with Nathan's Own concepts, [[Kenny Rogers Roasters]], and [[Miami Subs Grill|Miami Subs]] (now Miami Grill). However, PAT Franchise Systems retained a license agreement entitling it to sell Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips franchises in eight states.

=== Nathan's Famous ===
[[File:Arthur Treacher's - Pomeroy, Ohio - Interior.jpg|thumb|The interior of a Arthur Treacher's in [[Pomeroy, Ohio]] southeast of [[Cincinnati]]]]
In 2021, Nathan's Famous announced plans to offer Arthur Treacher's branded food nationwide as a [[ghost kitchen]] concept only available via food delivery services.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2021/06/arthur-treachers-fish-chips-returning-nationwide-as-a-ghost-kitchen-courtesy-nathans-famous.html| title = Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips returning nationwide as a ghost kitchen courtesy of Nathan's Famous| website= Cleveland.com| date = June 2021}}</ref> James Walker, the senior vice president of restaurants, said, "We think it's a nice combination of historic, storied brand, with new focus on the food.”<ref name= Nathans-Revive />

==Locations==

=== Stand-alone ===

There are three remaining stand-alone restaurants, all in northeast Ohio. The two oldest are in [[Cuyahoga Falls]] (est. 1972) and [[Garfield Heights]] (est. 1978) - the former has remained in continuous operation since its founding albeit in different buildings. By 2021, it was the last restaurant in the country.<ref name=abj20240425>{{cite news|author=Staff|title=How many Arthur Treacher's are left? Are more coming to Northeast Ohio? What we know so far|url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/04/25/how-many-arthur-treachers-are-there-ohio-has-the-only-2/73452980007/|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|date=April 25, 2024|access-date=April 29, 2024}}</ref> Ben Vittoria, the Cuyahoga Falls owner, kept the last store alive and indeed without him the entire franchise would have ceased to operate.<ref name="Emmanuel">{{cite web |last=Emmanuel |first=Zachary |url=https://www.countere.com/home/the-last-arthur-treachers-in-america-ohio|title=This Is the Last Arthur Treacher's in America|website=Countere Magazine |date=June 22, 2021}}</ref> In recognition of the restaurant's last stand at Cuyahoga Falls, the town mayor Don Walters designated June 30, 2021, as Arthur Treacher's Day.<ref name="Byard" /> Customers traveled long distances to relive memories of youth and made the town a food destination.<ref name="Emmanuel" /><ref name="Byard" /> A map on the wall allowed diners to leave a pin where they came from. On April 1, 2025 a third location opened in [[Cleveland Heights, Ohio]].<ref name=pd20250401>{{cite news|first=Alex|last=Darus|title=Arthur Treacher's opens third Northeast Ohio location in Cleveland Heights|url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2025/04/arthur-treachers-opens-third-northeast-ohio-location-in-cleveland-heights.html|work=[[The Plain Dealer]]|date=April 1, 2025|access-date=April 2, 2025}}</ref>

=== Embedded ===
In addition to the Ohio stand-alone locations, four Salvatore's Pizzerias in [[Rochester, New York]], have embedded Arthur Treacher's franchises.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.salvatores.com/menu/arthur-treachers | title=Arthur Treachers 4 Area Locations| publisher= Salvatore's Pizzeria |website= salvatores.com| date=12 November 2017 }}</ref> The Twin Oaks Convenience Store in [[Pomeroy, Ohio]], has an Arthur Treacher's sharing kitchen space with a [[Hunt Brothers Pizza]] and a Sub Express.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.yellowpages.com/pomeroy-oh/mip/arthur-treachers-fish-chips-503575171 | title=Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips in Pomeroy, Ohio| website= yellowpages.com| date= | access-date= }}</ref> In East Islip, NY, a small strip-mall store has a combination [[Pudgie's Famous Chicken]] and Arthur Treacher's.

==Influences==
The playwright [[August Wilson]] wrote the Tony Award-winning "[[Jitney (play)|Jitney]]" while dining at a Arthur Teacher's in Pittsburgh, PA.<ref>{{cite web |last=Garner |first=Dwight |title=August Wilson, a Theater Titan Who Spun Gold in Diners |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 7, 2023 |access-date=2025-06-22 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/books/review/august-wilson-patti-hartigan.html }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Food|Companies}}
* [[List of fish and chip restaurants]]
* [[List of seafood restaurants]]
* [[Pie and mash]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Homepage|https://www.officialarthurtreachers.net/}}
* {{FuzzyMemories clip|clip=1379}}
{{Fish and chip shops}}
{{Fast-food chains of the United States}}
{{Jacksonville Corporations}}

[[Category:Fast-food seafood restaurants]]
[[Category:Fish and chip restaurants]]
[[Category:Seafood restaurants in the United States]]
[[Category:Regional restaurant chains in the United States]]
[[Category:Fast-food chains of the United States]]
[[Category:Restaurants established in 1969]]
[[Category:Companies based in Jacksonville, Florida]]
[[Category:Companies based in New York City]]
[[Category:Companies based in Youngstown, Ohio]]
[[Category:Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1983]]
[[Category:1969 establishments in Ohio]]
[[Category:1979 mergers and acquisitions]]