Tasty Made was an American

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

specializing in

hamburgers A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis w ...

french fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...

and

milkshakes A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may a ...

. The first and only Tasty opened on October 27, 2016, in

Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, and its county seat. The population was 40,552 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Ohio, Ohio's 30th largest city, having surpassed Warren, Ohio, Warren and Fin ...

and closed on February 28, 2018. Tasty Made was owned and operated by

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. ( ), often known simply as Chipotle, is an American multinational chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. As of March 31, 2025, C ...

, and used a similar serving format. Like Chipotle, the Tasty Made restaurant was company-owned, rather than franchised. Its competitors included

Five Guys Five Guys Enterprises, LLC (doing business as Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Five Guys) is an American multinational fast food chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries. It is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. The first F ...

Smash Burger A smash burger is a type of hamburger. According to the Food Network, "A smash burger is a thin beef patty cooked on a super-hot griddle. The burger is smashed down, usually with a spatula, to increase browning and craggy bits on the surface for ...

and

Shake Shack Shake Shack is an American multinational fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permane ...

History

On July 29, 2016, the company announced the opening of its first Tasty Made burger restaurant in the fall. The first located was revealed to be in

. Chipotle had trademarked Better Burger earlier in the year. Tasty Made was announced to have a focused menu like early burger restaurant which were limited to burgers, fries and milkshakes. Ohio was selected as culinary manager Nate Appleman and national training director David Chrisman are both from the state and help design the concept. The first Tasty Made opened on October 27, 2016, at 732 N. Memorial Drive in

. The opening came after a July 2016 announcement that the first location would be in Lancaster.

founder, Steve Ells, said that the chain would only be making a limited menu of burgers, fries and milkshakes. At the opening, it was also announced that there would be a second location opening in nearby

Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, Fairfield and Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin counties in the central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 23,094 at the United States Ce ...

, though since the announcement, the planned location has been made into a traditional Chipotle restaurant. In September 2017, the company announced that it would be partnering with

Richard Blais Richard Blais is an American chef, television personality, restaurateur, and author. He appeared on the reality show cooking show ''Top Chef'', and is known for his take on classic American cuisine. Blais was the runner-up for the fourth season ...

who found fame on Bravo's

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

and frequently appears on

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

programs. According to a company press release, he would be looking at company and the menu "with a fresh eye." On December 4, 2017, the company released the revamped menu that featured two new hamburgers, seasonal milkshakes and a fry bar station. On February 28, 2018, the

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette The ''Lancaster Eagle-Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in Lancaster, Ohio in the United States and founded in 1936. Before 1936, it was known as ''Lancaster Daily Eagle'' (1890–1936). The newspaper has a daily circulation of 6,041 copies an ...

reported that the location would be closing after only 16 months of operation. The paper quoted a spokesman saying, "While we liked the concept and the delicious food at Tasty Made, the economics were not what we wanted them to be in Lancaster, Ohio." Also according to the newspaper, the restaurant was criticized almost immediately after opening for the quality of its food.

References

External links

* {{Fast-food chains of the United States Chipotle Mexican Grill Defunct fast-food chains in the United States Defunct restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 2016 Restaurants disestablished in 2018

History

See also

References

External links