What's Your Favorite Chain Restaurant That is No Longer Around?
I saw an article on MSN about 8 favorite chain restaurants that have gone the way of the dodo .
It brought Carrol's Hamburger joint to mine. Mom used totake us there when we were kids.....feed all of us for around a buck.......
So, pick one, what is your favorite chain that's gone now? Pictures and history welcome.
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No 'lists of' or 'I don't ever go to a chain' or 'well, it wasn't a chain but....'. Pick one and tell us.
The linked article had a bunch of interesting ones, some forgotten (Lums), some not (Chi-Chis).
Does anyone know if Jack-in-the-Box still exists? We had some in the Northeast, but there was a thing in the 70s where several people died after eatign their burgers and they kind of winked out of the Northeast. I thought I had heard there were some out west.
The only Jack-in-the-Crack I ever saw was in Lubbock, TX
I don't know if I ever ate there.
We have them in Arizona I know because they advertise like crazy here. There is one a mile form my home in phoenix even.
The last one I saw was in St. Francisville, LA back in 1991
Correction: St.Martinville, LA.
Yeah, they're a west coast thing. Last time I was in L.A they were all over.
Didn't they take a pretty big hit over an E. coli outbreak a while back? I imagine that was tough to recover from.
Actually it does.
There's one in Colorado Springs that I like.
It was but, they not only recovered but, have started to flourish.
Yep there is one here in Phoenix a mile form my home as well.
There are lots of JITB's here in CA. One of my first jobs in college was at a JITB in Ventura. Back then you spoke to the clown head to order and the fanciest item we sold was the Breakfast Jack.
In the late 70s if memory serves.
I was thinking of the one in the early 90s. I had to look it up, because it seemed more recent than that, in my memory.
I don't recall that one, but they had moved out of the Northeast by then. In the 70s, several people died from their burgers....
I think a few did in the 90s, too. It was a particularly nasty strain. I'm too young to remember the 70s outbreak.
I was in Junior or Senior high....this was way back when out of the rodinary deaths were big news, as opposed to the 24/7 news cycle we live with now......today, out of the ordinary deaths are just more grist for the mill.
It was a strain of E coli that caused kidney failure. Lots of little kids died
I remember that - not just the nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that you'd get from most strains, but it killed kidney function, and quickly.
I used to love Chi Chis. Many moons ago when I was in college a friend and I went almost every Tuesday for half price Margarita night. The food was ok too.
When I lived in South Carolina there was a burger place called Fudruckers that had a good burger. Not sure if they are still around or not.
Lved Fudrucker's when I was stationed in D.C., we used to do going away luncheons there......for a while, believe it or not, they were in Service Areas on the N.Y. State Thruway. Wasn't a good fit, they didn't last long.
You must be from upstate NY. Carroll's Corp. still exists but they sold out to Burger King in the 70's. They are HQ'd in my home town of Syracuse.
Now they own 800 BK franchises. Don't know if they still have the theaters anymore...
Yeah, I grew up in Hyde Park, just north of Poughkeepsie-Caroll's was near the Big Shop-Rite mom used to like to go to. Funny, as a kid I always wondered who was the 'Caroll' woman the place was named after.......
I went to school there. American Culinary Institute.
LOL, Culinary Institute of America. My best friend, as a teenager, his dad was the CFO of the Culinary and my buddy went there after high school. I remember before it was the CIA, it was St. Peters Monastery, we could see it from the Hudson River during Crew practice......what years did you attend? My parents used to love to go to the Escoffiet Room.
'79-81 and boy has culinary changed since then!
That was the timeframe my buddy was there and his dad still worked there until passing from a heart attack....
Gino's, after Gino Marchetti, one of the original East Coast Burger Franchises.
We had dealership "next door" (across a five lane highway) and our plumbing always froze in the winter in those days,
so across the icy, slushy highway we would go several times a day to Gino's to use their bathroom and get bags of french fries, lol
I used to see Gino's all the time in Eastern PA. The last one I ate at was in Harrisburg.
We are talking burgers and fries Gino's right?
Yeah, weren't they all red and white striped?
I can't remember, but for some damned reason, Colonel Sanders keeps popping into my head everytime I think of Gino's.
We used to have Gino's here in Baltimore and I loved them! They had burgers and fried chicken. Maybe that's why you're thinking of the Colonel
That's probably why!
Did the sign have a picture of a guy on it?
I was looking for the sign and I found this
I knew I wasn't crazy!!!!
Thanks, Tessy!
Also I remember the sign you're talking about too but cannot seem to find it now.
I'm pretty sure that Gino sold out to KFC and that's when they appropriated the red&white stripes.
Great find with the Gino's/Colonel pix !
But KFC didn't keep the burgers and fries.
I haven't seen an A & W in a while. The last one I saw was when I was driving thru West Virginia. I don't normally drink pop but I had to have a root beer in a frosty mug
There are still some around....I remember way back when I was a kid, we were on a family vacation out west in the station wagon and we stopped at an A&W.....I didn't even like Root Beer soda....but that frosty mug was sooo good....mmmmm.
When stationed on Okinawa, we used to go to the A&W there and the food and root beer was just as good!
The last A&W I saw in Arkansas was in Jonesboro and it closed a long time ago
Traveled from coast to coast twice and ate at e very Denny's imaginable and no matter what state or what day it was, pea soup was always the soup of the day
If I'm ever up that way, I will stop and get me a frosty mug and maybe a hot dog
As a kid we went to A+W often, that's where I first developed my love for chilly ionion dogs. Of course we always washed em down with a nice big frosty mug of good old A+W root beer. lol
and they still have these.
The last A&W I saw in Arkansas was in Jonesboro and it closed a long time ago.
The one in Fort Smith Arkansas closed at least 20 years ago. I recently read A&W is going start franchising again.
I hope so. I need a place that serves chili dogs
Lexington, Ky has 3 A&Ws
Don't forget the Onion Rings!
Onion rings and chili dogs will make my doctor have a heart attack lol
Could make you have one also! LOL.....might just stick with the dogs....
LOL! I got some not very good news concerning my cholesterol and glucose levels at the doctor's the other day....but we all have to go sometime so bring on the onion rings and the chili dogs!
Yeah mine was not thrilled with my A1C numbers....need to exercise more, chow less.
They can't have my butter until they can pry it from my cold, greasy fingers. LOL!
And I mean real butter made from real cow's milk. That plant based oleo is worse for people.
More exercise for me.........counter-balancing is an art form....
Since I have a hard time doing any kind of aerobic activity right now, I think I'm gonna break the weights out. That can't hurt. And it's so freaking hard to eat right especially when your spouse plans on inaugurating his new smoker this weekend.
I don't know about the US but if you're travelling up in Canada A&W is still pretty much everywhere here.
I'm travelling to Toronto, then Halifax in June, I'll have to keep my eyes peeled....
I think A&W still exists in Canada. About 6 decades ago I used to drive to an A&W Drive-In with car hops that was on the Highway between Hamilton and Burlington Ontario. I, too, used to think the Root Beer served in the frosted mugs (they kept them in a big freezer to do that) was really refreshing.
There was an A&W with curb service in Parkersburg, WV. That's where we'd drive when I was a kid to shop for school clothes and so forth, because there were only a few mom-and-pop stores in my town. Then we'd stop for an A&W on the way home.
My parents still have some of the mugs, from when a reallllyyyyy slow waitress didn't come back to get them, or our $. Dad kept trying and trying to flag her down, but she just ignored him.
There is an A&W in Pueblo, Colorado, it's been there for decades, still serving burgers, floats and, fries.
hmmm....I might have to drive out there sometime. Been a long time since I've seen an A&W, and it's not that long a drive for me at all.
One thing I did learn about A&W that I never knew was that they use to make their own root beer on property, a friend of mine that worked at the Pueblo store back in the day said that was his job when he worked there. Now, when I say back in the day, I really mean BACK IN THE DAY, he worked there before he joined the Air Force, Police department and, then retired from both.
Interesting. I've been to a few places that made their own root beer and it was always pretty awesome. When I worked for Epic Brewing years ago, we also used to play around with root beer and ginger ale if we had a barrel open and nothing planned for them (which was rare, but still happened periodically).
What's amazing to me is, he still remembers the recipe for it.
@ Sandy
LOL. I wonder if the waitress ended up paying your bill and for the mugs.
Probably and, she probably lost her job over it.
I hope not, but when the same car finished their root beers quite a while ago and put the empty mugs on the tray, and has flagged you over again and again, well, pay attention.
There was a place in San Antonio some of use would go to when we were TDY at Brooks. They had great burgers and home made root beer that was served in frosty mugs. This is off-topic since this place was not a chain, but you were talking about home made root beer and made me think of that place.
Believe it or not,t he best place around to find A&W Root Beer, Creme Soda, Birch beer and the like? The local Ace Hardware stocks the larger brownplastic bottles........
I haven't had a birch beer in forever.....
Five Guys burgers used to have it, but not anymore, and the Five Guys here closed, anyway.
They're still open here, but I'm not crazy about them
There are some around, just not in my town. I used to like them, but last time I stopped there, I was pretty disappointed. My burger patty fell apart so badly that I ended up eating it with a fork. What I didn't end up wearing, anyway. And it was soggy.
The one time I went to one, my burger was really greasy and the fries were soggy. I think they're trying to model their business after David's Burgers (or maybe it's the other way around), but David's gets it right no matter what location I go to.
I've never heard of David's.
The one in our town was pretty good when it was here, and I could live on those fries, high cholesterol be damned. We used to eat there reasonably often. But the building owners raised the rent (they've run out several businesses that way), so it closed. I had to run errands in another town, and stopped at the Five Guys there, and won't go back.
David's might be a local chain. I got heart palpitations when they put one only 2 miles from my house. Fortunately, I have resisted the temptation and have only been there 3 or 4 times since they opened 18 months ago
I was stationed at FT Sam many times. What was the name of the place you went? I probably ate there.
Lots of $$$ for a regular ole burger.
You would ask that question,
.
I honestly cannot remember since it was over 20 years ago.
My favorite Sunday thing to do in San Antonio was to search out the highway truck stops. Those little places always had the best breakfasts and the portions were huge.
There is an A&W a few miles away. They make the best rootbeer floats.
There was a Backyard Burgers by the local college but they closed when Rite-Aid bought the land in about 2000.
Of all the fast food joints, Backyard is by far the best. They had closed them here, but then one of them opened back up not too far from where I work. The only thing is tho, they don't have the honey mustard chicken sandwich any more.
I actually think Whataburger is probably the king of normal fast food. For non traditional, Taco Cabana was probably my favorite, although the drive through is kind of a lie since it takes about ten minutes or so for them to fill each order.
I love that scene!
I do to, everytime I go through a drive thru now, that scene plays in my mind.
No one says FUCK better than Joe Pesci.
Grabbed mine, there was an A&W in Danielson, CT about twenty years ago, don't know if it is still operated independently, guess I'll have to take a ride and see.
A lot of these chains are regional, and probably don't mean anything to people in other parts of the country.
Is that you in your avatar?
Let's knock off the Trumpmentia. Not what this article is about.
The time to worry is when you get a prostrate exam and both of the doctor's hands are in sight.
How's it go? Okay Doc, where do I put my pants....Doc says 'Over there with mine'.
Thanks for your off-topic opinion.
I haven't seen a Perkins Pancake house in years
There's one near where I live. Best breakfast food I've had.
Now they're called Perkin's Steak and Cake.
They've closed down all the ones in Arkansas.
Went to a Perkins while I was on the ACC IG Team, in Northern Wisconsin (we were doing a Phase II ORI) and the hotel built one attached to it. The food was unimpressive......never been to another.
We used to go to the one in Indiana, PA after drinking all night. We didn't have an IHOP and the Valley Dairy was always busy
The ones here are still just called Perkins.
Dog n Suds !
I don't think they are east of the Mississippi anymore. Haven't seen one in ages.
Best Home Made Root beer and chilidogs in the world. And being able to eat in the car..... on purpose..... when you were a kid.....OMG !
I miss Sambo's
Don't know if they were ever more than regional but I haven't seen a Keg Steakhouse restaurant in seemingly forever
World Burger's were prevalent in Arkansas until early 90's. Personally, I thought they sucked, the burgers were loaded with grizzle.
Mmmmmm grizzle
Burger Chef.
I remember those. The last one closed in the early 1980s and became a Hardees.
The one in our town was taken over by a regional chain named Pleaser's. Very greasy. Now it's a Wendy's.
Burger Chef and Jeff, you left poor Jeff out
I don't really remember the ads. I remember that they toasted the hamburger buns, which nobody does anymore.
Bob's Big Boy.
Yep....my favorite above all others.
Lol my first real part time job as a teenager was a cook at a Big Boy restaurant. Hated it, ya went home all greasy and smelly every day, although on the plus side I did lose 25lbs while working there.
The whole time I was a chef I weighed 175 lbs.
After cooking for 10-12 hours a day 6 days a week, food was the last thing on my mind. Retired from the business and realized how good a cook I was.....I long for the days @ 175 lbs.
I took over the kitchen operations at a Bobby Rubino's place for ribs, the first three weeks they shoved ribs and chicken at us every chance they could.
I said one day, "you're going to lose a ton of money doing this", they told me it was quite the opposite. Sure enough everyone was so sick of ribs and chicken nobody ever pilfered food out the back door.
Exactly same here couldn't even stand the though of eating at the end of the day, dropped from 185 to 159 while there (frikken beanpole before I finally quit)
Weren't they Sambo's before they decided their name was too racist?
No, Bob's Big Boy was around at the same time and BTW Sambo's was kinda racist.
That was a restaurant chain I meant to mention though never a favorite of mine...
Found this on Wiki:
Sambo's is a restaurant, formerly an American restaurant chain, started in 1957 by Sam Battistone, Sr., and Newell Bo hnett. Though the name was taken from portions of the names of its founders, the chain soon found itself associated with The Story of Little Black Sambo . Battistone, Sr., and Bohnett capitalized on the connection by decorating the walls of the restaurants with scenes from the book, including a dark-skinned boy, tigers, and a pale, magical unicycle-riding man called "The Treefriend". By the early 1960s, the illustrations depicted a light-skinned boy wearing a jeweled Indian-style turban with the tigers. A kids club, Sambo's Tiger Tamers (later called the Tiger Club), promoted the chain's family image.
By 1979, Sambo's had 1,117 outlets in 47 American states. In the late 1970s, controversy over the chain's name drew protests and lawsuits in communities that viewed the term Sambo as pejorative towards African-Americans. Several of the restaurants were opened as or renamed "The Jolly Tiger" in locations where the local community passed resolutions forbidding the use of the original name or refused to grant the chain permits.
There were other corporate level decisions being made at the time that also led to Sambo's corporate demise. There was pressure to take Sambo's into a more normal salaried manager compensation package. Their unique "Fraction of the Action" promotion – whereby managers were entitled to 20% of the profits from their stores, with employees allowed to bid for a percentage of the remaining profits – was an early company expansion plan and the growth of the company outpaced its control. In March 1981, in a further attempt to give the chain a new image the company again renamed some locations, this time to "No Place Like Sam's". By November 1981, the company filed for bankruptcy. Neither the name change nor bankruptcy protection reversed this downward trend, and by 1982 all but the original Sambo's at 216 West Cabrillo Boulevard in Santa Barbara, California, closed their doors. By February 1983, 618 of the locations were renamed Season's Friendly Eating. [8] Several locations were sold to Denny's, including the Fort Lauderdale store. Bakers Square's parent company acquired Sambo's in California in October 1984. Many Sambo's locations were converted to Bakers Square restaurants and the ones that weren't were sold to other chains, including Denny's.
Sam Battistone, Jr. is also the original owner of the New Orleans Jazz in the NBA. He later moved the team to Utah and sold it. Battistone's grandson, restaurateur Chad Stevens, owns the only remaining Sambo's.
The chain's notoriety is parodied in F is for Family as "Sam's Starving Boy", with its decor resembling many of the 1970s locations, and its mascot being a cartoon slave.
----
I recall when I first got to Virginia (in Jan. 1983) hearing talk of Sambo's and their problems (self-induced, it seems). From a New York Kid, it seemed a pretty racist name-something we were really exposed to as kids.
The parents would occasionally treat my brothers and I to pancakes at a Sambo's located in Oak Cliff back in the day.
Food was good but I manly remember being impressed by the decor of the place. Might even be one of the first theme restaurants in my childhood.
Most of the Sambo's changed to Denny's
Warning! Olde Joke. What does La Quinta mean? Next to Denny's...
Good one!
Sarah Connor!
An obese friend weighing about 400 pounds and I went to Bob's Big Boy on a Sunday morning because they had an " all you eat for $ 4.99" breakfast. After several trips to the breakfast bar, the manager came to our table telling my friend he was cut off from the food. My friend said " You advertise it's an all you can eat breakfast, I'm not done eating" The manager said " Buddy, you've had all you're going be allowed to eat here" LOL
I used to love the burgers at Steak and Shake but we dont have them where I live now,
Steak and Shake seem to be a midwest thing. I wish it was closer than 20 minutes away.
I love the mushroom and swiss burger.
Steak'n Shake
Dear Friend Spikegary: I do not know if they are closed.
The one here is.
Swiss Chalet.
Great broiled chicken with a savory sauce. Baked potato, salad and beverage.
Another I am not sure still exists.
Lums.
They steamed hot dogs in beer.
Made them more tender.
Enoch.
Swiss Chalet is a big Canadian Thing. A few years back, there was one in Amherst, N.Y. I checked here and there seems to be a lot just across the ditch:
LOL. There are more than 30 Swiss Chalet restaurants in Toronto, and that doesn't include the suburbs. Their broiled chicken dinners were amazing - and over the years I ate an awful lot of them.
Rax.
I don't know if they're still around anywhere else but I miss Rally's Burger joints. Their burgers were probably the closest to tasting homemade that I've ever gotten from a chain.
They're all over the place
They're everywhere here, too
Haven't seen one in 40 years but as a kid " Wyatt's Cafeteria " was the pinnacle of our Sunday's.
Church board the crap out of me but AFTER church the family got to go to Wyatt's.
Yum!
The advertisements are from the 60's, notice the Fish Fridays? Who knew religion ran so deep in Texas during the 50's & 60's? ( smirk )
.
Godfathers Pizza and, The Untouchables.
This is a dying breed in the west but, their burgers are so large it takes two people to eat them.
I thought Which-wich or whatever it was called was decent. Fuddruckers also seems like a dying chain that I liked.
Anybody remember Pup & Taco?
Arthur Treacher's Fish N' Chips
During the 70's they had 800 locations, now they're down to 7, 4 in Ohio and 3 on Long Island.
I loved Arthur Treachers, they had one in Sarasota, FL at the mall there. Anyone remember who Arthur Treacher was?
I loved them-not much of a seafood eater, but the chicken and chips....some of the best breading (like a tempura batter) ever.....
Just the opposite for me
Every Friday...fried Haddock. Mmmmmmm Even now I eat a bunch of seafood. Just ate mussells and Shrimp over Pasta last night.
I have Haddock flown in about 4 times a year, it's so friggin' expensive down here in Fl. Usually $12-13 a lb. I paid as much as $18/lb. and decided that was enough. I started getting it flown in and although the freight brought the cost back up I knew I was getting fresh skin on Haddock.
Shrimp is cheap as hell here, especially in places like Tampa where the Shrimp boats are. You can get huge shrimp at the docks for $5/lb.
I miss the fresh halibut and flounder we used to get in Alaska. I love fried fish but the only fried fish you can get around here is catfish and I hate that stuff!
I dislike catfish with a passion.
Have you seen the price of Halibut??? Holy shit! If I'm going to pay $24/lb. for anything it's going to be the primest part of a tenderloin, and even then it better have been massaged 24/7 by some Swedish therapist.
I don't buy catfish I catch them in the Arkansas River. Southern Fried catfish along with buttermilk hush puppies, buttermilk coleslaw and a tall glass of iced sun tea is delicious.
I haven't seen it since I got back to the Lower 48, but I imagine it's pretty dear.
It was fairly cheap in Alaska. All the best places used halibut for their fish and chips
Doesn't it taste like mud?
We used catfish for bait where I come from. We sure as hell didn't eat it
The ones in Ohio are so dirty that you don't want to go there. Every surface is greasy from the fry oil.
We had to eat fish on Friday growing up and my dad liked them. I went to one in Akron out of nostalgia about 10 years ago and got sick.
Oh you good little Catholics!
Us too. Every Friday was fish of some sort. My mother turned me on to some pretty good fish my favorites were/are Perch, and Haddock.
In return, when I had become a professional I turned her on to other dishes we considered exotic. Poached Chilean Sea Bass was her confirmation that I had "arrived". She was an amazing old school cook, for me that was graduation day.
My go-to fish tend to be cod, haddock, perch, farmed catfish or hake. Swordfish is overharvested and I don't like the way tilapia are raised.
Fish is one of the foods that I am still learning to prepare properly. If I want to splurge I get mussels and steam them with wine, garlic and shallots.
If you are using a fish monger or fish house for your seafood, ask them for some carcasses. Take them home and boil them with shallots, celery tops, green onion tops, etc. and let that cook down. Drain and discard the carcass and veggies.
Saute' fish, or shrimp, or mussels in shallots and white wine then add the stock and cover to poach.....amazing flavor! Serve with Rice pilaf...your family will throw you a party.
I get my fish at a local grocery store that is the equivalent of Whole Foods. It's about the best that I can do for fresh fish in the Midwest.
Your poaching liquid sounds like a court bouillon.
Akron, huh? I'll actually be in Hartville this weekend. I go there quite often. My Lady friend works in Canton. I enjoy the Hartville Hardware Store (if you've never been there, it is Home Depot (with class and style) and the Restaurant next door! It's literally 5 minutes from her house.
Are you going to the flea market? I had a Dr. in Hartville until I got tired of his antics.
I've been there, but I think the lady has plans for me and my truck......landscaping plans......LOL. It is a cool flea market, both inside and out.
Around here were the Hot Shoppes Jr by Marriott. Home of the Mighty Mo, a fancy hamburger.
It was different than usual fast food places. You sat down and ordered. They had a pretty good Reuben, but you had to tell them to be easy on the Russian dressing.
Good place to take your girl on a limited budget and on weekends there were often nice hot rods showing up for a cruise in.
I think some regular restaurants or cafeterias sill exist.
If I remember my Marriott history correctly, Hot Shoppes was where JW Marriott got his start during the Great Depression.
Here's one of the early regular Hot Shoppes Restaurants in Alexandria, Va.
And here is a Hot Shoppes Jr that looks very similar to the one I knew in Wheaton, Md at the time. The Jrs were closer to fast food rather than complete meals.
Of note, some members of the Marriott family had interests in resto and resto mod 50s and 60s era cars. I have always wondered which came first, the cruise ins or their interest in the hot rodded cars of the era.
Shoneys, They had great strawberry pie
I missed out on Shoney's. Don't recall any localy and when traveling it never was time to eat when driving past one.
There's still one in Ripley, WV, near my parents' home, but I don't hear good things about it. Surprised it's able to stay open, actually.
How did I miss this?
When I saw Carrol's up there, I had such a wonderful childhood memory of the night we got my favorite childhood cat.. he was only 8 weeks old and my mom said we could keep him only if he didn't make in the house... then she tried to sabotage the whole deal by taking us to Carrol's for the world's longest fast meal in the hope that the kitten would pee in the kitchen... we had him for 13 years.. so we know how that worked out, LOL..
Of course there was Weston's.. Yum... back in the day we didn't care about the sludge running through our veins.
Yeah Carrolls was my first introduction to fast food......when it was literally fast and was cheap, too!
Anyone know if the chain El Pollo Asado still does business in AZ?
Their quartered mesquite wood grilled chicken dinner was amazing.
E.
Are you going to the flea market? I had a Dr. in Hartville until I got tired of his antics. Canton is a dying city.
Outside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, niot sure what else goes on there.....I did go see the Stan Hewitt (sp?) Mansion and property. That was a very cool place. The things that were part of that house were amazing, especially in the age they were built.
One dead mall and one dying mall. Many of the former blue collar jobs are gone. Stark County is in the midst of a heroin/fentanyl epidemic, like much of NE Ohio.
Stan Hwytt is in west Akron on the edge of the national park
I'm glad my Lady Friedn's kids are not into that kind of stuff, thank God. We generally go out for dinner once or twice while I'm there, but mostly stay at the house and do stuff.....this weekend is landscaping....she just wants me....for my truck.....
LOL!
I finally got that camper that Mr Giggles bought a truck for
Very nice, though I still think you need the motor home/ship.....
LOL! I think I will post a photo of it...if I can figure it out that is