Ah, you forget the Rax in Joliet, Illinois! Honestly, after your last video, you inspired me to drive an hour to go there, and I gotta say... I think that was the closest I'll ever be to experiencing what the 1970s or '80s looked and felt like.
I ate there once while on a road trip that sent me through Chicago. I liked it a lot, made a mental note to go back there if I'm ever passing through Joliet during daylight hours.
There was a Rax in my hometown up until around 2015 or 16, always loved the mushroom melt. I miss it, on the good side a locally owned coffee shop expanded to a second location at the sight and it's really good!
So, it must’ve been awesome because fast food restaurants were way better then. Either that, or since people didn’t eat out nearly as much back then, it was more of a treat.
@@alwillk Almost all the other sub chains are better than Subway, but Subway is still well cheaper and even if they closed 90% of Subway, it'd still be bigger than just about every chain.
@@504ever4If I had to guess, their owners just can't compete with the mega-conglomerate that is Darden foods. Bloomin' Brands is Outback, Bonefish, Carrabba's and Flemings - Meanwhile, Darden is Olive Garden, Longhorn, Cheddar's, Yard House, Capital Grille, Season's 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's, Ruth's Chris, and at one point Red Lobster too. That kind of synergy and bargaining power means they probably have a stranglehold on most markets that Outback would want to exist in.
a lot of these franchise places are just like mcDonald. they do not cook anything from scratch. they just cook the frozen food. They are also pre made in pouches and reheated in water to cook. they want to franchise anything to make money, they do not care about the quality of the food.
Whole idea of franchising is to try to make it "turnkey" whereas various books have noted McDonald's and only a few other mega-corps are super successful at the formula. The rest are second-tier at best. While this video of course wouldn't focus on a single exceptional restaurant (or few locations by design) by committed top-notch chefs.
@Paulftate just because your limited education didn't give you the tools to distinguish between Quick Serve and Fast Food restaurants, doesn't give you an excuse to leave a rude comment.
I used to DJ at Bennigans in Mount Laurel NJ back in the mid eighties. Place was packed every weekend. And the Saint Patrick celebrations were multi day and legendary.
One common thread for many of these restaurant brands is that, if they are associated with a famous name, as that name fades from the public consciousness, so does the restaurant brand's fortunes.
@@ssfc117 Not the company, the name. Tim Horton started a coffee and donut franchise bearing his name that enjoyed sufficient success that everyone knows about "Tim Horton's" brand coffee; even though, few people can tell you anything about Tim Horton, himself. Ponderosa, named for the Ponderosa ranch in the TV series "Bonanza" basically began to fade after "Bonanza" left syndication. Nothing distinguished Ponderosa from its competitors except for its association with "Bonanza", so, when the show was off the air, it lost the free advertising.
@@ssfc117 He's saying like since nobody knows who Roy Rogers is anymore, the restaurant chain of the same name has also faded from the public consciousness
@@slizzysluzzer The thing about "Tim Horton's" is that it is differentiated from even other coffee shops. Yes, Tim Horton endorsing his franchise may have launched "Tim Horton's", but it is as famous for its coffee as "McDonald's" was for its fries, before they removed the beef stock (If you want to bring back some echoes of the greatness that was the old "McDonald's" fries, add some beef stock to your mashed potatoes). In many ways, "Tim Horton's" is the exception that proves the rule. I confess that I may cry a little, when the promotion ends, and "Tim Horton's" stops selling the "Bailey's" flavoured coffee, but their regular coffee will keep me coming back.
I’ve lived in Florida for over 25 years now, but my parents live in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, very close to where I grew up. One of those 9 Bennigan’s locations is actually there, and it always catches my eye, makes me chuckle, and triggers memories of the 80’s and 90’s. It has the newer logo on the building, but the very large sign near the road is still the classic and more artistic loooking one, complete with neon throughout the whole thing. It’s actually kind of beautiful, and I hope it gets saved if the restaurant ever goes away. My taste in restaurants has changed greatly since the 80’s and 90’s, and I’m also very health-conscious today. So Bennigan’s really doesn’t suit me anymore. But I have fond memories of going there growing up. I can remember them being all over the place. Just in the large metro that I live now, I can still name where about 4 or 5 used to be. Coincidentally, my parents also have one of the very small handful of locations for Ponderosa restaurants there in Mount Pleasant. It’s like a time warp that town. Also have fond memories of TCBY in the mid to late 80’s. My mom was working on her Masters at the university, and would bring me along with her. There was a TCBY right next to campus, and we’d regularly stop there. Back then, frozen yogurt was kind of a new thing, so good, and TCBY was the only place for it anywhere remotely close to us. So it was kind of this modern and cool attraction to go there. I remember they had a root beer flavor one time that was SO good. 😋
I went to CMU and left in '07, am pleasantly surprised to know that it's still there. I found one in Busan, South Korea back in '08, but it's long gone now.
This is funny because I'm from Michigan too and have lived in Florida for about 18 years. Was just talking about the remaining Bennigans with my fiance and how there is one in Mt. Pleasant. Only went to the CMU campus once and it was the dead of winter and pretty gross out so not the fondest memories 😂
No Fuddruckers? No Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse? I think a part 3 should be made. Because I am in a bit of disbelief that the two places I just mentioned didn’t get mentioned in these 2 videos.
Grew up in Michigan and Fuddruckers was one of my fav places as a kid. Their footlong hotdog was amazing. Not just because the hotdog was good, but the bun was unique and toasted to perfection.
My first job, too! I remember the food being overpriced and not particularly good. Most of the "food" in the salad bar were dried powders that we just added water to 🤮
There is one Rax restaurant in Illinois near me. I've been there, the food is decent if not locally enjoyed and they've gotten a little busier now that the nearest Arby's closed up.
Maybe look into the Bill Knapp's chain in the Midwest. They were popular among the geriatric, Krohn's disease and traditional gentle fare crowd, but at some point the family sold it to a venture capital corporation or something similar, which decided to change the décor and menu to try to make it appeal to younger people as a sports bar. The previous customers were offended, the younger people never showed up, and it was collapsing. The family took it back over, apologized all over the place on the radio, restored the old menu and the atmosphere as best they could, but it was too late and they it's now a grocery store bakery brand.
Bennigans had the best Monte Cristo sandwich. Deep fried, powdered sugar and a cup of jam to dip it in 😍 P.s. I also spent some time hanging out in the kitchen due to a tornado in the area, that wasn’t as pleasing…
Their Monte Cristo was the first one I'd ever had and I've never had another that is half as good as theirs, I miss them for that and the memories of the people I was with when I went there! Some time ago it looked like they were poised to made a comeback, sounds like that isn't gonna happen. Sad!
Came here to say the same. First ever Monte Cristo and they set the standard for my taste buds. There is a restaurant named "Cheddar's" which is in many states that serves up a decent Monte Cristo.
Bennigan's had a wonderful chocolate birthday cake and who could forget their birthday song "Happy, Happy Birthday from all of us to you, happy, happy birthday from Bennigan's to you HEY!" One time, we were having dinner at a very popular one in Raleigh, NC and there were something like 10 birthdays that day and the song kept getting faster and less peppier over the course of the evening.
Bennigan's was one of my go-to places when I lived in Hampton Roads, VA. It appeared like it would be an Americana mainstay as the one I frequented was always busy.
I remember Tony Roma's, There was a location near me in Queens NY which closed down. Was also able to purchase their ribs at Costco. They were really good on the BBQ.
There's still one location about 2 miles from where I live but it's like the last in the entire city and going to it is like dining on a ghost ship in the Atlantic.. It seats 150 in the dining room and you're lucky to see about a half dozen people at any given time. It's so weird. The food is still decent which helps but nobody really eats in anymore... especially since the "unpleasantness"... 75% of orders to this day in restaurants are to go... That speaks volumes to the way the world is going...
Good memories with my family eating breakfast at Country Kitchen. Sadly, as a kid I doubt I appreciated the rest of their food. Looks like I'll never know if I would as an adult...
I live in Ohio and completely forgot Rax even existed! I was pleasantly surprised they still do and are only over 2 hours away. Next month I'll have to try them out when I take a break from my diet!
I live near Hartville, Ohio and an extremely popular restaurant there was called Country Kitchen. It had no affiliation with the chain and had opened well before then. However, as the Country Kitchen chain spread, they sued Hartville’s Country Kitchen. It lost, so it was renamed to Hartville Kitchen. It has moved from its original location to a much larger one and has been a destination restaurant ever since. Every day that it’s open, it’s not unusual to see one or two tour busses parked there as tours from out of state bring people in. Part of that is because there is a regular flea market that has evolved into a permanent market as well as antiques and memorabilia.
A Country Kitchen I was in at another state was renamed Country Grill. In the 1970's I also remember eating Shakees pizza. Shakees also had a lot of locations at one time. They also had good fried chicken.
Bennigans copper clover club was my life for a year. I still have my gold plated pint glass and the t shirt. The monte cristo was legendary, and I still make mine the way they do--fully submerged in oil rather than just using French toast slices. RIP
@@DugrozReports Yup; remember that rib injury that Romo had 1 season vs. 49ers? I'd b sarcastic w/that & say "Tony Romo; the place 4 RIBS". After all; the original slogan was "Tony Roma; the place 4 RIBS".
I'm in Canada so we didnt have "Country Kitchens" but I do remember in the 80s a TV "Bloopers and Outakes" special with footage from attempts to film a commercial there. Repeated camera takes but the spokesman/actor kept saying "Country Chicken" in his lines.
I remember Chicken Delite.Thete were all over the place.Now they are only in Canada and maybe one or two in the Northeast.Really liked them.Rhere was a chain called Copper Kettle .They had one in New Braunfels, .
Some of the chains that I remember as a kid 40-50 years ago that have either declined drastically or gone out of business: Straw Hat Pizza, Mr. Steak, Sam's (ex Sambo's), Lyon's, Doggie Diner, Foster's Freeze...
Even at my age I can't remember ever going to any of the ones mentioned in either video. Hadn't even heard of some of them. The ones I sometimes went to but haven't seen in thirty years or more are Bob's Big Boy and Long John Silver's. Amazingly, I recently saw Shakey's Pizza all over the Philippines - I thought they were extinct decades ago.
There used to be a TCBY sign at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. Every time a team kicked a field goal or an extra point, there was The Country's Best Yogurt.
My former mechanic on my race car once turned wrenches on a car that won a race sponsored by Rax. He still has his Rax jacket he got as being part of the winning crew. Really cool, old school logo.
I remember a lot of those restaurants. I especially had a fondness for Tony Roma's and Rax. We used to go to Mud Hen games in Toledo and would stop at Rax on the Ohio Turnpike toll plaza.
You just unlocked a memory three minutes into the video when you mentioned Tony Roma's. I lived in London, Ontario, Canada from 2009-2013 - myself and my girlfriend at the time LOVED Tony Roma's (we went there at least twice a month). Man, I miss that place. Googled it just now and saw that it was permanently closed between 4-5 years ago, likely a Covid-19 casualty. Such a shame :(
Here in Alberta, both Tony Roma's and Arby's are basically extinct despite being mall staples for years. Red Robin and Chili's also bit it back in 2015 when the first wave of sit down restaurants began a death spiral... Montana's and Kelsey's along with East Side Mario's all but disappeared from Alberta too... And over in BC? Swiss Chalet was once a dominant force in middle-class family dining is gone entirely. It's also on the decline here since COVID when a bunch of franchises went bust despite only being open 2 or 3 years... And of course most of these locations are either still empty or are being demo'd entirely which doesn't bode well for the future of the industry as a whole when that happens...
I used to beg my mom to take me to Tony Romas because I loved their baby backs so much. Haven’t heard that name in two decades. I can still taste those ribs and their BBQ sauce was my absolute favorite.
Oddly, I just stayed at a motel in Illinois with a Bennigan's inside earlier this month. I guess it's one of the 9!!! EDIT: There is also one in Des Moines, Iowa!!! Close to where I live!
There's one Tony Roma's left in Germany and it is in Berlin. The other three in Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne are permanently closed since the pandemic, IIRC.
My hometown of Wooster had a TCBY and a Country Kitchen. Both are long gone. There was a Bennigan's in Montrose (between Medina and Akron), and it shut down around 2008. It's now a restaurant called Tres Portillos. Never eaten there, never will.
I’ve eaten at all of these, too. See my comment on the other for a list of other extinct or forgotten places, but I forgot Red Barn, Sizzler, 76 Truck Stop restaurants, Western Sizzlin, Der Weinerschnitzel, Tastee Freez, and i’m sure more.
It's so strange, I knew of absolutely none of rhe restaurants in your first video but know three in this (Bennigans, Country Kitchen, and Rax) were never as large as the ones in the other video at their peak.
from the seventies through the nineties I found affordable in both Canada and the USA sit down restaurants. Today, after 25 years of hostile takeovers and head office shennanigans draining the value and jacking up prices, even though I know make more money and have various pensions coming in as income streams, I find going out RARE. And when I do (except for Vancouver, BC Asian style places) I find the experience disappointing.
I live within walking distance of a TCBY... I wonder how they stay in business... the only time they are busy in on 99 cent waffle cone wednesdays. How do they still sell a large cone for such a low price is mind boggling.
@@forgottenplaces9780 indeed... but the location is dead at all other times... except for a few scorching hot days in the summer. I still don't see how this location remains profitable at all.
A near-extinct restaurant you have to include in part 3 is Hot n Now. There used to be a lot of locations in several states but now there’s only one location left in Sturgis, Michigan. That last location has become a sort of tourist destination for people who miss Hot n Now.
Years ago, I used to always go to Tony Roma's on my birthday for ribs. The last time I went there ( I think it was in the mid 90's) I was served ribs that were COLD in the middle! I've never been back to any Tony Roma's since and that particular Tony Roma's was out of business within a year.
The list of restaurant chains, ranging from fast food to casual fine dining, that have gone from thriving to endangered/extinct in my lifetime is very long. While changing tastes and fashions is a significant factor, the major culprit is declining standards. Very few businesses struggle with rising costs as much the restaurant industry. Snip away at serving size. Snip away at quality. Snip, snip, snip. Gone, gone, gone.
I miss Hops Grill and Brewery. They were my favorite national chain growing up, and it turns out they're from where I'm from. They just way overextended their business and collapsed.
Country Chicken was wonderful. Excellent fried chicken, great breakfast buffet. Their Columbia location had a number board for summoning wait staff. Not certain if used in their final years.
Bingo! It's the #1 chain the nation and is available in every town of 5000 people and every mall in the nation... Plus I really like that Spicy Dill Mama burger they brought back! Tangy!!!@@DouglasEdward84
Y'all need to road trip to Canada. Here A&W didn't disappear, it's the #1 burger chain the nation by a country mile... It was always a family favorite and remains so due to their love of using spice on their burgers... Cayenne, Paprika, Garlic Powder... Which also used to be in the onion ring mix but seems to have disappeared lately...
I worked at Bennigans and quit my job a few months before they went bankrupt. My location was very busy so I was surprised when it happened. I was just a cook so i knew nothing of how the corporate level handled finances. TLDR; Good Quality Food Takes Longer Than 5 Minutes. I can say though, they made stupid decision when it came to food. They started a promotion of Appetizers in 5 mins or it’s free. Chicken wings took about 8 minutes to properly cook if you didn’t want to give someone food poisoning. When I asked my management about it, I was told you just have to guess when someone is going to order wings so they can be cooking before they even order them. Most cooks ended up pre cooking or microwaving them. Anyway, some genius in corporate who had obviously never cooked food before or knew about food safety, thought it sounded like a great idea to get customers in the door. We probably ended up driving more customers away with undercooked, cold, or badly prepared food.
We had a TCBY near up the street. A few months after Yogurtland opened half a mile away, TCBY's fate was sealed. It lasted another year or so before shutting down.
I worked for two different dying restaurant chains as I was going up and down the greasy pole (Mountain Jacks and Morrison's Fresh Cooking) although I didn't know it at the time. In both cases clueless, desperate management would regularly come up with some new idea to turn things around but as they got further from their core strengths they pushed away faithful customers. I don't feel one bit bad for all those executives, the people who suffered were the rank and file front line folks who watched their tips dwindle as business dried up. Someday soon Steak-n-Shake will be on this list as well. They got bought by a bunch of venture capital a-holes and it's just terrible. Really too bad, it used to be pretty good. The parking lot here in my hometown which was always full is usually empty.
Bennigan's used to have a really delicious double patty hamburger. I was a little surprised when the one near me closed down several years ago. It was a good restaurant, it must have just been really poorly managed.
The mistake these chains make over and over again is to pivot and rebrand and abandon what made people like them in the first place. It's especially noticeable when the chains sell out to a holding company or VC firm, it's usually a free fall after that. It's almost always followed by a rebrand and redesign, which almost always just makes it more generic and forgettable (and often more expensive). That rebrand money should really go to improving food quality, fixing up (but not necessarily changing) old and crappy locations, and hiring more/better employees.
The tony Romas in my city had some sort of sewage gas leak that made the whole restaurant smell terrible. It was understandable for a month, not for over a year. Not surprised it's gone
Honestly I feel like the only chains that work well are cheap food/fast food chains. If I want quality food, I’m definitely going to a local restaurant
I always liked TCBY but the frozen yogurt craze of the 90s was really something funny. Bennigan's will always live on with the several references to it on South Park. Blimpie's feels like a good contender for this series.
* 1 slight correction, per comments/google maps there is a 6th Rax in Illinois, my mistake.
Mr. Donut! Just 1 left in the USA!
Please continue doing more parts videos of forgotten restaurants that are going extinct?
and Rax was WAY better than Arby's........
Illinois is a good state to be in to try these; it has all of them, except for Tony Roma’s, but there’s one right over the Mississippi in Dubuque, IA
I live about 20 minutes away from Rax. I’ve only had it once and it was pretty good. I think I might have to get it again
Ah, you forget the Rax in Joliet, Illinois! Honestly, after your last video, you inspired me to drive an hour to go there, and I gotta say... I think that was the closest I'll ever be to experiencing what the 1970s or '80s looked and felt like.
I ate there once while on a road trip that sent me through Chicago. I liked it a lot, made a mental note to go back there if I'm ever passing through Joliet during daylight hours.
There was a Rax in my hometown up until around 2015 or 16, always loved the mushroom melt. I miss it, on the good side a locally owned coffee shop expanded to a second location at the sight and it's really good!
I love old places that never update!
So, it must’ve been awesome because fast food restaurants were way better then. Either that, or since people didn’t eat out nearly as much back then, it was more of a treat.
@@djamo1969 I think a bit of both.
Outback and Ruby Tuesday restaurants will soon be on this list.
Surprised subway isn’t on there. Capriotti’s, firehouse, cheba hut are all much better.
@@alwillk Almost all the other sub chains are better than Subway, but Subway is still well cheaper and even if they closed 90% of Subway, it'd still be bigger than just about every chain.
I don't get what's happening with Outback Steakhouse honestly. But it seems like all of their restaurants are becoming unpopular.
I went to an Outback in brazil and it’s super popular there
@@504ever4If I had to guess, their owners just can't compete with the mega-conglomerate that is Darden foods. Bloomin' Brands is Outback, Bonefish, Carrabba's and Flemings - Meanwhile, Darden is Olive Garden, Longhorn, Cheddar's, Yard House, Capital Grille, Season's 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's, Ruth's Chris, and at one point Red Lobster too. That kind of synergy and bargaining power means they probably have a stranglehold on most markets that Outback would want to exist in.
a lot of these franchise places are just like mcDonald. they do not cook anything from scratch. they just cook the frozen food. They are also pre made in pouches and reheated in water to cook. they want to franchise anything to make money, they do not care about the quality of the food.
They might as well be automated Automat's from the 1930's... Or from the 2030's when Tesla Bots become widespread...
Yes, everyone in the world knows this
Amazin'!
Whole idea of franchising is to try to make it "turnkey" whereas various books have noted McDonald's and only a few other mega-corps are super successful at the formula. The rest are second-tier at best. While this video of course wouldn't focus on a single exceptional restaurant (or few locations by design) by committed top-notch chefs.
@Paulftate just because your limited education didn't give you the tools to distinguish between Quick Serve and Fast Food restaurants, doesn't give you an excuse to leave a rude comment.
I used to DJ at Bennigans in Mount Laurel NJ back in the mid eighties. Place was packed every weekend.
And the Saint Patrick celebrations were multi day and legendary.
My brother worked at that location in the early 80's
@@skinzz2573
I worked there from 84 to 86. ? I might know him.
@@johnnyboy55 he worked there Spring/Summer of 83, so u probably just missed him
All I remember is the sign
One common thread for many of these restaurant brands is that, if they are associated with a famous name, as that name fades from the public consciousness, so does the restaurant brand's fortunes.
Lol what? If a company is famous and then is less famous, they lose money. Wow, real crazy stuff there, Einstein
@@ssfc117 Not the company, the name. Tim Horton started a coffee and donut franchise bearing his name that enjoyed sufficient success that everyone knows about "Tim Horton's" brand coffee; even though, few people can tell you anything about Tim Horton, himself.
Ponderosa, named for the Ponderosa ranch in the TV series "Bonanza" basically began to fade after "Bonanza" left syndication. Nothing distinguished Ponderosa from its competitors except for its association with "Bonanza", so, when the show was off the air, it lost the free advertising.
@@ssfc117 He's saying like since nobody knows who Roy Rogers is anymore, the restaurant chain of the same name has also faded from the public consciousness
Not always true. Tim Horton has been dead for fifty years and his restaurant's still trucking along.
@@slizzysluzzer The thing about "Tim Horton's" is that it is differentiated from even other coffee shops. Yes, Tim Horton endorsing his franchise may have launched "Tim Horton's", but it is as famous for its coffee as "McDonald's" was for its fries, before they removed the beef stock (If you want to bring back some echoes of the greatness that was the old "McDonald's" fries, add some beef stock to your mashed potatoes).
In many ways, "Tim Horton's" is the exception that proves the rule.
I confess that I may cry a little, when the promotion ends, and "Tim Horton's" stops selling the "Bailey's" flavoured coffee, but their regular coffee will keep me coming back.
I’ve lived in Florida for over 25 years now, but my parents live in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, very close to where I grew up. One of those 9 Bennigan’s locations is actually there, and it always catches my eye, makes me chuckle, and triggers memories of the 80’s and 90’s. It has the newer logo on the building, but the very large sign near the road is still the classic and more artistic loooking one, complete with neon throughout the whole thing. It’s actually kind of beautiful, and I hope it gets saved if the restaurant ever goes away. My taste in restaurants has changed greatly since the 80’s and 90’s, and I’m also very health-conscious today. So Bennigan’s really doesn’t suit me anymore. But I have fond memories of going there growing up. I can remember them being all over the place. Just in the large metro that I live now, I can still name where about 4 or 5 used to be. Coincidentally, my parents also have one of the very small handful of locations for Ponderosa restaurants there in Mount Pleasant. It’s like a time warp that town. Also have fond memories of TCBY in the mid to late 80’s. My mom was working on her Masters at the university, and would bring me along with her. There was a TCBY right next to campus, and we’d regularly stop there. Back then, frozen yogurt was kind of a new thing, so good, and TCBY was the only place for it anywhere remotely close to us. So it was kind of this modern and cool attraction to go there. I remember they had a root beer flavor one time that was SO good. 😋
I went to school at ferris state and big rapids had a benniganns that was pretty good
I went to CMU and left in '07, am pleasantly surprised to know that it's still there. I found one in Busan, South Korea back in '08, but it's long gone now.
This is funny because I'm from Michigan too and have lived in Florida for about 18 years. Was just talking about the remaining Bennigans with my fiance and how there is one in Mt. Pleasant. Only went to the CMU campus once and it was the dead of winter and pretty gross out so not the fondest memories 😂
No Fuddruckers? No Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse? I think a part 3 should be made. Because I am in a bit of disbelief that the two places I just mentioned didn’t get mentioned in these 2 videos.
I loved Fuddruckers, we had one in Charleston.
second fuddruckers
Grew up in Michigan and Fuddruckers was one of my fav places as a kid. Their footlong hotdog was amazing. Not just because the hotdog was good, but the bun was unique and toasted to perfection.
Fuddruckers walked so Shake Shack could run
Fuddruckers only topped out at 200ish locations and there’s still around 60 left, so not really as huge a decline as the ones on this list
My first job was at Rax. That location later turned into an Arby's and is now a Popeyes.
My first job, too! I remember the food being overpriced and not particularly good. Most of the "food" in the salad bar were dried powders that we just added water to 🤮
I’ve passed by the lone Rax location in Joliet, IL and was aware of their history, never went in.
There is one Rax restaurant in Illinois near me. I've been there, the food is decent if not locally enjoyed and they've gotten a little busier now that the nearest Arby's closed up.
Maybe look into the Bill Knapp's chain in the Midwest. They were popular among the geriatric, Krohn's disease and traditional gentle fare crowd, but at some point the family sold it to a venture capital corporation or something similar, which decided to change the décor and menu to try to make it appeal to younger people as a sports bar. The previous customers were offended, the younger people never showed up, and it was collapsing. The family took it back over, apologized all over the place on the radio, restored the old menu and the atmosphere as best they could, but it was too late and they it's now a grocery store bakery brand.
i remember that place. lol. i remember it being like Morrison’s Cafeteria food, but you had to get served.
It was a place to go after Mass on Sunday. I still miss their hot fudge chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
Ive got crohn's would be great for food to not be days of torture
Bennigans had the best Monte Cristo sandwich. Deep fried, powdered sugar and a cup of jam to dip it in 😍 P.s. I also spent some time hanging out in the kitchen due to a tornado in the area, that wasn’t as pleasing…
Their Monte Cristo was the first one I'd ever had and I've never had another that is half as good as theirs, I miss them for that and the memories of the people I was with when I went there! Some time ago it looked like they were poised to made a comeback, sounds like that isn't gonna happen. Sad!
Came here to say the same. First ever Monte Cristo and they set the standard for my taste buds. There is a restaurant named "Cheddar's" which is in many states that serves up a decent Monte Cristo.
When I think of Bennigans I just think of that South Park episode.
the only thing that rivaled the Monte Cristo was the Turkey O’Toole for me.
@@GenMilleXial was that served on a pretzel bun? I think I recall having eaten that there as well. Thanks for sharing!
Bennigan's had a wonderful chocolate birthday cake and who could forget their birthday song "Happy, Happy Birthday from all of us to you, happy, happy birthday from Bennigan's to you HEY!" One time, we were having dinner at a very popular one in Raleigh, NC and there were something like 10 birthdays that day and the song kept getting faster and less peppier over the course of the evening.
Restaurants make up their own birthday songs, otherwise they'd have to pay royalties to whoever owns the rights to Happy Birthday.
Bennigan's was one of my go-to places when I lived in Hampton Roads, VA. It appeared like it would be an Americana mainstay as the one I frequented was always busy.
The franchise locations for the most part never closed, only the corporate-owned ones.
I have great memories of TCBY.
I remember Tony Roma's, There was a location near me in Queens NY which closed down. Was also able to purchase their ribs at Costco. They were really good on the BBQ.
Tony Romo should have bought it out.
@@DavidLimofLimReportThat’s what I first thought when I heard it.
@@DavidLimofLimReport Funny when I was younger I always called it Tony Romo's and thought Romo owned the place. Maybe he should.
Eh… I don’t know Jim.
There's still one location about 2 miles from where I live but it's like the last in the entire city and going to it is like dining on a ghost ship in the Atlantic.. It seats 150 in the dining room and you're lucky to see about a half dozen people at any given time. It's so weird. The food is still decent which helps but nobody really eats in anymore... especially since the "unpleasantness"... 75% of orders to this day in restaurants are to go... That speaks volumes to the way the world is going...
Everyone here is talking about Bennigan's but nobody is talking about Country Kitchen.. Man I loved that place
Ate there a lot in the 90s. Good stuff.
Good memories with my family eating breakfast at Country Kitchen. Sadly, as a kid I doubt I appreciated the rest of their food. Looks like I'll never know if I would as an adult...
South Park
I live in Ohio and completely forgot Rax even existed! I was pleasantly surprised they still do and are only over 2 hours away. Next month I'll have to try them out when I take a break from my diet!
U.S. 23 in Circleville. Rax is waiting for you
I live near Hartville, Ohio and an extremely popular restaurant there was called Country Kitchen. It had no affiliation with the chain and had opened well before then. However, as the Country Kitchen chain spread, they sued Hartville’s Country Kitchen. It lost, so it was renamed to Hartville Kitchen. It has moved from its original location to a much larger one and has been a destination restaurant ever since. Every day that it’s open, it’s not unusual to see one or two tour busses parked there as tours from out of state bring people in. Part of that is because there is a regular flea market that has evolved into a permanent market as well as antiques and memorabilia.
I never knew about the lawsuit, ive been going to that restaurant my whole life, great place.
The hardware store is the largest independent hardware store in the country.
I remember TCBY.
A Country Kitchen I was in at another state was renamed Country Grill. In the 1970's I also remember eating Shakees pizza. Shakees also had a lot of locations at one time. They also had good fried chicken.
Shakeys still has a location around Oceanside, the chicken & mojo potatoes still hold up
Bennigans copper clover club was my life for a year. I still have my gold plated pint glass and the t shirt. The monte cristo was legendary, and I still make mine the way they do--fully submerged in oil rather than just using French toast slices. RIP
3:19 - damn that Cowboys reference is close...
Correct u r, Dave. Tony Roma; Tony Romo. Yup; I got that 1.
Tony Romo's :)
@@DugrozReports Yup; remember that rib injury that Romo had 1 season vs. 49ers? I'd b sarcastic w/that & say "Tony Romo; the place 4 RIBS". After all; the original slogan was "Tony Roma; the place 4 RIBS".
In the 80's in Houston Bennigan's had one of the best Happy Hours in town. Always packed!
I'm in Canada so we didnt have "Country Kitchens" but I do remember in the 80s a TV "Bloopers and Outakes" special with footage from attempts to film a commercial there. Repeated camera takes but the spokesman/actor kept saying "Country Chicken" in his lines.
Perhaps was it "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" hosted by Dick Clark and Ed McMahon?
I remember Chicken Delite.Thete were all over the place.Now they are only in Canada and maybe one or two in the Northeast.Really liked them.Rhere was a chain called Copper Kettle .They had one in New Braunfels, .
Some of the chains that I remember as a kid 40-50 years ago that have either declined drastically or gone out of business: Straw Hat Pizza, Mr. Steak, Sam's (ex Sambo's), Lyon's, Doggie Diner, Foster's Freeze...
Loved Sambo’s.
Even at my age I can't remember ever going to any of the ones mentioned in either video. Hadn't even heard of some of them. The ones I sometimes went to but haven't seen in thirty years or more are Bob's Big Boy and Long John Silver's. Amazingly, I recently saw Shakey's Pizza all over the Philippines - I thought they were extinct decades ago.
Nor me..Many of these places are regional. I've never seen a Bennigan's or Rax in California. Luby's is a TX thing.
There used to be a TCBY sign at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. Every time a team kicked a field goal or an extra point, there was The Country's Best Yogurt.
My former mechanic on my race car once turned wrenches on a car that won a race sponsored by Rax. He still has his Rax jacket he got as being part of the winning crew. Really cool, old school logo.
I remember a lot of those restaurants. I especially had a fondness for Tony Roma's and Rax. We used to go to Mud Hen games in Toledo and would stop at Rax on the Ohio Turnpike toll plaza.
Hoss' Steakhouse should be on the endangered list. They're quality is in decline, and they've pretty much stagnated
Look up Quincy's. Used to be everywhere in the Southeast, but there maybe only 2 left.
I would add Luby's and Pancho's Mexican Buffet, both based in Texas to this list.
Hot n' Now would be a good one if you continue this series. At one point they had 150 stores and now there's a single one left in Sturgis Michigan
The Bennigan's in east Memphis was party central through the heart of the fabulous 80s. Both long gone.
I do miss Bennigan's. It was a quality place to go as a group in the 90s...
The only place in my area where we could go to celebrate St. Patrick's day.
You just unlocked a memory three minutes into the video when you mentioned Tony Roma's. I lived in London, Ontario, Canada from 2009-2013 - myself and my girlfriend at the time LOVED Tony Roma's (we went there at least twice a month). Man, I miss that place. Googled it just now and saw that it was permanently closed between 4-5 years ago, likely a Covid-19 casualty. Such a shame :(
Here in Alberta, both Tony Roma's and Arby's are basically extinct despite being mall staples for years. Red Robin and Chili's also bit it back in 2015 when the first wave of sit down restaurants began a death spiral... Montana's and Kelsey's along with East Side Mario's all but disappeared from Alberta too... And over in BC? Swiss Chalet was once a dominant force in middle-class family dining is gone entirely. It's also on the decline here since COVID when a bunch of franchises went bust despite only being open 2 or 3 years... And of course most of these locations are either still empty or are being demo'd entirely which doesn't bode well for the future of the industry as a whole when that happens...
That’s interesting Arby’s still has locations in Ontario. Certainly not at peak levels but I can find them.
Arby’s has like 3.5k global locations, they ain’t dying anytime soon.
What is Red Robin's focus? I had a hamburger there and it was perhaps the worst and most overpriced burger I ever had.
Swiss Chalet is going well east of BC. I just don't get how it didn't work in BC
My hometown used to have a TCBY and a Rax. Man, do I feel old.
I used to beg my mom to take me to Tony Romas because I loved their baby backs so much. Haven’t heard that name in two decades. I can still taste those ribs and their BBQ sauce was my absolute favorite.
Oddly, I just stayed at a motel in Illinois with a Bennigan's inside earlier this month. I guess it's one of the 9!!!
EDIT: There is also one in Des Moines, Iowa!!! Close to where I live!
My dad took me to Rax a bunch on his night with me. I miss it (and Shakey’s pizza) mostly because of that emotional connection.
There's one Tony Roma's left in Germany and it is in Berlin. The other three in Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne are permanently closed since the pandemic, IIRC.
My hometown of Wooster had a TCBY and a Country Kitchen. Both are long gone.
There was a Bennigan's in Montrose (between Medina and Akron), and it shut down around 2008. It's now a restaurant called Tres Portillos. Never eaten there, never will.
I’ve eaten at all of these, too. See my comment on the other for a list of other extinct or forgotten places, but I forgot Red Barn, Sizzler, 76 Truck Stop restaurants, Western Sizzlin, Der Weinerschnitzel, Tastee Freez, and i’m sure more.
Bennigan's had a Turkey O'Toole which was a turkey with cheese on a pretzel roll and that pretzel roll was awesome.
I completely forgot about TCBY. I really did love Rax growing up. burger chef was a place that died too.
Dude these videos are just built different 💪 💪 💪 keep doing yooo thang
It's so strange, I knew of absolutely none of rhe restaurants in your first video but know three in this (Bennigans, Country Kitchen, and Rax) were never as large as the ones in the other video at their peak.
I remember going to Bennigans and enjoyed it in the late 2000s! Such as shame they are almost gone!
I would add Bistin Market as they are shrinking rapidly!
The tony roma's in mall of America was really good. Always loved the waiter we got every year we would go for school shopping. Good times.
from the seventies through the nineties I found affordable in both Canada and the USA sit down restaurants. Today, after 25 years of hostile takeovers and head office shennanigans draining the value and jacking up prices, even though I know make more money and have various pensions coming in as income streams, I find going out RARE. And when I do (except for Vancouver, BC Asian style places) I find the experience disappointing.
I live within walking distance of a TCBY... I wonder how they stay in business... the only time they are busy in on 99 cent waffle cone wednesdays. How do they still sell a large cone for such a low price is mind boggling.
Loss leader
@@forgottenplaces9780 indeed... but the location is dead at all other times... except for a few scorching hot days in the summer. I still don't see how this location remains profitable at all.
There’s a Bennigan’s in Clear Lake, Iowa. We ate there when we were at the annual Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom.
One in Des Moines, Iowa too.
Bennigans was fancy in Topeka
_”Oppenheimer couldn’t run a hamburger stand!”_
[crew]: WELCOME TO OPPENHEIMER’S! MAY WE TAKE YOUR ORDER?
A near-extinct restaurant you have to include in part 3 is Hot n Now. There used to be a lot of locations in several states but now there’s only one location left in Sturgis, Michigan. That last location has become a sort of tourist destination for people who miss Hot n Now.
I've been to one of the Bennigans like 2 years ago, mostly just people at the bar.
I need to visit the Bennigan's in Elgin, eventually. I visited the Joliet Rax in 2022.
Years ago, I used to always go to Tony Roma's on my birthday for ribs. The last time I went there ( I think it was in the mid 90's) I was served ribs that were COLD in the middle! I've never been back to any Tony Roma's since and that particular Tony Roma's was out of business within a year.
The list of restaurant chains, ranging from fast food to casual fine dining, that have gone from thriving to endangered/extinct in my lifetime is very long. While changing tastes and fashions is a significant factor, the major culprit is declining standards. Very few businesses struggle with rising costs as much the restaurant industry. Snip away at serving size. Snip away at quality. Snip, snip, snip. Gone, gone, gone.
I miss Hops Grill and Brewery. They were my favorite national chain growing up, and it turns out they're from where I'm from. They just way overextended their business and collapsed.
Country Chicken was wonderful. Excellent fried chicken, great breakfast buffet. Their Columbia location had a number board for summoning wait staff. Not certain if used in their final years.
I miss a&w and long John's silvers.
We still have an actual old style A&Ws left in Ravenna, not a merged one with LJS, but those are nearby.
Have A&W in Bay Area, CA
A&W is still around in Canada in strong shape
Bingo! It's the #1 chain the nation and is available in every town of 5000 people and every mall in the nation... Plus I really like that Spicy Dill Mama burger they brought back! Tangy!!!@@DouglasEdward84
Y'all need to road trip to Canada. Here A&W didn't disappear, it's the #1 burger chain the nation by a country mile... It was always a family favorite and remains so due to their love of using spice on their burgers... Cayenne, Paprika, Garlic Powder... Which also used to be in the onion ring mix but seems to have disappeared lately...
I've been to the TCBY off highway 64 in Bartlett, TN its the only frozen yogurt place in the area from what I can remember.
I had completely forgotten about Tony Roma’s. I can’t remember the last time I ate at one.
You should do this same type of video for big box retail chains too, like Best Buy
I worked at Bennigans and quit my job a few months before they went bankrupt. My location was very busy so I was surprised when it happened. I was just a cook so i knew nothing of how the corporate level handled finances.
TLDR; Good Quality Food Takes Longer Than 5 Minutes.
I can say though, they made stupid decision when it came to food. They started a promotion of
Appetizers in 5 mins or it’s free. Chicken wings took about 8 minutes to properly cook if you didn’t want to give someone food poisoning. When I asked my management about it, I was told you just have to guess when someone is going to order wings so they can be cooking before they even order them. Most cooks ended up pre cooking or microwaving them.
Anyway, some genius in corporate who had obviously never cooked food before or knew about food safety, thought it sounded like a great idea to get customers in the door. We probably ended up driving more customers away with undercooked, cold, or badly prepared food.
There is a Rax in Joliet, Illinois sir! Your video is INCORRECT!
Most of these places are bested by your local sit-down place, especially if you live in a decent-sized town or city.
There's a Bennigans in Mandan ND, and it's not that old.
First one through the door always gets bloody
Well now there are only 18 country kitchen locations. The one on 42nd Ave. in new Hope Minnesota closed late last year.
We had a TCBY near up the street. A few months after Yogurtland opened half a mile away, TCBY's fate was sealed. It lasted another year or so before shutting down.
Rax is still in Circleville and Lancaster (both Ohio). Not sure where the rest are but I sure do miss our local Rax.
Wow, this video is nicely cited! I appreciate that.
TCBY originally stood for “This Can’t Be Yogurt” until they rebranded the acronym in the mid 90s.
I worked for two different dying restaurant chains as I was going up and down the greasy pole (Mountain Jacks and Morrison's Fresh Cooking) although I didn't know it at the time. In both cases clueless, desperate management would regularly come up with some new idea to turn things around but as they got further from their core strengths they pushed away faithful customers. I don't feel one bit bad for all those executives, the people who suffered were the rank and file front line folks who watched their tips dwindle as business dried up. Someday soon Steak-n-Shake will be on this list as well. They got bought by a bunch of venture capital a-holes and it's just terrible. Really too bad, it used to be pretty good. The parking lot here in my hometown which was always full is usually empty.
I miss TCBY so much T.T There's only two left in Maryland now.
My kids love TCBY, I guess we're lucky to have one still
I loved Bennigan's as a kid. They put white pepper on their fries and I still love them best served in that manner.
So we are just completely ignoring Rax's "Mr. Delicious" ad campaign in their demise?
Rax was already well into decline by the time the Mr. Delicious ads started. So those ads were irrelevant to Rax's decline.
TCBY was a trendsetter, but everyone didnit better. Bennigan's was great as a kid! Mac n Cheese was like $2 and you got a free cookie after the meal.
They closed the Country Kitchen Buffet and all the old people died
Many families can't afford restaurants anymore because of high menu prices and must eat at home.
I went to a country kitchen in MO. It was pretty good for a buffet and the price wasnt too bad.
Bennigan's used to have a really delicious double patty hamburger. I was a little surprised when the one near me closed down several years ago. It was a good restaurant, it must have just been really poorly managed.
I really was fond of their Monte Cristo. Need to eventually visit the Bennigan's in Elgin.
It broke my heart when I saw that the Rax in Connersville, IN closed.
Tony Roma’s i only ate at in Japan.
Country Kitchen i ate at in St. Louis. Closed now. In the end, their food had no taste. No surprise they closed.
These companies are killing themselves with their greedflation.
The Rax "broccoli soup" crawled so the Arby's "beef and cheddar" could run.
Country Kitchen in my hometown was always really good. I had no idea they were a chain, either.
The mistake these chains make over and over again is to pivot and rebrand and abandon what made people like them in the first place. It's especially noticeable when the chains sell out to a holding company or VC firm, it's usually a free fall after that. It's almost always followed by a rebrand and redesign, which almost always just makes it more generic and forgettable (and often more expensive). That rebrand money should really go to improving food quality, fixing up (but not necessarily changing) old and crappy locations, and hiring more/better employees.
When Ohio and Kentucky are your remaining locations-consider donating your business to charity.
Being charitable is fine but you have to be careful. Last night, I did some charity work at your mom’s house. Now, she won’t stop calling me.
The tony Romas in my city had some sort of sewage gas leak that made the whole restaurant smell terrible. It was understandable for a month, not for over a year. Not surprised it's gone
I thought Bennigan's was gone. Turns out I live only 30 miles from one of the last locations.
There's a Tony Roma's outside of Disneyland. I had no idea it was a chain restaurant lol
Honestly I feel like the only chains that work well are cheap food/fast food chains. If I want quality food, I’m definitely going to a local restaurant
That country kitchen just looks like a hotel sign
I always liked TCBY but the frozen yogurt craze of the 90s was really something funny. Bennigan's will always live on with the several references to it on South Park.
Blimpie's feels like a good contender for this series.