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eastlibertarian t1_j9gev3q wrote

I'm sure there's someone with access to this data who could quantify it, but my general observation is that Pittsburgh is sorta under-represented when it comes to chains. Not saying that's good or bad--just that when I travel to some US cities, I notice way more chains that either we don't have or that I've never heard of.

Columbus is the city to go to if you want chain restaurants. Holy mackerel, do they have a lot of variety! They've been a test market and/or HQ for a number of them over the decades, so I guess there's some kind of very generic, average-ness to Columbus that we don't have here.

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stftw42 t1_j9hgxey wrote

As someone who recently moved to Pittsburgh from Columbus - this is spot on. One thing I'm absolutely flummoxed by is there being no Taco Bell near Pitt/CMU. Have to imagine a Taco Bell Cantina would do numbers...

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starrykristen t1_j9hizlg wrote

There used to be a KtacoHut (kfc Taco Bell and Pizza Hut combo) in Oakland- at least in the early 2000s when I went to Pitt. It was disgusting 😆

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dropkickpa t1_j9hpz54 wrote

Oh KenTacoHut, how we miss you.

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Username89054 t1_j9juhev wrote

It shut down very suddenly one day and the rumor was it failed health inspections that badly. I don't know how true that was, but precisely zero people would've been surprised had that been the case.

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heili t1_j9juvsk wrote

I remember being there when they opened that up. It was mind blowing. There are other combos, but that one had all three.

KenTacoHut ... what a fast food masterpiece.

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kimbecile t1_j9kcsss wrote

There was a pizza hutt and a panda express i think, in the student union in the mid 90's. My pregnant ass worked there then and used to send bagels thru the pizza hut oven.

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blai_starker t1_j9id2xg wrote

I don’t think my spouse is going to survive a year in Shadyside because there isn’t a Taco Bell near us! Not gonna lie, I miss him bringing me cinnamon twists

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IClight69 t1_j9jjvqg wrote

Shaler bro. Aspinwall Bro just go bro it’s only like 5 miles bro it will be so good bro, just go bro trust me.

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Beginning_Physics_21 t1_j9hf8xw wrote

Came here to write this. Compared to cities in Ohio and some other midwest states we are not very chain heavy. Like you said, Columbus is just crazy haha.

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number1pringlefan t1_j9khswf wrote

I grew up in Pittsburgh, and have lived the last two years in Columbus, and can confirm. It's like corporate chain hell out here. Yeah there are some decent locally owned places, but it's nothing like Pittsburgh. We might be similarly sized cities, but Pittsburgh is a real city. Columbus is just a strip mall, a corn field, and a chain restaurant in a trench coat.

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apitbullnamedzeus t1_j9mgc5z wrote

Columbus is like 3x the size of Pittsburgh, at least in the city proper.

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number1pringlefan t1_j9mhwag wrote

while technically true, it's only because Columbus annexed a majority of Franklin County. Imagine if Pittsburgh annexed Ross Townshop, Monroeville, Penn Hills, Baldwin, Pleasant Hills, Bethel Park, Robinson, and Sewickley/Franklin Park

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