Last Sunday, I wrote a post suggesting we say no to nostalgia, and...here I am being nostalgic.
Do you remember restaurant chains that have gone under? I thought about that after reading an article predicting the possible demise in 2020 of various restaurant chains: Steak and Shake, Ruby Tuesday's, Friendly's, and others.
It's curious. Chains that have come and gone in the 30 some odd years I've lived in the Binghamton, New York area (some of which are still alive and well) include:
Ground Round, Pizzeria Uno (Uno Pizzeria and Grill), Hooters (yes, even a Hooters couldn't make it here), Fuddruckers, and more.
Which led me to another thought: how many restaurant chains I knew from my childhood and early adulthood no longer exist?
Many. Let's name a few.
Horn and Hardart. Remember the Automats? I do, from my New York City childhood.
Howard Johnson's. There was one in the Bronx (near to where I grew up). My aunt would take me there and it was such a treat.
Steak and Brew, which became Beefsteak Charlie's. My spouse and I had many dates at Steak and Brew.
Or Lums, which I remember from living in Florida for a brief time in the 1970's.
Chi-Chi's Spouse and I frequented in Wichita, Kansas in the late 1970's.
Steak and Ale.
Charlie Browns, a chain my mother in law loved.
It's quite a list.
Do you have any favorites to add?
Day 19 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
7 comments:
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I remember HoJo’s. And Beefsteak Charlie’s. Both were in the Theater District, and my friends and I would eat there whenever we’d go to the theater.
ReplyDeleteI miss a lot of chains that no longer exist on Long Island now, like Charlie Brown’s.
Pizzeria Uno came out of Chicago. The original restaurant is still there. It was so popular on weekends that they ended up opening a second down the street, called Pizzeria Due. I've seen the franchise places; are you sure they've gone under?
ReplyDeleteI think another of the restaurants they think might go under is Perkins (I saw a video that was basically the same thing.) In Chicago, we had Burger Chef and Henry's that were based on the McDonalds model that folded during the '70's. Ditto John's Garage, a casual dining chain built on the Ruby Tuesday/Applebee's model, complete with the old stuff hung on the walls. Ditto a chain called Sambo's, which was named for its owners (Sam and Bo) that somehow got associated with the story and didn't do well after that...
Big Boy's. Not sure if they still exist, but the one in my suburb is long gone. It is now an upscale restaurant and my son and I spent $175 for one dinner. That would have been a lot of Big Boy burgers!
ReplyDeleteWe liked beefsteak Charlie's when our children were young as they had a few "kids eat free" days, and I loved their unlimited peel and eat shrimp. I live in Colorado burbs where it is chain restaurant heaven. What I miss is the little ethnic cuisine restaurants that were numerous in Brooklyn, where I lived most of my life.
ReplyDeleteI remember Ground Round and we also had a Ponderosa when living in upstate NY. We now live in SC where we still have Friendly's, Hooters and Fuddruckers. Ah yes, the automat,the first time I visited NYC with my brownie troop (I was about 10) we were all excited to see sandwiches come out of a machine!
ReplyDeleteYou know,I read that family own businesses can survive generations but not corporation own ones!
ReplyDeleteThere was a Charlie Browns in Long Beach that my parents remember fondly. I never was in one. I think the building is still there.
ReplyDelete