Palm Management Corp. is firmly rooted in the white tablecloth pantheon. A leader in the fine dining niche, Palm Management operates about 30 Palm Restaurants in about two dozen major US markets, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The steakhouses are famous gathering spots for the rich and powerful and are noted for their meticulous service and top drawer cuisine. However, the chain keeps a light air about itself with interior appointments that include caricatures of celebrities. Italian immigrants Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the first Palm Restaurant in New York City in 1926. Their third-generation offspring, Bruce Bozzi and Wally Ganzi, continue to own and operate the company.

Ian Schrager -- co-founder of the famed Studio 54 in the late 1970s, who became a hipster hotelier in the 1990s -- gives his idea of modern luxury living a permanent address. The Ian Schrager Company owns, develops, and operates a hotel (Gramercy Park Hotel) and two residential properties (50 Gramercy Park North and 40 Bond) in New York City. In addition, the company's Edition brand of boutique hotel properties was created in partnership with hotel giant Marriott. Ian Schrager Company was founded in 2005 after Schrager left Morgans Hotel Group.

Dunn Bros story is really quite simple. We've been roasting and brewing great coffee since 1987 when Ed Dunn opened the first Dunn Bros Coffee shop in St. Paul, MN. Our coffee is roasted in small drum roasters in all of our traditional stores (the only stores that don't roast on site are our Express locations that you'll see in places like an airport, library, or college campus where coffee roasting is not an option). We do this because we know that there is nothing better than freshly roasted coffee so long as you're starting with great coffee beans and roasting them with passion. What you'll find is that we source beans from the best farmers in the world. Dunn Bros care deeply about the sustainability of our farming partners and the environmental practices under which the coffee is grown. Dunn Bros Coffee Franchising, Inc. are real reflections of the communities that they're in. Many of our shops hang local art and play local music. Free WIFI is available in all but a few locations. And, unlike others, our shops smell like coffee. If you've ever been in a Dunn Bros Coffee shop, you know what we're talking about. It's the benefit of roasting every day, right in the shop.

The San Diego Padres Baseball Club joined Major League Baseball as an expansion team in 1969, the same year as the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals), and the Seattle Pilots (later the Milwaukee Brewers). The franchise boasts two National League pennants, its first in 1984 and its last in 1998. San Diego fans attend baseball services at PETCO Park. A group led by CEO Jeff Moorad controls more that third of the team; BMC Software co-founder John Moores owns the rest.

Ripley Entertainment believes in weirdness. Ripley Entertainment, Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian conglomerate Jim Pattison, publishes the "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" oddities comic strip that appears in about 200 newspapers in more than 40 countries, and licenses its name for toys and games, as well as a Paramount Pictures-produced movie based on the life of the company's founder. It also owns about 60 other entertainment attractions -- including Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums (called odditoriums), Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum, aquariums, 3-D simulation theaters, haunted house adventure parks, miniature golf courses, and sightseeing trains. The brand was created by cartoonist Robert L. Ripley in 1918.

The Bistro Group was formed in 1989 by the Ruth & Robert Conway Family along with long time business partner and friend, Karl Davis. Their original acquisition has grown to 31 T.G.I. Friday’s® Restaurants and 5 McAlister’s Delis over the past 20 years. Today, The Bistro Group remains a family owned business employing more than 2,800 employees in the two restaurant divisions.

Burnley Football Club might have been a side-switcher at first, but has been true blue (or, rather, true claret and blue) ever since. Originally formed as a rugby club, the team in 1882 switched sports to become the Burnley Football Club and moved to its Turf Moor stadium grounds shortly thereafter. Burnley FC is nicknamed the Clarets, and also known as the Claret and Blue. It currently plays football (soccer) in the English Football League Championship (formerly known as Division 1). Turf Moor has a capacity of about 22,600. Burnley FC sells a variety of team merchandise through its official Web site store.

The Houstonian Lite has its work cut out for it. The health club has studied other clubs nationwide and seeks to provide services that other health clubs miss out on, including the convenient location of gyms with available on-site parking, a fanatical emphasis on cleanliness, and multiple, personalized fitness options for individual clients. The company caters to adults and (according to its literature) "well mannered teenagers." Houstonian Lite has two facilities in downtown Houston. It is owned and operated by The Redstone Companies.

There are 130 Marie Callender's restaurants and 1 East Side Mario's restaurant in the United States and Mexico with more on the way. Marie's commitment to freshly prepared foods using only the highest-quality ingredients still endures. Marie Callender's serves up a wide variety of classic American foods updated with today's flavors, including our signature Famous Pot Pies, Freshly Roasted Turkey Dinner, St. Louis Bourbon BBQ Ribs and Gorgonzola, Pecan and Field Greens Salad. Each restaurant also features a Salad Bar, freshly prepared home-style soups and signature cornbread, baked fresh and served hot from the oven. Most locations offer a fabulous all-you-care-to-enjoy Sunday Brunch Buffet as well. Come relax with a glass of wine or beer, then top off your dinner with a cup of Marie's Special House Blend Coffee. And remember—we started our business with legendary pies. So be sure to leave room for pie—you can choose from over 30 handmade varieties.

Too busy to go out to pig out? Steak-Out Franchising will bring the burgers, shrimp, steaks, and more, to your door. The company operates a chain of more than 25 franchised Steak-Out restaurants that provide home meal delivery in Alabama, South Carolina, and about 10 other southern and Midwestern states. The cookeries offer a menu of lunch and dinner entrees including steak and seafood, along with a variety of appetizers and side dishes. Some locations offer online ordering. David Martin started the chain in 1986; president Don Harkleroad acquired the company in 1995.

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