Arthur Treacher's facts for kids
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Arthur Treacher's in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. By 2021 (photo) this location was the last in the country.
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| Subsidiary of TruFoods Systems, Inc | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, US |
| Headquarters | New York, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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4 stand-alone as of June 2025[update]; plus other embedded stores |
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Area served
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Ohio and New York |
| Products | Seafood |
Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips is a fast-food restaurant chain in America. It is famous for its tasty fish and chips. At its most popular in the late 1970s, there were 826 stores. Today, in 2025, there are only four stand-alone Arthur Treacher's restaurants left.
The restaurants usually serve fried seafood or chicken. These meals come with french fries, which are also called chips. The special fish recipe is very old and comes from Malin's in Bow. This was one of the first fish and chip shops in England, started in the 1860s.
Contents
How Arthur Treacher's Started
The first Arthur Treacher's restaurant opened in 1969. It was in Columbus, Ohio. The company was first called National Fast Food Corp. The people who started it wanted to sell real British fish and chips. One of the founders was Dave Thomas, who later started Wendy's restaurants.
They looked into the history of fish and chips in London. They found that Joseph Malin opened the first known fish and chip shop in the 1860s. It was called "Malin's in Bow." In 1969, Malin's sold their special recipe to Arthur Treacher's. The chain used the same recipe and cooking methods from the 1800s. This is why their slogan was "the original." For a while in 2021, the restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was the only one left. It was the only place in the world still serving this historic recipe.
The company also needed a name. They bought the rights to use the name of Arthur Treacher. He was an English actor (1894–1975). He often played a "perfect butler" in movies. He was also in the movie Mary Poppins. When the chain started, Treacher was well-known as a helper on The Merv Griffin Show. Arthur Treacher often visited the restaurants. He sometimes arrived in a red double-decker bus. He helped show that the food was truly British.
Changes and New Owners
Early Growth and Challenges
In 1970, a company called Fisher Foods joined with National Fast Food. Many new restaurants were planned. Other fish and chip chains like Long John Silver's also started around this time. These companies helped make British fish and chips popular in America.
By the early 1970s, National Fast Food became Orange Co. This company grew very quickly. They would sell land for new restaurants to investors. Then, they would rent the land back for a long time. This helped them open many new places.
New Owners and Recipe Changes
In 1979, Orange Co. sold Arthur Treacher's to Mrs. Paul's. Around this time, there were "Cod Wars" between the UK and Iceland. These wars caused the price of cod fish to become much higher. Mrs. Paul's decided to use a cheaper fish called pollock instead of cod. This made some restaurant owners unhappy. They felt the quality was going down.
More Changes in Ownership
After some legal issues, Mrs. Paul's sold Arthur Treacher's in 1982. A group of investors from Youngstown, Ohio, called Lumara Foods bought it. But just a few months later, Lumara Foods had financial problems.
Then, another group of investors bought the company. The main office moved to Youngstown, Ohio. The company faced difficulties in 1983. Later, in 1985, Jim Cataland helped the company grow slowly again. In 1993, new investors helped to update the restaurants. They also bought more stores. The company moved its main office to Jacksonville, Florida.
In the mid-1980s, some Arthur Treacher's restaurants in Detroit changed their name to Seafood Bay. Arthur Treacher's bought some of these back later, but they could not change them back to Arthur Treacher's.
The company also tried working with other fast-food chains. They teamed up with Arby's to have restaurants that sold both brands. One such place was in Breezewood, Pennsylvania. However, by the late 1990s, Arby's stopped selling Arthur Treacher's food in their shared locations.
Recent Ownership
In 2002, a company called PAT Franchise Systems bought the Arthur Treacher's brand. This company is part of TruFoods Systems. In 2006, Nathan's Famous bought the rights to sell Arthur Treacher's products. They sold them alongside their own foods and other brands like Kenny Rogers Roasters. However, PAT Franchise Systems still had the right to sell Arthur Treacher's franchises in eight states.
In 2021, Nathan's Famous announced a new plan. They would offer Arthur Treacher's food nationwide. But it would only be available through food delivery services. This is called a "ghost kitchen" concept. James Walker, a senior leader at Nathan's, said it was a good way to bring back a historic brand.
Where to Find Arthur Treacher's Today
Stand-alone Restaurants
As of August 2025, there are four stand-alone Arthur Treacher's restaurants. All of them are in northeastern Ohio. The two oldest are in Garfield Heights (opened 1978) and Cuyahoga Falls (opened 1972). The Cuyahoga Falls location has been open continuously, even if it moved buildings. By 2021, it was the only one left in the entire country. Ben Vittoria, the owner in Cuyahoga Falls, kept the restaurant going. Without him, the whole chain might have disappeared.
To celebrate this, the mayor of Cuyahoga Falls, Don Walters, named June 30, 2021, "Arthur Treacher's Day." People traveled from far away to visit the restaurant. They wanted to remember their childhood memories. Because of this new interest, investors opened a new location in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on April 1, 2025. Then, on June 11, 2025, another one opened in Columbus, Ohio. This new Columbus location was actually an old Arthur Treacher's that had become Marino's Seafood Fish & Chips.
Restaurants Inside Other Stores
Besides the stand-alone places, some other stores also have Arthur Treacher's food. Four Salvatore's Pizzerias in Rochester, New York, have Arthur Treacher's inside them. The Twin Oaks Convenience Store in Pomeroy, Ohio, also has an Arthur Treacher's. It shares kitchen space with a Hunt Brothers Pizza and a Sub Express.
Interesting Facts
The famous writer August Wilson wrote his play "Jitney" while eating at an Arthur Treacher's in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
See also
- List of fish and chip restaurants
- List of seafood restaurants
- Pie and mash
