Cook Out (restaurant)

History

Morris Reaves founded Cook Out in 1989. He is the owner of the company, and his son, Jeremy Reaves, is the CEO.

The first Cook Out location opened in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989. Over 50 more locations opened in North Carolina before expanding out of the state. As of November 2022, 326 locations are operating in ten states.

The company opened its first out-of-state store in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on July 30, 2010. Cook Out opened in Clemson and Orangeburg, South Carolina, in 2010. At the end of 2011, Cook Out opened restaurants in Columbia, South Carolina; Blacksburg, Virginia; and Radford, Virginia. In March 2012, Cook Out opened its first location in Lynchburg, Virginia, and shortly thereafter in Harrisonburg, Virginia. In October 2012, Cook Out opened a restaurant in Danville, Virginia. 2013 saw new Cook Out locations in Georgia, and in 2014, there were plans to launch several more Georgia locations, including its first Atlanta restaurant. In 2016, Cook Out expanded into Mississippi with stores in Oxford, Jackson, Hattiesburg, and Starkville, and the company's first Alabama location, in Tuscaloosa. Other locations in Alabama include Jacksonville (July 2017), Auburn (December 2017), Huntsville (January 2018), Opelika (May 2018), Troy (June 2018), Mobile (December 2018), Montgomery (January 2019) and Birmingham (January 2021). In 2018, Cook Out expanded its Virginia locations in the Collinsville community of Martinsville, Virginia which opened in September 2019. In November 2022, Cook Out opened a restaurant in Manassas Park, Virginia. In January 2024, Cookout opened a store in Newberry, South Carolina. On August 5, 2024, it was announced Cook Out would be adding and opening new restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina. On July 9, 2025, Cookout opened a restaurant in Pensacola, Florida, making it the chain's first Florida location. Two additional Florida restaurants are planned to open in Tampa, Florida.

Menu

Their menu primarily features grilled hamburgers and cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, chicken fingers, North Carolina barbecue and quesadillas. A signature to their menu is the Cook Out Tray, which features combinations of entrees, sides and a drink or milkshake. Another feature of the menu is their selection of more than 40 flavors of milkshakes. A featured drink on their menu is Cheerwine, a local North Carolina cherry soda usually only served in North Carolina and surrounding states.

Cook Out is noted for its value-oriented “Cook Out Tray”, which allows customers to choose one main item, such as a burger, barbecue sandwich, or chicken tenders, paired with two sides and a beverage. Some locations allow the beverage to be substituted for a milkshake. The Tray has been highlighted by food writers as one of the most affordable combo meals in American fast food, typically priced around seven dollars or less.{{cite web |title=The Cook Out Milkshake Menu Has Endless Flavor Options |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/cook-out-milkshake

The chain is also recognized for its wide variety of milkshake flavors, with more than 40 options available. Customers often combine flavors, creating thousands of possible variations. Cook Out’s milkshakes are frequently described as a hallmark of the brand.{{cite web |last=Fecteau |first=Jessica |title=The Cook Out Milkshake Menu Has Endless Flavor Options |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/desserts/cook-out-milkshake

Some flavors are offered on a seasonal basis, such as the watermelon milkshake, which is typically available in the summer months. The return of this item has been covered in local and national media outlets due to its popularity.{{cite news |last=Price |first=Abbie |title=It’s Watermelon Milkshake season at Cook Out |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/article277291633.html

Sponsorships

Since 2020, Cook Out has sponsored the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, annually held on Labor Day since 1950, in addition, Cook Out has also sponsored the race at Richmond Raceway since 2023. and the Spring Race held at Martinsville Speedway since 2024 for the NASCAR Cup Series. In January 2025, they announced that they would be sponsoring both the Clash and the Madhouse Classic races at Bowman Gray Stadium. Max Reaves, the older son of Jeremy Reaves, is also an active racecar driver and competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

References

References

1. "Cook Out Overview".
2. "Cook Out Restaurant Raleigh-Garner-Durham -Review of Cook Out Restaurant Raleigh-Durham". raleighdurham.about.com/.
3. "Company {{!}} COOK OUT".
4. "Cook-Out to crank up its first grill in Spartanburg". GoUpstate.com.
5. "Business Booming at New Cook Out in Lynchburg". WSET.com.
6. Okeefe, Patti. (October 21, 2012). "Faithful foodies flock to newly opened Cook-Out".
7. "Cook-Out rolls into Rome". ToneToATL.com.
8. (September 4, 2013). "Cook-Out is Coming to Atlanta". ToneToATL.com.
9. "New restaurants coming to 15th Street". Tuscaloosa News.
10. Thornton, William. (July 17, 2017). "Cook Out now open in Jacksonville". AL.com.
11. Weary, Scharis. (December 30, 2017). "Cook Out opens a new location in Auburn".
12. Thornton, William. (January 5, 2018). "Cook Out now open in Huntsville, coming to Troy".
13. (January 23, 2019). "Cook Out opens Montgomery Location".
14. Byington, Pat. (January 4, 2021). "Birmingham's 2nd CookOut slated to open on January 6th".
15. "Cook Out in Collinsville opens Tuesday evening". www.btw21.com.
16. (2022-11-05). "Cook Out opens in Manassas Park".
17. Henry, Zoie. (June 5, 2023). "New developments in Newberry could also bring more people to town".
18. (August 5, 2024). "Cook Out Firing Up Another Location in Charlotte".
19. Bunch III, Edward. (July 9, 2025). "Cook Out Pensacola restaurant soft opening set for July 9".
20. Duffy, Maggie. (May 21, 2024). "Fast-food chain Cook Out is coming to Tampa with 2 locations".
21. (December 4, 2017). "Could This North Carolina Fast Food Favorite Be The Next Five Guys?".
22. (August 25, 2020). "Cook Out, Darlington Raceway partner on entitlement for Cook Out Southern 500".
23. (July 11, 2023). "July NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway becomes Cook Out 400".
24. (January 19, 2024). "Cook Out sponsoring spring Martinsville race".
25. (January 2, 2025). "Cook Out named entitlement partner for Clash events at Bowman Gray Stadium".
26. (2025-01-02). "Cook Out named sponsor for Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium".