The chain restaurant has been with us for quite a while -- longer than you might think.

Since the '50s, maybe? Or the '30s? Try the '70s -- and that would be the 1870s, when the first of Fred Harvey's Harvey House restaurants opened in Topeka, Kan. Eventually, there would be nearly 100 Harvey Houses, spaced along the train lines of the West, where the wholesome image of their food and Harvey Girl waitresses moved Will Rogers to quip that Harvey "kept the West in food and wives."

Howard Johnson's was the next big chain revolution, with its outposts taking their places along American highways during the '40s. Then along came McDonald's to start the fast-food craze. The fern bar -- also known as the "casual dinner house" -- followed.

That brings us up to today, when we have upscale chains where dinner might cost as much as it would in a high-end independent restaurant, which some of today's upscale chains rival for service and food quality. And during the past few years, many of them have begun popping up on the Las Vegas restaurant scene.

So what gives?

Van Heffner, president and chief operating officer of the Nevada Restaurant Association and the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association, said chains tend to target an area when the base population reaches 1 million.

The relative wealth of an area also can be a factor. When making the decision to enter a market, "you want to have a density of as much affluence as you can," said Mark Running, vice president of operations for Roy's Restaurants, which are under the Outback Steakhouse umbrella. Roy's has opened two restaurants in Las Vegas in the past 14 months, at 8701 W. Charleston Blvd. and 620 E. Flamingo Road. There are two because they're two completely separate trade areas, Running said.

The West Charleston Boulevard location stands cheek-by-jowl with Fleming's Steakhouse, another Outback product.

"We're a complement to each other," Running said. "We're predominantly seafood, and obviously they're a steakhouse. I think there's some synergy. We probably have six or eight other sites around the country like that."

Actually, Fleming's is more typical of the upscale chains, which lean heavily to steakhouses. Heffner runs down the list:

"Smith and Wollensky -- they offer the volume and everything else of a great steak and seafood house. The Palm to me is one of the finest ones. Ruth's Chris is a classic institution; it loses its corporate appeal and really transcends into one of the finest steakhouse restaurants in the nation. I see the Morton's and some of the other classic steakhouses as offering really a great, solid meal, and a good selection of wines to pair with the fare."

With other high-end restaurants, Heffner said, the lines blur between chain and nonchain.

"We also have Commander's Palace," he said. "I guess you don't call them a chain, yet they are a chain, because they have restaurants in Texas, New Orleans and Las Vegas. Or are they a family-owned, fine-dining local independent? There are a lot of very established independent restaurants that have relocated an operation to Las Vegas. Le Cirque and Circo. ... Nobu is another one."

What such chains mean to the overall dining picture, Heffner said, is "it adds an element of competition and really encourages everyone to go to another level. For established restaurants, they need to freshen their products, make sure their menu is really attractive to guests -- not only the residents of the community, but the visitors alike."

And Running said he sees the upscale chain as a natural progression.

"I think you have the baby boomers aging," he said. "The baby boom generation dominated the casual-themed sectors of the '70s and '80s. That's an awfully big market sector.

"Their palates have grown, their taste buds have evolved. It's just a natural evolution. I don't see it stopping, frankly."The chain restaurant has been with us for quite a while -- longer than you might think.

Since the '50s, maybe? Or the '30s? Try the '70s -- and that would be the 1870s, when the first of Fred Harvey's Harvey House restaurants opened in Topeka, Kan. Eventually, there would be nearly 100 Harvey Houses, spaced along the train lines of the West, where the wholesome image of their food and Harvey Girl waitresses moved Will Rogers to quip that Harvey "kept the West in food and wives."

Howard Johnson's was the next big chain revolution, with its outposts taking their places along American highways during the '40s. Then along came McDonald's to start the fast-food craze. The fern bar -- also known as the "casual dinner house" -- followed.

That brings us up to today, when we have upscale chains where dinner might cost as much as it would in a high-end independent restaurant, which some of today's upscale chains rival for service and food quality. And during the past few years, many of them have begun popping up on the Las Vegas restaurant scene.

So what gives?

Van Heffner, president and chief operating officer of the Nevada Restaurant Association and the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association, said chains tend to target an area when the base population reaches 1 million.

The relative wealth of an area also can be a factor. When making the decision to enter a market, "you want to have a density of as much affluence as you can," said Mark Running, vice president of operations for Roy's Restaurants, which are under the Outback Steakhouse umbrella. Roy's has opened two restaurants in Las Vegas in the past 14 months, at 8701 W. Charleston Blvd. and 620 E. Flamingo Road. There are two because they're two completely separate trade areas, Running said.

The West Charleston Boulevard location stands cheek-by-jowl with Fleming's Steakhouse, another Outback product.

"We're a complement to each other," Running said. "We're predominantly seafood, and obviously they're a steakhouse. I think there's some synergy. We probably have six or eight other sites around the country like that."

Actually, Fleming's is more typical of the upscale chains, which lean heavily to steakhouses. Heffner runs down the list:

"Smith and Wollensky -- they offer the volume and everything else of a great steak and seafood house. The Palm to me is one of the finest ones. Ruth's Chris is a classic institution; it loses its corporate appeal and really transcends into one of the finest steakhouse restaurants in the nation. I see the Morton's and some of the other classic steakhouses as offering really a great, solid meal, and a good selection of wines to pair with the fare."

With other high-end restaurants, Heffner said, the lines blur between chain and nonchain.

"We also have Commander's Palace," he said. "I guess you don't call them a chain, yet they are a chain, because they have restaurants in Texas, New Orleans and Las Vegas. Or are they a family-owned, fine-dining local independent? There are a lot of very established independent restaurants that have relocated an operation to Las Vegas. Le Cirque and Circo. ... Nobu is another one."

What such chains mean to the overall dining picture, Heffner said, is "it adds an element of competition and really encourages everyone to go to another level. For established restaurants, they need to freshen their products, make sure their menu is really attractive to guests -- not only the residents of the community, but the visitors alike."

And Running said he sees the upscale chain as a natural progression.

"I think you have the baby boomers aging," he said. "The baby boom generation dominated the casual-themed sectors of the '70s and '80s. That's an awfully big market sector.