Garfield's Diner (restaurant) (Johnsonverse)

Garfield's Diner is an American restaurant and family entertainment center chain based on the Garfield comic strip by Jim Davis that was founded in 2022. In addition to serving items such as pizza, lasagna, and burgers, each location features animatronics of Garfield, Jon, Odie, and other characters from the comic strip, as well as television screens displaying episodes of Garfield and Friends (both the 1988 and 2021 versions), Garfield, and the television specials of the 1980s.
The first location opened in Muncie, Indiana on February 1, 2022. Other locations have opened in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other countries.
==History==
In February 2021, Johnson Industries (which owns Garfield IP holder Paws, Inc.) announced a new chain of Garfield-themed restaurants set to launch in 2022. Several Garfield-themed restaurant chains had preceded this effort, such as a cafe that operated in Malaysia during the early 2000s, as well as GarfieldEATS, a ghost restaurant brand founded by Nathen Mazri and Pascal Haider that operated from 2018 to 2020 (it continued as a frozen food brand before the Garfield license was revoked in December 2021). Garfield creator Jim Davis endorsed this project and served as a consultant.
During development, it was decided to include a second dining wing based on U.S. Acres (another comic strip by Davis that ran from 1986 to 1989 that was adapted into a segment on Garfield and Friends).
==Entertainment==
All locations feature animatronic characters from the Garfield comic, as well as fellow Jim Davis-created strip U.S. Acres. Each character uses the same AnimeTronic technology employed by Japanese States ShowBiz Pizza Place locations, along with dialogue from the regular voice actors including Lorenzo Music and Maurice LaMarche as Garfield, Thom Huge as Jon Arbuckle and Roy, Gregg Berger as Odie and Orson, Jason Marsden as Nermal, Audrey Wasilewski as Arlene, Tom Kenny as Wade and Aloysius, Frank Welker as Booker, Sheldon, and Bo, Julie Payne as Liz Wilson and Lanolin, Tara Strong as Blue, Rob Paulsen as Cody, Maurice LaMarche as Chuck, and Tress MacNeille as Julie. The characters are housed in their respective wings in the restaurant. In the event of major malfunctions, the Garfield stage can rotate to a Rock-afire Explosion Center Stage, while the U.S. Acres stage can rotate to a Ho-kago Tea Time Stage, both playing specially-made showtapes specific to Garfield's Diner.
Restaurants also feature shops in which guests can purchase Garfield and U.S. Acres merchandise, such as DVDs, t-shirts, plushies, books, coffee mugs, toys (including Garfield plushies with suction-cup feet) and other items. There are also television monitors that run a 24/7 feed of Garfield and Friends, Garfield, and the Garfield television specials and films; each commercial break features bumpers for the restaurant from the characters and Garfield creator Jim Davis. The second level features coin-operated arcade games and additional seating.
==Food==
Food items consist of pizza (with circular, rectangular, and Garfield-shaped crusts, as well as wheat or cauliflower options), pasta items such as lasagna, spaghetti and ravioli, burgers, French fries, coffee, chicken, breadsticks, and dessert items. A breakfast menu is also featured, with waffles, pancakes (both circular and Garfield-shaped), sausage, eggs, bacon, toast, French toast, hashbrowns,
==List of locations==
# Muncie, Indiana (opened February 1, 2022)
# San Jose, California (opened February 25, 2022)
# Dallas, Texas (opened March 10, 2022)
# Orlando, Florida (opened April 5, 2022)
# New York City, New York (opened June 1, 2022)
# Tokyo, Kanto (opened September 19, 2022)
== See Also ==
* Garfield's Diner (Johnsonverse)/Gallery
* List of Garfield's Diner showtapes (Johnsonverse)
Category:Johnsonverse