The Melting Pot
IndustryRestaurant
FoundedApril 1975 (1975-04)
HeadquartersTampa, Florida, United States
Number of locations
91 franchises (as of July 2023)
Area served
United States, Canada
ServicesCasual dining, specializing in fondue
Websitewww.meltingpot.com

The Melting Pot is a chain of franchised fondue restaurants in the United States and Canada. The Tampa, Florida based company has 97 locations as of January 2021. The Melting Pot menu contains various cheese fondues, wines, salads, entrees of meat and seafood served with dipping sauces and oil or broth to be cooked in, and chocolate fondues. It is part of Front Burner Brands.[1]

The Melting Pot restaurant in Tallahassee, Florida

History

The first Melting Pot opened in April 1975 in Maitland, Florida – a suburban city of the Orlando Metropolitan Area – and served only three items on its menu. With permission from the original owners, Mark, Mike and Bob Johnston opened The Melting Pot of Tallahassee in 1979. As the restaurant expanded its franchise, the menu grew larger. In 1985, the Johnston brothers purchased all rights to the Melting Pot brand.


As of July 2023, there is only one location remaining in Canada, located in Edmonton.[2]

Design

The restaurants' interiors are designed using dark red and black colors. They are dimly lit; all seating is mostly in booths, with private booths away from the main room.

Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. plans to remodel a store a week during 2023,[3] to offer a more open dining room layout. This initiative is being called "Melting Pot Evolution" and is aimed at standardizing the restaurant's look, which of some locations have not changed since the 1980's.[4]

Headquarters

The headquarters are located in Tampa, Florida.

Management

The current CEO of Front Burner, The Melting Pot's management company, is Bob Johnston,[2] the youngest brother of founders Mike and Mark, who once worked as a dishwasher as early as fourteen at his brothers' first location in Tallahassee, and by years he got more involved in the growing business until he became the franchise's president and then promoted to be Front Burner's CEO in 2012.[5]

Meals available vary from area to area. A complete meal features a cheese fondue, a salad, main course and a chocolate fondue for dessert. The four courses are offered individually or as a "4 Course Experience." The 4 Course Experience includes one of several preset entrees, one serving of cheese, one salad, and one serving of chocolate. Main courses are still fondues, but include more typical entrees of meat, poultry, pasta and seafood. The franchise also produces "special-occasion" packages for anniversaries, weddings and other events.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2014-01-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 Stern, Gary (19 July 2023). "How The Melting Pot Fondue Restaurant Keeps Thriving After 48 Years". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Melting Pot plans to open a remodel weekly through 2023". Nation's Restaurant News. 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  4. ↑ "Not Your Father's Melting Pot: Buffalo Refreshes The Melting Pot Location with Updated Dining Experience". Yahoo Finance. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "How a Teenage Dishwasher Became the CEO of The Melting Pot Fondue Empire". inc.com. July 10, 2017. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
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