I arrived in the United States in the early 1980s, by which time most of the eating places that follow were on their last legs, or else pretty much doomed. However, I thought I’d offer my Reader Demographic (i.e. Olde Pharttes) a chance to reminisce…
…wait, beer-steamed hot dogs? Why is my mouth watering?
I was only ever able to visit a couple of them, but this one stands out in my memory:
…for obvious reasons, and I dearly wish Treacher’s was still around today.
And then there are these guys, if only for those prices:
Feel free to share your memories of these or similar places, in Comments.
Rax Roast Beef
Fair Oaks, California.
Status — deceased, another “victim of the covid epidemic”.
.
The chain became known for their glassed-in patio with the rounded sloping glass roof… a ‘Rax-Room’.
Our last Arthur Treacher’s just closed a little while ago. There’s still one in Cleveland, though. You could visit it on your way to the last Blockbuster Video.
I partook of many of those places back then.
Lum’s. mmmmm
Treachers. MMMMMMM
I so long for the past.
Farrell’s was always an event when I were a yewt. Treacher’s is the only other restaurant on your roster that I recognize. Shakey’s Pizza was a fairly regular place for the family when I was growing up in the Northwest. Another favorite that most will have never heard of: the Asian eatery tucked into a back corner of Uwajimaya in Seattle.
Sambo’s, one of the first casualties of the politically correct incompetents. Their theme was from a children’s book – The Story of Little Black Sambo. Paying no attention to the actual story – about an East Indian child – the usual suspects declared the restaurant chain racist. Over a thousand at its peak, it went bankrupt in the early ’80’s.
Their signature pancakes were pretty good. Even at ten years old, I’d read the story and understood the setting, but when you’re peddling outrage, facts are frivolous.
Sambo’s was a portmanteau formed from the names of the two founders. Said founders took the unfortunate step of embracing the politically incorrect children’s book which ultimately sealed their fate.
Henry’s is still alive and well in Benton Harbor Michigan. Famous for their brown bag meal consisting of two hamburgers and equally greasy fries dumped in a brown paper bag, Delicious even if the bag is dripping and soaked through. A local icon it is. Used to frequent it in my early working life. Alas, weight control precludes it now..
I grew up in that area. All department store shopping was either at the Sears or JCPenny stores in St. Joe, although sometimes an expedition would be mounted across the river (deficiently the wrong side of the tracks back then!) to the K-Mart in Benton Harbor. As a kid, the only bright spot in being dragged along was the occasional stop at Henry’s for lunch.
we used to go to York steakhouse quite a bit when I was a kid. I think it was a chain owned by a mega food corporation. It closed when they divested themselves of restaurants.
Local favorites in New England were Bergson’s and Brigham’s. They were local chains that served hamburgers and ice cream. Sad to see them go. Even Friendly’s is a shadow of its former self. It was bought by Hershey ice Cream a number of years ago and bought back by a descendant of the original owners. They peaked at 800+ restaurants and now have about 100.
Ho-Jo’s was always the place we stopped on trips to Maine or Vermont in the sixties. When I started legally driving at 16, it was 2 gallons of Gas, a greasy 15 cent burger and coke and change from my dollar.
Lum’s was always a good stop. but the Bonanza “steaks” were always a disappointment.
I remember Lum’s as the first place I got carded – for trying to buy a beer. The joke was on them. It was the day I graduated from college – and I was 21.
Kenny Roger’s Roasters doesn’t look right…(duckles it…) yup. Founded 1991, closed US operations shortly thereafter. Continues to operate in Asia. So…more flash in the pan than fallen institution.
I have fond memories of Bob’s Big Boy, Ho-Jos, Arthur Treacher’s, and Lum’s.
Dog n Suds.
They still exist, but no more local to me.
I was a short order cook in the Michigan version of Bob’s Big Boy (just called Big Boy) the summer of ’94. Was a decent enough job but it would be years before I could stomach a Big Mac again (Big Boy’s double decker was really the exact same thing as a Big Mac). A few years ago, I took my family back to my old stomping grounds to bury my mother and sure enough the place is still there (remarkably unchanged in the 25 years or so since last I’d been there).
The previous summer, I ran a delivery/pick-up route for a commercial laundromat and two Howard Johnson hotel/restaurants were on my route (Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan).
Ended up at several of those, at least “Types” of places with my folks. Fond memories, even if the food was indifferent. Waxing nostalgic, though I didn’t appreciate it at the time, Mom & Dad took us everywhere almost with them, they enjoyed having us kids around, something I thought was de rigueur, until I got much older and realized it wasn’t. We were expected to behave or public corporal consequences would ensue.
One for the list, Red Steer.
I were a wee lad last time I was in a Lum’s. I didn’t have an inkling of what beer tasted like, but those hot dogs were mighty fine.
Was in a Travelling Collegiate Bowling League a loooong, loooong time ago in SoCal, and one of the other teams was Glendale CC. When doing an away match in Glendale, we always ate at the original Bob’s.
I enjoyed Arthur Treacher’s back in Tulsa in the 70’s. That and Der Weinerschnitzel(sp?) are the only two stand-outs from that time of my life. We didn’t go out a lot when I was a kid.
There was some Mexican place in a large pink building with various themed rooms that I remember. I always liked the “cave” room, and the sopapillas. Wish I could remember the name of the place. Probably gone by now.
Gino’s was founded in Baltimore by all time All Pro defensive end Gino Marchetti of the Baltimore Colts and his teammate, fullback Alan Ameche, who later started his own drive-in restaurant chain. One of his first stores opened across the street from my high school when I was there in 1957-61, and we were thrilled to meet him occasionally at the store if we skipped the school cafeteria lunch and crossed the street for a 15¢ hamburger or a 19¢ cheeseburger and a Coke.
Colts and Oriole stars in those days were often seen around town without out retinues and bodyguards, and were friendly, accessible and frequently living in our neighborhoods. Another Colts All Pro defensive lineman was Artie Donovan, who could be seen daily in the off season in his liquor store section of the old neighborhood store, McClellan’s, up the street from our house. He was a fun, friendly guy, a great yarn spinner, who’d hand you your case of beer almost always accompanied by a funny story.
Alas, all gone now. I miss them, and the great city Baltimore used to be.