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Remembering Fast Food & Chains Now Closed
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joe smith
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I have always wondered why people in Central California call it Northern California??
Wouldn't Northern California be Redding, Weed, Mt Shast area??
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If you were to just break it up into north and south like some states do, it makes sense.
I always liked Shonnies when ever I was on TDY at FtKnox. Great breakfast bar.
Went HS in Vallejo, CA. Herfys was the spot to go for lunch, 25 cent cheese burgers. I forget what a bag of burgers cost.
Went HS in Vallejo, CA. Herfys was the spot to go for lunch, 25 cent cheese burgers. I forget what a bag of burgers cost.
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We had a "Shoney's" for a few years up here.
mopar 3 B
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For every chain place that closes a new family owned Mexican or Chinese place opens here. Could it all be coming down to hard work, customer care with good food and at a decent price.
Got a good friend that owns a burger place. Everyone wants top dollar to do nothing. Where did they ever get that idea.
Got a good friend that owns a burger place. Everyone wants top dollar to do nothing. Where did they ever get that idea.
guy gadbois
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To me, Wetsons was known for its sponsorship of Alfa Romeos in the 2.5 trans Am!
Dibbons
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I wonder why Jack-in-the-Box is mentioned a few times in this thread, they have 2,200 locations according to Wiki?
guy gadbois
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Ya know, not only is 1WildRT correct, but did anybody ever stop to think that no one would name their business after something/someone they "hated"?
"Sambo' was a character in a work of fiction and was well loved - sorta like Aunt Jemima [syrup] or Uncle Ben [rice]. It was a theme and resonated with kids at the time.
Next, theyll come for mcdonalds [which is ok with me] when some group of clowns [literally and figuratively] start raising a stink because they are offended...
mopar 3 B
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I get offended every time someone wants to go to eat at one of those overpriced fast-food places. Who would have ever guessed a big mac, fries and drink would cost the same as a sit-down real meal.
Speedbird
Bird of Pray
Lum's on Virginia Ave by the ATL airport.
Pitchers of beer with fried clams late at night.
Not now.
"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange"
Pitchers of beer with fried clams late at night.
Not now.
"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange"
Frank Mopar
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Used to be a place in S. Buffalo, NY called Henrys Hamburger. Is was a McDonalds type of concept.
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I remember a lot of those mentioned in the video, but which ones do I actually miss?
Little Tavern: I was a frequent customer (usually involving "out on the town" Friday/Saturday nights) of Little Tavern back in my DC area
days. Great "buzz" food, dirt cheap and fast - and usually located in the rougher parts of Washington DC/"Balmer" MD to boot.
"Buy 'em by the sackful!"
Roy Rogers: Oh man, probably my favorite at one time....Double R Bar Burgers, Pappy Parker Fried Chicken, the Fixins Bar,
best damn fast food french fries ever - the quality of the stuff there was superior to all other fast food and even some more
upscale sit-down restaurants. Roast beef was awesome, too.
Mariott killed 'em - Mariott Corporation killed a LOT of classic fast food joints in their time.
Burger Chef: The founders of this chain actually first developed the flame broiler hamburger system, the kind places like
Burger King still uses to this day (and my personal preference as far as fast food burger cooking processes goes).
As kids, we FAR preferred Burger Chef (and yes, Jeff) over McDonald's - it wasn't even close.
Hardees killed them off, sadly - although I realize Hardees was originally a southern chain, their stuff has always been inferior
in my opinion. Their Carl's connection saves them, no doubt...
But damn, those Burger Chef burgers and fries! If I were to start a burger joint today, I'd copy hell out of what they did.
Lums: Oh man, those OLLIEBURGERS! Still my favorite restaurant-specialty hamburger to this day, long after they went under;
they were probably more famous for their hot dogs steamed in beer, but the Ollieburgers... (there's a real story about the origin
of that name and that special seasoning package that went with it - Google search Ollie Gleichenhaus, it's a great tale - and
the spices to make Ollieburgers, his french fry seasonings AND Weinerwald chicken are still available today mail order!).
Anybody up for a schooner of beer?
Gino's I also remember from the late 70's in northern VA - my dad liked them and Friendly's ice cream.
All I really remember about Gino's now was their oblong-shaped beef-looking hamburger thingy sandwich; Friendly's
I remember as a high quality ice cream restaurant that also served food as well, just as high quality - but was somewhat
pricier than the others.
Sambo's - yes, I too remember all the bullshit false accusations about their name and how it criminally took them out
of business. It really was a good restaurant in my experience - like a better version of Denny's.
That whole bru-ha-ha over their name was at the start of all this "United States of the Offended" movement that has
all but taken control over the country now, to our collective great embarrassment; "PC" my ***.
Conclusion: In general, today NONE of the biggest fast food chains make anywhere as close a quality of product as in
their heydays. Every damn one of them has monkeyed with the quality of their hamburger, fries, methods of cooking and
keeping food hot - to the point where none of them are really something I look forward to, ever.
McDonald's? The hamburger meat.....sucks.
Burger King? Ditto.
Hardees? Yeah, see above.
Taco Bell? They don't even cook the meat or the beans in the locations anymore; it all comes in plastic bags from their
centrally-located wherever prep facilities. In the stores, it's strictly a reheat and slop it out there affair.
Damn shame for those of us who remember that chain before PepsiCo ("Yum Foods") bought them...
(Yum also owns Pizza Hut and KFC and have managed to strangle them, too...after damn near killing Long John Silvers
and A&W drive-ins).
So....after all that whining, which current traditional fast food joints DO I still like because they've stayed the course?
Chick-Fil-A: I remember their first restaurant in the early 70's (I grew up in Atlanta). I can honestly say their quality has remained
faithful all these decades later, thanks to the Cathy family - I've never in all my years experienced one bad visit to one!
Krystals: Gut-burgers. Sliders. Evil little things that they are, they haven't changed a bit over the years, so you know
what you're getting anyways. A southern tradition, much like White Castle is up north of here.
The sad truth of it is - I can't think of one single fast food place I look forward to having a simple hamburger in anymore.
Such a damn shame...
Little Tavern: I was a frequent customer (usually involving "out on the town" Friday/Saturday nights) of Little Tavern back in my DC area
days. Great "buzz" food, dirt cheap and fast - and usually located in the rougher parts of Washington DC/"Balmer" MD to boot.
"Buy 'em by the sackful!"
Roy Rogers: Oh man, probably my favorite at one time....Double R Bar Burgers, Pappy Parker Fried Chicken, the Fixins Bar,
best damn fast food french fries ever - the quality of the stuff there was superior to all other fast food and even some more
upscale sit-down restaurants. Roast beef was awesome, too.
Mariott killed 'em - Mariott Corporation killed a LOT of classic fast food joints in their time.
Burger Chef: The founders of this chain actually first developed the flame broiler hamburger system, the kind places like
Burger King still uses to this day (and my personal preference as far as fast food burger cooking processes goes).
As kids, we FAR preferred Burger Chef (and yes, Jeff) over McDonald's - it wasn't even close.
Hardees killed them off, sadly - although I realize Hardees was originally a southern chain, their stuff has always been inferior
in my opinion. Their Carl's connection saves them, no doubt...
But damn, those Burger Chef burgers and fries! If I were to start a burger joint today, I'd copy hell out of what they did.
Lums: Oh man, those OLLIEBURGERS! Still my favorite restaurant-specialty hamburger to this day, long after they went under;
they were probably more famous for their hot dogs steamed in beer, but the Ollieburgers... (there's a real story about the origin
of that name and that special seasoning package that went with it - Google search Ollie Gleichenhaus, it's a great tale - and
the spices to make Ollieburgers, his french fry seasonings AND Weinerwald chicken are still available today mail order!).
Anybody up for a schooner of beer?
Gino's I also remember from the late 70's in northern VA - my dad liked them and Friendly's ice cream.
All I really remember about Gino's now was their oblong-shaped beef-looking hamburger thingy sandwich; Friendly's
I remember as a high quality ice cream restaurant that also served food as well, just as high quality - but was somewhat
pricier than the others.
Sambo's - yes, I too remember all the bullshit false accusations about their name and how it criminally took them out
of business. It really was a good restaurant in my experience - like a better version of Denny's.
That whole bru-ha-ha over their name was at the start of all this "United States of the Offended" movement that has
all but taken control over the country now, to our collective great embarrassment; "PC" my ***.
Conclusion: In general, today NONE of the biggest fast food chains make anywhere as close a quality of product as in
their heydays. Every damn one of them has monkeyed with the quality of their hamburger, fries, methods of cooking and
keeping food hot - to the point where none of them are really something I look forward to, ever.
McDonald's? The hamburger meat.....sucks.
Burger King? Ditto.
Hardees? Yeah, see above.
Taco Bell? They don't even cook the meat or the beans in the locations anymore; it all comes in plastic bags from their
centrally-located wherever prep facilities. In the stores, it's strictly a reheat and slop it out there affair.
Damn shame for those of us who remember that chain before PepsiCo ("Yum Foods") bought them...
(Yum also owns Pizza Hut and KFC and have managed to strangle them, too...after damn near killing Long John Silvers
and A&W drive-ins).
So....after all that whining, which current traditional fast food joints DO I still like because they've stayed the course?
Chick-Fil-A: I remember their first restaurant in the early 70's (I grew up in Atlanta). I can honestly say their quality has remained
faithful all these decades later, thanks to the Cathy family - I've never in all my years experienced one bad visit to one!
Krystals: Gut-burgers. Sliders. Evil little things that they are, they haven't changed a bit over the years, so you know
what you're getting anyways. A southern tradition, much like White Castle is up north of here.
The sad truth of it is - I can't think of one single fast food place I look forward to having a simple hamburger in anymore.
Such a damn shame...
guy gadbois
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Of course, we have no fast food chains in Sealand, but the ones I miss from my time in the Flyover Zone of the US are certainly Mr Swiss, Shakeys - tho it exists in name only in se asia plus I think 4 original ones in California that were grandfathered in to their franchise agreement and not sold en masse like the rest - Arthur Treachers, and Winchells donots. Im sure theres more, but those pop up quickly to my mind.
Never heard of 3/4 of the ones mentioned in the video tho...
Never heard of 3/4 of the ones mentioned in the video tho...
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Naugles!?!?
Holy crap. I thought it was a one off restaurant only here in Chicago! Man, the 2am munchie runs to that place back in the day. Great times.
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Arthur Treacher's was indeed the fast food seafood place to go, moreso than Long John Silver's.
Better quality stuff!
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They came to the Sacramento area in the mid 80s. They made it a point to hire "seasoned" citizens.....many employees were 60 or older.
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I should have added to my already lengthy post above a bit of a PS:
Although I never had a real fascination with cooking in younger years, over time I've found I cook more
and more these days for the wife and I - and it now occurs to me that the reason I do so is because the
chain restaurant situation has gotten so damn bad out there!
I still LOVE a good, real hamburger - so I gotta do that myself now since there's none out there...
and yes, I do buy the Ollie spices to do those up once in a while, too.
Bottom line, I've become quite the Whataburger/Ollieburger/Burger Chef imitator at home now!
Fluck 'em, I'll make it myself....
Tacos? Yeah, I make the spice combination up from scratch, a process begun from a recipe I found for
the original Taco John's mix. We do tacos either here at home or go to a local Mexican restaurant...NEVER
Taco Bell.
Fried Chicken? I actually have a copy of the original KFC spice recipe! Since they also don't seem to be able
to prepare it right anymore, I just do it myself at home - minus the pressure cooker/fryer, of course.
It's become a bit of a hobby in my old age - seek out original recipes for my favorite restaurant fare from days
past and figure out how to replicate it at home now, rather than meekly accept the garbage they may be trying
to sell nowadays.
I've about got them all covered competently at this point - and my wife is the benefactor.
(I still can't cook much else worth a damn, but the stuff I like, I got it handled.)
Although I never had a real fascination with cooking in younger years, over time I've found I cook more
and more these days for the wife and I - and it now occurs to me that the reason I do so is because the
chain restaurant situation has gotten so damn bad out there!
I still LOVE a good, real hamburger - so I gotta do that myself now since there's none out there...
and yes, I do buy the Ollie spices to do those up once in a while, too.
Bottom line, I've become quite the Whataburger/Ollieburger/Burger Chef imitator at home now!
Fluck 'em, I'll make it myself....
Tacos? Yeah, I make the spice combination up from scratch, a process begun from a recipe I found for
the original Taco John's mix. We do tacos either here at home or go to a local Mexican restaurant...NEVER
Taco Bell.
Fried Chicken? I actually have a copy of the original KFC spice recipe! Since they also don't seem to be able
to prepare it right anymore, I just do it myself at home - minus the pressure cooker/fryer, of course.
It's become a bit of a hobby in my old age - seek out original recipes for my favorite restaurant fare from days
past and figure out how to replicate it at home now, rather than meekly accept the garbage they may be trying
to sell nowadays.
I've about got them all covered competently at this point - and my wife is the benefactor.
(I still can't cook much else worth a damn, but the stuff I like, I got it handled.)
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Still have churches here. Better chicken than KFC, was getting beat by my local Popeyes until the Popeyes two piece special tripled in price in a year.(believe it or not, prior to the bidumb debacle. )
I've been getting my fried chicken from Smiths or Stater bros lately. Not bad, not great, half or less than kfc.
The first time I ever met my wife she was working at a Lums restaurant in North Attleboro Massachusetts. She had really long braded hair down to the back of her knees! When we started dating her long hair was now shoulder length. She had to cut it,after burning it walking by the stove that had a burner lit.
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