People Dedicated to Quality

PDQ, which stands for People Dedicated to Quality, is a fast-casual restaurant chain headquartered in Tampa, Florida. It was founded in 2011 by Bob Basham, a co-founder of Outback Steakhouse, and Nick Reader, CEO of MVP Holdings. The chain specializes in hand-breaded buttermilk chicken tenders and nuggets, sandwiches, and hand-spun milkshakes, positioning itself between fine-casual and fast-casual dining by combining quality ingredients with speed, convenience, and value. PDQ operates restaurants across Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York, and offers catering services for offices and events. The brand emphasizes community involvement, donating millions of dollars and in-kind support to local schools, charities, and organizations. PDQ also runs a loyalty program called PDQ Rewards, with an elite tier called PDQ Gold that offers a 1.2x point multiplier, boosted points days, monthly offers, exclusive giveaways, and rewards. The company remains privately held.

PDQ was founded in Tampa, Florida, in 2011 by Bob Basham, a co-founder of Outback Steakhouse, and Nick Reader, CEO of MVP Holdings. The chain was built around a menu of hand-breaded buttermilk chicken tenders and nuggets, sandwiches, and hand-spun milkshakes, aiming to combine the quality of a fine-casual restaurant with the speed and value of fast-casual dining. From its Tampa base, PDQ expanded across Florida and into North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York. The company has emphasized community involvement, donating millions of dollars and in-kind support to local schools, charities, and community organizations. It also operates a loyalty program, PDQ Rewards, with an elite tier called PDQ Gold that offers a 1.2x point multiplier, boosted points days, monthly offers, exclusive giveaways, and rewards. Gold status is achieved at 3,000 points and resets at the end of each calendar year. Catering orders also count toward Gold status, with each dollar spent earning 10 points, though Gold benefits apply only to regular orders.

• 2011

  Founded in Tampa, Florida by Bob Basham and Nick Reader.

Fast-casual chicken restaurant blending fine-casual quality with fast-casual speed and value.

• Hand-breaded chicken tenders

• Chicken nuggets

• Chicken sandwiches

• Hand-spun milkshakes

1. 1PDQ Chicken | Chicken Tenders, Nuggets, and Sandwicheseatpdq.com
2. 2PDQ Gold | Earn Free Chicken, Exclusive Perks, and Rewards with our elite loyalty tier — PDQ Chickeneatpdq.com
3. 3The Story of PDQ | Our Journey to Perfecting Fried Chicken — PDQ Chickeneatpdq.com
4. 4People Dedicated to Quality - Wikidatawikidata.org