Gino's Hamburgers

Gino's Hamburgers was a fast-food restaurant chain founded in Baltimore, Maryland by Baltimore Colts defensive end Gino Marchetti and running back Alan Ameche, along with their close friends Joe Campanella and Louis Fischer, in 1957. A new group of restaurants under the Gino's name, involving some of the principals of the original chain, was started in 2010. History The first Gino's was opened in Dundalk, Maryland, just outside Baltimore; it got its official name in 1959 when the owners Joe Campanella, Louis Fischer, and Alan Ameche invited Colts' captain Gino Marchetti to become a partner. In 1967 Gino's merged with Tops Drive Inn, a chain of 18 drive-in restaurants located in the Washington, D.C., area; most Tops locations were rebranded as Gino's. In the early 1970s, the company attempted to expand from its Mid-Atlantic base into the Midwest; however, these locations only operated a short period. For one location, it purchased Orchestra Hall in Detroit and planned to demolish the structure to construct a restaurant. When the plan became public, it led to a grass-roots campaign to save and restore the abandoned structure. Gino's also expanded in to Massachusetts and Connecticut. There it had difficulties because Gino Marchetti was a relative unknown in the region. Additionally, people confused them with the Papa Gino's pizza chain that was based in Massachusetts. These locations were eventually closed and many now house other chains, especially Burger King. Gino's also converted some to fish restaurants, but these too failed.