Pal's Sudden Service, normally called Pal's for short, is a regional

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

located in northeast

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and southwestern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, with stores concentrated in the

Tri-Cities, Tennessee The Tri-Cities is the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. All three cities are located in Northeast Tennessee, ...

metro region. The first Pal's opened in 1956 in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, ...

a year after the founder of Pal's, Fred "Pal" Barger, attended a National Restaurant Convention in Chicago and met

Ray Kroc Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman who was instrumental in turning McDonald's into the most successful global fast food corporation by revenue. He purchased it from the McDonald Brothers in ...

and Fred Turner, observing the construction and equipment they used for the first

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

restaurant. Pal's long time CEO is Thom Crosby who joined the company in 1981. In 2023, the company had 31 locations. In 2001, Pal's won the

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the highest formal recognition of the performance excellen ...

, becoming the first restaurant company to receive the award.

Organizational culture

The organization is often studied by competition and used as a case study for Industrial/Organizational Psychologists. This is per the company's unique organizational culture, with training that includes pop quizzes and over 200 hours of training for employees, which results in significantly low turnover for the industry.

Aesthetics

Pal's drive-thrus are recognized by their

novelty architecture Novelty architecture, also called programmatic architecture or mimetic architecture, is a type of architecture in which buildings and other structures are given unusual shapes for purposes such as advertising or to copy other famous buildings. ...

in the form of large replicas of food items placed on the roof. Added in 1985, these were designed by California artists Karen and Tony Barone. In addition to the novelty architecture, the buildings are typically painted a bright, cyan blue color, which adds to the visual distinction.

Company history

*1956 - First Pal's opened Kingsport #01 *1958 - Lynn Garden Drive Pal's #02 Pal’s opened in Elizabethton in the last 60’s, staying open until the mid 70’s *1967 - Circle Burger (closed) - Brook's Circle (a different building & location than current Pal's #12). *1985 - First box/tier design drive thrus open in Kingsport. Pal's #03 in Colonial Heights. *1987 Pal's invents the “Big Tea.” *1990 - Pal's #05 opened in Johnson City near ETSU *1991 - Greeneville #06 and Gate City #07 *1992 - Pal's Johnson City Mall #08 and Elizabethton #09 *1993 - Pal's #10 Volunteer Parkway *1994 - Pal's #11 Bristol Highway *1995 - Pal's Brook's Circle #12 and Rogersville #13 *1997 - Pal's Morristown #14 Pals Celebrates the 10th year of the “Big Tea” *1998 - Pal's #15 in Church Hill and Big Breakfast Introduced *1999 - Pal's opens in Bristol at Exit 7 #16 *2001 - Pal's Wins Baldrige National Quality Award *2002 - President Bush presents Pal's CEO Thom Crosby and founder Pal Barger the Baldrige Award *2003 - Two new Pal's, Gray #18 and Blountville #19. *2006 - Pal's opens in Jonesborough Pal's #20. *2007 - Pal's celebrates the 20th year of the "Big Tea" *2008 - Pal's opens in Lebanon, Virginia #21 *2009 - Pal's opens in Greeneville #22 *2009 - Pal's introduces Razzie Tea *2009 - Neon sign at Pal's #2 taken down and replaced with "Big Man" *2010 - Pal's opens in Norton, Virginia. #23 It has the biggest opening in Pal's history to that time. *2012 - Pal's introduces new 3D websit
Pal's Sudden Service
Pal's #24 Boone's Creek opened. *2013 - Pal's opened Pal's #25 Jefferson City and Pal's #26 Erwin, Tennessee locations. *2015 - Pal's opened Pal's #27 Bristol, Tennessee & Pal's #28 Morristown East *2016 - Pal's opened Pal's #29 Sunset Drive, Johnson City *2020 - Pal's opened store #30 in Abingdon, Area celebrates the 90th Birthday of founder Pal Barger, Founder Pal Barger passed away on 10/29 *2023 - Pal's opened Pal's #31 in Kingsport, TN

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pal's Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food hamburger restaurants Companies based in Tennessee Kingsport, Tennessee Restaurants in Tennessee Restaurants in Virginia Restaurants established in 1956 1956 establishments in Tennessee