Why just eat at Joe's when you can have fun there, too? Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor operates a chain of more than 60 franchised restaurants offering a family-friendly atmosphere along with a menu of pizza, pasta, soups, and sandwiches. The eateries are especially popular for their extensive selection of dessert items, including sundaes, malts, and shakes. Many locations also offer arcade games and activity centers. The chain operates in several Midwestern states, including Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Founder and CEO Joe Whitty got his start in the restaurant business as a manager and operator for the Shakey's pizza chain. He opened the first Happy Joe's in 1972.

Boyne USA appreciates people who were born to ski. The company, which operates as Boyne Resorts, operates a dozen ski resorts, including Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain in Michigan, Big Sky Resort in Montana, and Sugarloaf in Maine. The resorts offer accommodations, hospitality services, and other amenities in addition to skiing; during warmer months most of the properties also offer golf, tennis courts, hiking trails, and other outdoor activities. In addition to ski resorts, Boyne owns some golf resorts, including the Inn at Bay Harbor in Michigan. The family-owned company was founded in 1947 by skier Everett Kircher.

Snowdance owns and operates Ascutney Mountain Resort, a ski facility and resort near Brownsville, Vermont. Ascutney offers skiers more than 55 trails and half a dozen lifts, as well as tree skiing areas, a learning area, and terrain park with jumps and other thrills. For accommodations and amenities, the resort features a hotel and condominiums, fitness center and spa facility, and restaurants. Summertime activities at the resort include mountain biking, tennis, hang gliding, and miniature golf. The area first became a ski resort in 1938. Steve and Susan Plausteiner have owned Ascutney since 1993.

Wolfgang Puck Catering, part of the celebrity chef's culinary empire, provides catering services and event planning and coordination, in more than a dozen major US markets. It also has foodservice operations at several well-known destinations and cultural centers, such as the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In addition, Wolfgang Puck Catering operates at selected sports stadiums and entertainment venues through a partnership with Levy Restaurants, a unit of UK-based foodservice giant Compass Group. Wolfgang Puck established the catering unit in 1998 and owns 10%, while Compass Group controls the remaining 90% stake in the venture.

You might say this company keeps the nightlife lively in the Northwest. McMenamins is a diversified leisure company that operates a portfolio of more than 50 pubs, bars, microbreweries, and restaurants in Oregon and Washington under such names as Blue Moon Tavern & Grill, High Street Brewery & Cafe, and Market Street Pub, as well as a number of locations under the McMenamins brand name. It also operates eight historic hotels, eight movie theaters, and several live music venues. Brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin started their pub and hotel empire with some college friends (who've since moved on) in 1974.

You might say that seafood is the bait this company uses to lure customers to its restaurants. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants owns and operates about 90 upscale casual-dining spots that offer fish and other seafood dishes from its approximately 80-dish menu. Located in more than two dozen states, the restaurants operate primarily under the McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant brand, while other locations carry such names as M&S Grill, McCormick's Fish House & Bar, and Jake's Grill. Each restaurant offers a full-service bar and regionally distinct menu items. McCormick & Schmick's also owns about a half dozen Boathouse restaurants in Canada.

These birds keep Atlanta flapping about the gridiron all year round. The Atlanta Falcons Football Club is a professional football franchise that joined the National Football League in 1966. First awarded to businessman Rankin Smith, the team has made the playoffs just nine different seasons and counts only one conference championship in 1998. (Atlanta lost that year to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.) The Georgia Dome has played host to Falcons games since 2002, the same year Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank acquired the franchise from Smith's family.

Looking for red meat in the Carolinas? Claremont Restaurant Group (CSG) has just the place. The company operates about 25 casual dining restaurants under the Sagebrush Steakhouse banner in four states, mostly in North Carolina. The restaurants serve steak, seafood, and chicken entrees along with the usual assortment of starters and side dishes. Other CSG brands include Prime Sirloin Family Steakhouse, a buffet concept with locations in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; and Western Steer Family Steakhouse. Industry veteran and CEO Jim Peterson owns the company. CSG entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2010.

Typhoon! operates a chain of more than half a dozen upscale Thai and pan-Asian restaurants in the Portland, Oregon, and Seattle areas. The dining spots specialize in classic Thai cuisine presented in a contemporary setting, as well as more cutting-edge dishes. The chain is also popular for its extensive tea menu. President and executive chef Bo Lohasawat Kline, a native of Bangkok, and her husband, Stephen Kline, started the company in 1995.

Atlanta Spirit owns and operates two of the city's professional sports franchises, the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. The Hawks were formed in 1946, joined the National Basketball Association in 1949, and moved to Atlanta from St. Louis in 1968. The Thrashers joined the National Hockey League as an expansion franchise in 1999. Atlanta Spirit also operates Philips Arena, which serves as home for both teams. The sports investment partnership includes entrepreneurs Steve Belkin, Bruce Levenson, and Michael Gearon Jr.

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