Steak 'n Shake was one of my favorite fast food chains a decade ago. Now the price of the food has tripled, the quality is gone, the service is gone, my favorite shake flavor is gone, and the stupid kiosk they make you order at and which barely functions in the first place has the gall to ask you for a tip. I'm not tipping a machine, and I'm not going back unless they get their act back together.
Food was good (except their fries…they were so tiny they were infuriating to eat). The problem around our locations is they were always so dirty! Sticky floors, unclean tables, horrific bathrooms. One of our local restaurants closed due to health department concerns. The remaining one seems to be a lot better these days, but the damage has been done and they don’t get much business. They do make some of the best milkshakes in the industry though! I think ShakeShack stole their thunder for the most part.
We chose Steak n Shake BECAUSE of the table service. Kids, like the one making this video, don't understand that some people PREFER that. We went to a SnS after the changes and literally ate there without talking to or SEEING an employee. Haven't been back.
That is very true, sorry to say. No fan of any college football but I've got great memories of Steak'n'Shake in the late 80s and early 90s. It was good and priced for Navy guys and students that didn't have much money. That's all shot to hell now.
Steak N Shake's major problem is that they're no longer 24 hours. When I was in my 20s, my friends and I often went to Steak N Shake around 2-2:30 AM after Last Call at the local bar
From what I understand many restaurants were having trouble getting enough staff to be able to work overnight to remain open 24 hours even before the last few years made the labor market hyper-competitive. Overnight is probably the hardest position to fill in most businesses that offer it.
As a consumer, I stopped eating out. It’s getting too expensive, and the quality has gone down. Even though losing weight was not the reason why I stopped eating out, I have lost 15 pounds in the last three weeks from 280 to 265. I can definitely live with seeing more of that. So yeah, eating better, saving money, not dealing with sullen fast food employees, and losing weight has been a nice departure from eating out.
The Steak n Shake restaurants in my town (2 of them) got closed down for health code violations. One has reopened and the other sits empty. It used to be a place you could get sit-down service for less than the tab at fast food, but just can't trust their standards any more. Haven't patronized this chain in years.
My local Steak ‘n Shake used to be THE high school hangout spot after Friday night football games or prom. That brand gives me a lot of nostalgia but I can’t eat there anymore due to declining standards
Like Big Boy, other well known restaurants sold to Marriott have failed. Howard Johnson's, Farrell's Ice Cream, Roy Rogers, and many others. Selling to Marriott pretty much meant death.
I put Outback Steakhouse in the same category. My wife and I used to go all the time in the early 2000s, then the menu suddenly got chopped and a bunch of good menu items went away. I think the business got in trouble because they started cheaping out on things but in a stealthy way. Their steaks stayed the same price but got small. I couldn't get a steak that was bigger than 8 oz., WTF? Quality also took a dive, I think it was because they were substituting cheap ingredients for things, but that's a guess. After the steaks got small and quality took a dump, I quit going and haven't been back. It's been 20 years. Too bad, Outback was a great place, I sure hated to see it crater like that. The place I go to now for a steak is Longhorn. Taking a look at the Outback menu now, it's still mostly baby steaks. The couple of decent-sized ones are horridly expensive. $32.99 for a 13-oz ribeye? I can a lot better than that at Longhorn. The appetizers are mostly deep-fried and way too expensive, it has a real TGI Friday vibe to it. (TGIF is another place that was great in the 90s then just went to crap.) There's nothing there to bring me back, I'll stick with Longhorn.
Longhorn is going the same way. They have REALLY hiked prices the past few months and portions are smaller and lower quality. All of these casual chains are going to flame out in the next few years, inflation has murdered their business model for good.
@@scottjones3038 True enough. I went to Longhorn this weekend. It was good and I'll go back but the writing is on the wall for that place, too. This really started bad with Covid, I'm so goddamn tired of the war on restaurants.
The original “voice of Outback Steakhouse” was a native Australian but after 11 years they cancelled his contract and replaced him with a non-Australian who fakes the accent. That’s all I need to know about them. Never been there.
I agree. Years ago, I would go to the Outback and wait 40 minutes to be seated for a Ribeye with horseradish and dill topping. It was always a reliable treat.! It was an easy, basic order that was always good. Then, one day, I was trying to explain to the waiter that I wanted the traditional topping I had for years, and they were confused by my request. Then, the menu changed as Outback tried to go upscale with a bewildering selection of chef dishes.
@@99Michael Yeah, their menu changed. It's like they were suddenly dedicated to reversing every good decision they'd made over the years. It was sudden and the people that worked there acted like those choices never existed. It was just bizarre. OK, you changed your menu. Don't f**king gaslight me and act like nothing changed between today and two weeks ago. That generated significant anger with me.
Boston market lost the game when grocery stores started selling rotisserie chicken. Now, they all sell it, along with fried chicken and wings. Plus, at Fry’s (Kroger) the chicken goes on sale around 7.
Yeah, their business model was flawed to put so much emphasis on a menu item that could be easily duplicated by other places and even supermarkets. I did like some of their frozen food items, by the low standards of frozen food.
@@michaelstein7510I don’t imagine they or others thought that grocery stores would get so into the fresh made foods arena. Back in 85 it would seem pretty far fetched. Who would imagine back then they would have mini sushi joints. Or wing bars. Or that they would be in the meal kit business. Or the fresh made meals like Kroger’s home chef. My local frys even has pretty decent pizza that they sell by the slice at lunch. They should have tried to move closer to offerings like Panera. And probably should have tried to create combo restaurants. Schlotzsky’s sells Cinnabon. That kind of thing.
@@jamespohl-md2eq Yeah, you’re right about that. They never could have predicted how much grocery stores and supermarkets would evolve the way they did. Imagining a place like Costco or Publix would have seemed outlandish at the time.
@@michaelstein7510Actually Costco started 2 years before the first BM. Price club started in 76. And they stated selling hotdogs in 84. But from a cart outside. lol What they are now is far from their start.
I can't believe how quickly my local Boston Market deteriorated. It went from a hustling bustling place to an empty shell within a year. The final time I went in they had 2 employees working. Half the main menu items were unavailable. 2/3rds of the side station was empty. For me, the sides were the best part. I was the only person in the place. The girl at the register apologized and said I was the first customer they had in the past 2 hours. Needless to say, I left. Part of the problem for me was their last gasp at marketing new items. Soups and sandwiches? I always seen BM as more of a dinner place and didn't get this at all.
I was a child in the late 60s / early 70s. Back then, we RARELY had " fast food," like McDonald's. If and when we did, it was a treat. The last few decades, it almost replaced the home cooked meals of my youth. My wife didn't know how to cook. " Home cooked" meant pre-made microwave or pop in the oven stuff. With the economy tanking and me getting older, I find myself turning full circle to the attitudes of my parents and grand parents. Fast food has become neither, and frankly doesn't taste all that great...and it's certifiably bad for you. So in my opinion, most restaurants these days are past their prime- they serve no worthwhile purpose.
But where I live, every me-too burger chain gets media splash and lines when they open their first local store…..in the lines are people who settle for garbage.
I spent of a bit of time at a Ruby Tuesday during their peak of expansion during which time they opened up a bunch of new locations in my area, almost tripling their number. The one I worked at was rather close to a couple of other locations such that we were often competing for the same casual customers. Our saving grace was being located next to a hospital which brought in a lot of people in scrubs on their lunch break and also next to one of the area's biggest Baptist churches, thus bringing in big crowds on early Sunday afternoons. Most of the area locations have since ceased being a Ruby Tuesday including the original batch, with restaurants either outright closing or converting to other restaurant brands. The one I worked at has since been converted to a Denny's.
@vulpo There's one near where I live. My kid and I go there. The staff is nice, the food is pretty good, and the salad bar is good. Plus, they email me coupons so I always get a deal.
Most of their restaurants are outside the US, including a few in Mexico and I think a few in like the Middle East(forget which countries). If you count all remaining restaurants in the US and international, the overall number of Bennigan's is about 24.
Big Boy is still thriving in Michigan. Its official website had about 50 locations in the state, including one in my hometown which was around while I was growing up. It was called Elias Brothers' Big Boy.
Big Boy had like 34 different names because for some reason they allowed franchise owners to put their first name, nickname or Intitials before Big Boy. There was Bob's, Abdow's, Tops, TJ's Kip's. JB's, Lendy's, Manners & many more. There was even Yoda's Big Boy in Virginia! Tasty burger found you have! yes! may the fries be with you!
Big Boys are still alive and kicking in SE Michigan, they never really died out here. The hot fudge ice cream cake is to die for, but yeah, to me it’s more of a version of dennys that doesnt suck and is good in a pinch.
I was about to comment the same thing. We actually had one reopen just before covid that I was supposed to work at. But I can think of at least 3-4 that are always busy
Southeast michy baby woodhaven here, we have one , there’s one in Taylor , Wyandotte just to name a few ..their big boy sandwich blows away the Big Mac , plus you can get it regular sized and a larger Pattied one…yum
Steak n Shake used to be my friends and I’s go to during college because it was cheap, open late and decent food. Haven’t been there since pre pandemic and all the local ones have closed except one. A shame, plenty of great late night memories I have there.
@@NewPaulActs17the one in Plano, TX is still open. Haven't been there in years. My dog and I got her last meal from there. She loved the cheeseburgers and mocha shakes. That was 7 years ago, and I still miss her.
actually seeing a Bright Sun Films had a Ruby Tuesday video ... showed how their changes were why people didn't like them as much ... people MISSED the original Ruby Tuesdays from years ago ... they completely changed what they were loved for
Big time. Back in the early 90s, there was a Ruby Tuesday near my house that I loved. Going there on Friday night, the joint was rocking. I was in the Navy at the time, clearly not much money. Then I went to college. Still not much money, perfectly geared toward me. Then they declined bad. I haven't been there in 20 years now.
@@Skank_and_Gutterboy that was the Morrisons years that you liked. Morrisons (a Mobile Ala cafeteria and hospital food service) bought the small chain in the early 80s and turned it into the big regional success. A competitor with Applebee's and other yuppie bistros. They also created or bought several other yuppie chains. Eventually Morrisons split up into 3 corps in the late 90s...one was RT with the ancillary chains. That's when they started changing formulas and ownership. Failing RT were turned into their other brands.
Bob's Big Boy's original location in Burbank, CA is still a hot spot for car lovers. Every Saturday they still have a big lot car show where people can show off their classic cars and mods. Last time I ate there, about ten years ago, there were roaches on the wall and so I've avoided it since then. Still, the car culture there is a thing to admire.
Sounds awesome. We had a similar thing in San Antonio, with the last-standing Pig Stand restaurant. It was once a coast-to-coast chain, but the last one closed a couple of years ago.
Growing up in Euclid Ohio during the 60's and 70's there was a Manners Big Boy. The big attraction on Saturday and Wednesday were the cars. And the carhops too.
For Boston Market, almost all the outlets in New Jersey closed abruptly in mid-Summer of 2023, all under one franchise holder, due to charges by the NJ Labor Dept. over underpaying staff. They had been in decline for a while due to competition from cheap cooked rotisserie chicken from Costco, many supermarkets, pricing getting to high and like many restaurants, their concept didn't keep up with the times.
Ruby Tuesday used to have a sign at the carry out parking spaces that said something like "Reserved for carry out only. All others will be crushed and melted."
Like all great things (me) + fast food too all originated SoCal- Bob’s, McD’s, In-n-Out, Taco Bell, Jack, Carl’s (Hardee’s your neck of the woods), Wienerschnitzel, Fatburger, Panda Express, Del Taco... Get a clue dweeb. What you got- White Castle? 😂
My local Steak n Shake used to be always busy, even late at night. The last time I was there, most of the lights were turned off in the dining room, it took 30 minutes to get my order, and the kiosk wouldn't accept my gift card but they had no way to manually override it. Their menu is also a shadow of its formal self. Honestly makes me sad because I used to tell people Steak n Shake had the best chain burgers, but it's not worth even trying anymore.
Definitely didn’t know Big Boy started in California, as a metro Detroiter I just assumed the headquarters were always here. They have a few new smaller footprint fast casual locations around here they’ve just opened, I hope they do well!
We have one coming back to Lansing. We had one on the west side of town, mere minutes from where I currently live, ironically, and the new one is opening on the south side, closer to where I grew up for 16+ years. There’s also locations in nearby Mason, Charlotte and St. Johns, and there used to be a location inside Meridian Mall just off the main food court, out in Okemos.
@@bennylevine387 In the southeast (like Kentucky), we had Frisch's Big Boys from at least the late 60s, I had only vaguely heard of Bob's Big Boy and never saw one until I moved to California.
Steak and Shake has gone way downhill in consistency. In the mid 2000s, I'd hit em up every time I saw one in my travels. Over the past 7-8 years, I've had consistently bad experiences.
In my area, it was keeping servers. It's not far from O'Hare, so you'd get the late concert or drunks at night. But daytime it was usually busy. Lockdown really hurt & kiosk is painful to figure out & workers look at you figure it out. Big turn off, they don't understand their job is keeping customers to.
There were 4 steak and shakes in my area. 3 of them were shut down for health code violations. The one closest to me had a very rough last few years. We ended up woth a free meal becuase it tooke 2 hours in an empty restraunt to get our burgers ans shakes. For the longest time they had a sign up on the outside "own this franchise for $10,000" i have no idea if that was corporate or the owner. It just got torn down a few weeks ago and rumor has it its going to be a starbucks. Even though theres a krispy kreme dunkin and a new scooters all within a mile
You hit the problem. Many S&S were badly run by the franchise operator and staff. Corporate didn't sit on them enough with inspections and quality survey. The ones that had quick service, organized staff, and 97 to 100 point health inspections are the ones that remain. The ones that popped up next to a new mall and didn't run well...tended to dissapear.
Starbucks can open one across from another and no business is lost. Have you noticed there's usually one in a grocery store and Target and that same shopping center will have a drive through location as well.
We had a Big Boys that held on for a long time, but when it sold the new owner only changed the name... the food was exactly the same. Our Ruby Tuesday came when it was at it's peak in 2007, then a few years later they just locked the doors one day. Didn't even bother to inform their staff it was closing.
I dont really compare them to fast food places. I often compare them to sit down resturaunt burgers to which they are closer in quality. And to that i say they are om the cheap emd of that spectrum.
Doesn't surprise me about Ruby Tuesday's They were similar to Red Robin or Applebee's...basically just another burger place. Food was good but lots of places like them everywhere.
Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant in my area, are very inconsistent. The Dayton Mall restaurant, tends to sell old or cold hamburger patties on the Big Boy sandwiches and the fries are usually cold, especially if you’re going through their drive thru. It’s so frustrating and annoying, that I’ve stopped going to that particular place. And, “if” I have a craving for a Big Boy sandwich and fries. I’ll drive to the Wilmington Pike, restaurant, where they’re always consistent and they take a lot of pride in their food and the customer service is really good too, especially the drive thru!
My days of dining out are over. Can't afford it. Spend $50 in a restaurant for one meal or spend $50 in a food store for several meals? Survival dictates the latter.
6:17 I recognized this as the Lemay Ferry location, which I really hope makes it. It's so cool and retro, totally worth saving. Many of the local SNS buildings have been stripped of their branding and even demolished now, but somebody is keeping this one alive, I've seen service vans maintaining it from time to time. I heard their big problem was a company bought it in 2008 and used the earnings to prop up their other failing companies, while making prices too low (and reducing the size of tips) and not investing back in the restaurants to keep up with the industry, so they struggled for good help and the quality at a number of them plummeted. Cold fudge on freezer-burnt ice cream and cold congealed cheese sauce were a couple of experiences I had. I liked the food and the value though, as long as I drove past 3 bad ones to get to the good one.
@@blueshattrick There is at least 1 more at Kingshighway and Chippewa, but both those are TECHNICALLY in the city of St. Louis. There are a handful more out in St. Louis county and beyond. There were 4 on Manchester Road alone, but ALL are gone, and Ellisville one was the only one not yet demolished yet as of the last time I saw. 😉🙂
The service (or horrible lack thereof,) was what made me stop going to the STL City locations, years ago. But that seems to be every fast food joint here, except Chik-Fil-A.
Merritt Square Mall back home in Florida had a Ruby Tuesday for decades there. It was always packed. Had a 4 out of 5 stars on Google. It's a shame, so many places I've know all gone. Makes me sad.
A&W is the 5th largest fast food chain in Canada, with only 1053 locations. There are only 300 more McDonald’s. For some reason, it works well up there.
Long John Silver’s needs something like the Captain D’s lobster roll to bring it back from death. A&W needs to start investing in their actual food instead of shakes and root beer. Their buns are sandpapers and their burger patties are paper thin. More expensive than other fast food chains with less quality.
The Mac was a McD copy of the Big Boy to try and attract adults and working class men to McD...and compete with Wendys stacks 1969 and The Whopper. Ray Kroc assembled the copy with what he already had. Two thin McD patties, borrowed a bun bottom for the middle, used bag army lettuce with "special sauce" just a mix of ketchup, mustard, mayo. It was a hit. Go figure.
@@STho205 Ray Kroc had nothing to do w the Big Mac. The big boy burger used two 1/8th pound patties. The Big Mac totals 3.6 oz. Big Boy changed from a 1/4 to a 1/5th of a pound. It’s funny how you try to paint the picture. Big boy also used shredded lettuce like the Big Mac. Lastly, big boy sauce is, like special sauce, just thousand island/slight variant.
It's just a stupid sandwich and easy to copy on the cheap. McD introduced it in 1967 specifically to compete with Big Boy in the older teen and adult sector. Ray Kroc bought out McD in 1961 and became owner. He became CEO in 1967.... coincidence....no it wasn't. He was an idea man that utilized other people's ideas....most are. 67 to 72 was their biggest expansion period based on percentage growth. It is a cheap copy using the small frozen patties already in stock and the existing buns. Eventually the complete sandwich was packaged...but in 67 it had two bottom buns.
@@jamespohl-md2eq Thousand Island dressing is mayo, ketchup, mustard mixed with pickle relish. A popular young adult dressing because it reminds them of burger joint taste till their tastes grow up a bit in their 30s.
I think not mentioning the decline of malls in America is a missed point with some of these restaurants. For instance, the only Ruby Tuesday and Steak and Shake in my area was in the malls.
I miss Buffalo Wild Wings being good and Applebee's. Buffalo Wild Wings used to let every GM run their restaurant the way they wanted. I was 21 in 2003. I lived in a place known as Irish Hill in Louisville. Near the Highlands aka party area of Louisville. The Buffalo Wild Wings there was a party every Monday night during the NFL season. Some of the best times i had in my life took place there. If you didn't get a table 2 hours in advance during football season, you didn't get a seat. About 5 years ago, i called a bartender friend that worked at one. This was Super Bowl Sunday. I walked in and found a seat at the bar. It was only half full.
Man, every time I cue up one of your videos I keep expecting to see the Ground Round. Only five are left in existence but I remember going there all the time as a kid.
Several years ago, had a ground round pop back up in the Milwaukee area. I was excited because remember loving this place. It took over a space in a hotel, occupied by the hotel restaurant at one time. Didn't remodel, so still felt like a 1990s era hotel restaurant. Food was all prepackaged food service proccesed garbage. Lasted about a year. Now it's an IHOP.
@whyherewhynow7418 when i was a kid and we went out to eat I would say I wanted to go to the popcorn restaurant lol. I remember how they served ice cream in little mini plastic baseball helmets and you got to take the helmet home. I still have one 😂
Man, I miss Big Boy! I've noticed over the years that a sure fire way to guarantee a restaurant failure is for me to develop an affinity for the place!! If I like a restaurant and start to frequent it - well, it's got a year left at the most. The kiss of death!!
Steak N Shake opened with much hype just south of San Francisco less than 10 years ago. Lines out the door. But a year later they were gone. Food was expensive and inferior compared to In-N-Out a few miles away.
I would say there shakes are the best compared to other places but unfortunately that will only get you so far especially with how much competition their is in the frozen desert market
The "Big Boy" brand was licensed to "Shoney's" in the South-East at least, and was very popular at one time. I suspect Shoney's dropping that affiliation was part of the overall "Big Boy" decline.
At the time, Shoney's was the largest Big Boy franchisee. I think part of the problem was that Big Boy allowed Shoney's and Frisch's to sub-franchise. I'm not aware of any other restaurant franchise system that allows that.
We had a Shoney's in Joplin MO (that once had the Big Boy out front,) up through my leaving for college in the 90s. Not sure when it closed exactly, but loved that breakfast buffet!
We had an Elby’s Big Boy in PA. I was working construction in the 90’s and had to travel to KY for a job. I went to a Shoney’s for dinner and was surprised to see all the Elby’s stuff on their menu.
I went to Big Boy in Japan (they are all over the place there) and it was totally different than here in the USA, the food was so much healthier and better. I guess that's to be expected though sadly lol.
Phoenix metro area is THE test market for chains and retailers. Today you can’t find any Boston Markets. The two that I knew of closed within the last 3 months. It’s bummer.
I don't eat cheesecake factory. I don't eat Chipotle either. I miss bennigans. A Boston market just closed by me, it's been there since i was a child. I'm 35 now. Can't believe it's gone. They've fallen off. Chicken doesn't taste as good, none of the food tastes as good. I used to love them.
Probably should have included McDonald’s, home of the McCrap burgers and wilted French fries. I’d rather eat a turd taco than try and consume the fertilizer food of McDonalds 🤮🤮🤮
My college campus still has a Steak ‘n Shake, and it was really good when I was there. I was only able to get it a few times though, as my class schedules never aligned with the times it was opened.
Ruby Tuesday died here because it was too expensive for our market. People just weren’t willing to pay as much as they were charging when they could pay for something similar for much less.
I worked at Steak n Shake in Indianapolis when I was in high school. One of my funniest memories was they had team sponsorship deals with the Colts and Cowboys, and had special paper tray liners printed to reflect that for the Indy and Dallas markets. Right before the two teams played each other that year there was a mistake(?) at the printer or distribution center and the Cowboys liners were sent to Indy locations and the Colts liners were sent to Dallas. 😂
I’m surprised not to see TGI Friday’s, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, etc. on this list. I’m not knocking any of the included restaurants or excluded ones either, but the ones I mentioned all appear to be in decline from what I can see.
Boston Market is one of my favorite restaurants. I they closed all the ones near me years ago. I went to one in Cleveland a month ago and it was TERRIBLE. It was filthy. It has folding tables set up. The food was a shell of what it once was. It was sad 😢
I recently finally got Boston Market chicken for my folks after letting them know about it. We enjoyed it very well and it's a shame that stores are closing and hopefully the one near my place.
I waited tables at Steak and Shake for 2 years in high school (74-76). It was on the same street as a McDonalds and Pizza Hut, so when we hit 16 we headed for one of them to get a job. I made $1.10 an hour + tips and often made close to $5 an hour with tips when it was busy, like lunch rush in the summer when I worked days. Back then they even had curb service. I think they started going downhill when they changed the menu, as often happens. It’ sad to see them fading away.
Part of the issue with Big Boy was that various sections of the country had their own franchisee who ran a number of Big Boy Restaurants, a couple of whom split away and went under their own name once they filled out their area and started encroaching into other territories. Shoney's was the largest franchisee, when they finally broke free they took nearly 40% of the Big Boy Branded restaurants with them (they've shrunken down since then).
My late Husband and I each had food poisoning three times at the local Boston Market finally we decided NEVER AGAIN. Having said that we both really miss THE BIG BOY!!!
Just hearing your summary of Bob's Big Boy, I can tell you aren't really looking for the cause of the decline of these places - "appealing to families and older people" is a BIG chunk of the restaurant market, but even those customers aren't going anymore - seems like a throwaway summary of whatever issues caused their decline.
typed that before seeing it in the video. I LOVE Boston Market. You could get stuff like homestyle chicken, cornbread and a favorite of mine .. Creamed Spinach ... sort of a fast food version with FRESH food
I loved the shrimp penne alfredo at Ruby Tuesdays good memories. Friday night after school I'd sometimes go there with my mom. Then after we went to the blockbuster next door and I get to rent a N64 game lol
2:24 One thing you didn't mention about Boston Market is that though their menu was unique for a fast food restaurant, it was easily imitated by grocery stores. 25 years ago the number of grocery delis offering mac and cheese, meatloaf, salad bar, etc started to skyrocket. Yes, some took in Boston Market as branding but quickly realized they could do it cheaper on their own. Folks going to do their grocery shopping just picked up the foods they used to get at Boston Market, saving themselves an extra stop. 4:13 Bob's Big Boy. I have fond memories of this place from my childhood (in the 1970s). There was one near where I used to live in southern California, and the West Covina Historical Society wanted to save the sign.. However, the crew removing the huge neon sign managed to drop it from 30 feet up into the street, destroying it.
I was a student at the Univ. of TN from 1971 - 1976 and I well remember the Ruby Tuesday's that opened there and I ate there on numerous occasions. It lost it's direction like most good restaurants do. Why do restaurants always want to change a winning formula. It usually leads to disaster.
interestingly enough I interviewed with Boston Market in the early 90s because I wanted to work for a more fresh approach to fast food! I explained that to the HR guy and he quickly told me that they were trying McDonaldize the company and that I might not be a good fit! He was right . I decided to stay true to my search for a company that wants to serve GOOD FOOD ! I found one and did very well (retired at 58). Being greedy always bites you in the butt .
Steak n Shake was one of the last restaurants to reopen their dining rooms here, some 1.5 years AFTER most of the restaurants here had opened fully. Then when they reopened, they got rid of waitresses and cashiers... no thanks.
Seeing Bob’s Big Boy on here is unsurprising. I’ve had one in my hometown for almost as long as I’ve been alive and their food has just always tasted cheap and outdated to me.
I remember seeing Austin Powers as a kid and didn't know that Big Boy was an actual restaurant until years later lol. Maybe they just didn't have it in my part of town? I'm pretty close to California though
I miss Boston Market. Their sides, particularly their creamed spinach and mac and cheese, were 100% fire. Their chicken and mashed with gravy was awesome too. I used to go to the original store when at my dad's as we lived in Newton (village of Auburndale) not far from it. There was another one near my mom's in Newton Highlands on the corner of Centre St and Lincoln St. Such a shame.
My grandmother loved steak ‘n Shake. They had one nearby when they would go to Florida for the winter. Big boy is still very popular in Japan. They are a family style restaurant. Similar menu to the USA, but definitely their own bent on it.
There are still several Bob’s Big Boy locations in and around Burbank. My family used to eat breakfast at the Northridge location almost weekly about 10 years ago. They had a great breakfast buffet.
All of them, I gave up on eating out over 15 years ago after walking away from my job at Montana's in Toronto, worked a few other restaurants and Pizza joints too, all over priced crap, silly people out in the dining room huffing copium about their middle class lives... I might be salty.
What I think about Ruby Tuesday's decline is the competition of other sit down chains like Applebee's, Chili's, Red Robin, BJ's, and Outback Steakhouse
I agree with you. Years ago, Outback was a place for special occasions… a real treat. The last steak I got there about five years ago, was like a piece of stew meat. Their salad and steamed vegetables were also bad
Steak 'n Shake was one of my favorite fast food chains a decade ago. Now the price of the food has tripled, the quality is gone, the service is gone, my favorite shake flavor is gone, and the stupid kiosk they make you order at and which barely functions in the first place has the gall to ask you for a tip. I'm not tipping a machine, and I'm not going back unless they get their act back together.
A kiosk asking for a tip😂
Lmao like tipping through the drive through... wtf
their food was so damn good though.
Food was good (except their fries…they were so tiny they were infuriating to eat). The problem around our locations is they were always so dirty! Sticky floors, unclean tables, horrific bathrooms. One of our local restaurants closed due to health department concerns. The remaining one seems to be a lot better these days, but the damage has been done and they don’t get much business. They do make some of the best milkshakes in the industry though! I think ShakeShack stole their thunder for the most part.
We chose Steak n Shake BECAUSE of the table service. Kids, like the one making this video, don't understand that some people PREFER that. We went to a SnS after the changes and literally ate there without talking to or SEEING an employee. Haven't been back.
No chain has fallen further than steak and shake. Went from amazing to garbage.
It’s the Nebraska football of restaurants.
Cuts to the quip.
That comment felt personal
Jefftaylor1186 Brother Jeff, I'm a Nebraska grad, & I thought your comment was funnier than hell! And for some years now, VERY true.
Came to watch a food review. I didn’t expect to see Nebraska football catching strays in the comments 😂
That is very true, sorry to say. No fan of any college football but I've got great memories of Steak'n'Shake in the late 80s and early 90s. It was good and priced for Navy guys and students that didn't have much money. That's all shot to hell now.
Steak N Shake's major problem is that they're no longer 24 hours. When I was in my 20s, my friends and I often went to Steak N Shake around 2-2:30 AM after Last Call at the local bar
From what I understand many restaurants were having trouble getting enough staff to be able to work overnight to remain open 24 hours even before the last few years made the labor market hyper-competitive. Overnight is probably the hardest position to fill in most businesses that offer it.
Cant do 24h too well, post-COVID
As a consumer, I stopped eating out. It’s getting too expensive, and the quality has gone down.
Even though losing weight was not the reason why I stopped eating out, I have lost 15 pounds in the last three weeks from 280 to 265.
I can definitely live with seeing more of that. So yeah, eating better, saving money, not dealing with sullen fast food employees, and losing weight has been a nice departure from eating out.
The Steak n Shake restaurants in my town (2 of them) got closed down for health code violations. One has reopened and the other sits empty. It used to be a place you could get sit-down service for less than the tab at fast food, but just can't trust their standards any more. Haven't patronized this chain in years.
Ah your local puke and choke had a few health violations huh? Par for the course
My local Steak ‘n Shake used to be THE high school hangout spot after Friday night football games or prom. That brand gives me a lot of nostalgia but I can’t eat there anymore due to declining standards
The one in Sandusky Ohio was all over the got closed down for a month a few years ago for violations.
Like Big Boy, other well known restaurants sold to Marriott have failed. Howard Johnson's, Farrell's Ice Cream, Roy Rogers, and many others. Selling to Marriott pretty much meant death.
I enjoyed Roy Rogers.
@@TheGuyvermedic. They still have roy rogers in Pennsylvania turnpike, its so nasty taste like cardboard
I remember my family and I used to eat at Big Boy often back in the day, good times.
@@gamerkev30 I refused to get that roy rogers a couple hours ago
Ferrell's was AMAZING
I put Outback Steakhouse in the same category. My wife and I used to go all the time in the early 2000s, then the menu suddenly got chopped and a bunch of good menu items went away. I think the business got in trouble because they started cheaping out on things but in a stealthy way. Their steaks stayed the same price but got small. I couldn't get a steak that was bigger than 8 oz., WTF? Quality also took a dive, I think it was because they were substituting cheap ingredients for things, but that's a guess. After the steaks got small and quality took a dump, I quit going and haven't been back. It's been 20 years. Too bad, Outback was a great place, I sure hated to see it crater like that. The place I go to now for a steak is Longhorn.
Taking a look at the Outback menu now, it's still mostly baby steaks. The couple of decent-sized ones are horridly expensive. $32.99 for a 13-oz ribeye? I can a lot better than that at Longhorn. The appetizers are mostly deep-fried and way too expensive, it has a real TGI Friday vibe to it. (TGIF is another place that was great in the 90s then just went to crap.) There's nothing there to bring me back, I'll stick with Longhorn.
Longhorn is going the same way. They have REALLY hiked prices the past few months and portions are smaller and lower quality. All of these casual chains are going to flame out in the next few years, inflation has murdered their business model for good.
@@scottjones3038
True enough. I went to Longhorn this weekend. It was good and I'll go back but the writing is on the wall for that place, too. This really started bad with Covid, I'm so goddamn tired of the war on restaurants.
The original “voice of Outback Steakhouse” was a native Australian but after 11 years they cancelled his contract and replaced him with a non-Australian who fakes the accent. That’s all I need to know about them. Never been there.
I agree. Years ago, I would go to the Outback and wait 40 minutes to be seated for a Ribeye with horseradish and dill topping. It was always a reliable treat.! It was an easy, basic order that was always good. Then, one day, I was trying to explain to the waiter that I wanted the traditional topping I had for years, and they were confused by my request. Then, the menu changed as Outback tried to go upscale with a bewildering selection of chef dishes.
@@99Michael
Yeah, their menu changed. It's like they were suddenly dedicated to reversing every good decision they'd made over the years. It was sudden and the people that worked there acted like those choices never existed. It was just bizarre. OK, you changed your menu. Don't f**king gaslight me and act like nothing changed between today and two weeks ago. That generated significant anger with me.
Boston market lost the game when grocery stores started selling rotisserie chicken.
Now, they all sell it, along with fried chicken and wings.
Plus, at Fry’s (Kroger) the chicken goes on sale around 7.
Yeah, their business model was flawed to put so much emphasis on a menu item that could be easily duplicated by other places and even supermarkets. I did like some of their frozen food items, by the low standards of frozen food.
@@michaelstein7510I don’t imagine they or others thought that grocery stores would get so into the fresh made foods arena. Back in 85 it would seem pretty far fetched.
Who would imagine back then they would have mini sushi joints. Or wing bars.
Or that they would be in the meal kit business. Or the fresh made meals like Kroger’s home chef.
My local frys even has pretty decent pizza that they sell by the slice at lunch.
They should have tried to move closer to offerings like Panera. And probably should have tried to create combo restaurants. Schlotzsky’s sells Cinnabon. That kind of thing.
@@jamespohl-md2eq Yeah, you’re right about that. They never could have predicted how much grocery stores and supermarkets would evolve the way they did. Imagining a place like Costco or Publix would have seemed outlandish at the time.
@@michaelstein7510Actually Costco started 2 years before the first BM. Price club started in 76.
And they stated selling hotdogs in 84. But from a cart outside. lol
What they are now is far from their start.
I can't believe how quickly my local Boston Market deteriorated. It went from a hustling bustling place to an empty shell within a year.
The final time I went in they had 2 employees working. Half the main menu items were unavailable. 2/3rds of the side station was empty. For me, the sides were the best part. I was the only person in the place. The girl at the register apologized and said I was the first customer they had in the past 2 hours. Needless to say, I left.
Part of the problem for me was their last gasp at marketing new items. Soups and sandwiches? I always seen BM as more of a dinner place and didn't get this at all.
I was unaware that Big Boy was still around. Haven't seen one in decades.
Same here. I haven’t seen one like you, decades.
There's a couple Frisch's Big Boys in Dayton OH
I saw one in the midwest but can’t remember exactly where! Maybe Kansas??? I wa surprised!!!
There’s still a bunch in Michigan
There is one in Burbank, CA. Love it.
I SO MISS Boston Market. GREAT quality food. Fast and healthy.
The closest Ruby Tuesday to me turned into our state's first In-n-Out. That's a W
In-n-out is great; but, bring your own mayo packets though...
But do they still have those awesome croutons? 😆
Eh, it is cheap but grossly overrated. Having grown up near them, the novelty will eventually wear off.
In n out is horrible 😂
Where’s The Bacon?
I was a child in the late 60s / early 70s. Back then, we RARELY had " fast food," like McDonald's. If and when we did, it was a treat.
The last few decades, it almost replaced the home cooked meals of my youth. My wife didn't know how to cook. " Home cooked" meant pre-made microwave or pop in the oven stuff.
With the economy tanking and me getting older, I find myself turning full circle to the attitudes of my parents and grand parents.
Fast food has become neither, and frankly doesn't taste all that great...and it's certifiably bad for you.
So in my opinion, most restaurants these days are past their prime- they serve no worthwhile purpose.
Great comment, I'm in my fifties and my wife can't cook either. WTH?
damn that sucks but why did you marry someone who cant cook lol
Ok Boomer
Why can’t you just cook what you want? I’m a 23 year old and both me and my girlfriend can cook just fine lol
But where I live, every me-too burger chain gets media splash and lines when they open their first local store…..in the lines are people who settle for garbage.
I spent of a bit of time at a Ruby Tuesday during their peak of expansion during which time they opened up a bunch of new locations in my area, almost tripling their number. The one I worked at was rather close to a couple of other locations such that we were often competing for the same casual customers. Our saving grace was being located next to a hospital which brought in a lot of people in scrubs on their lunch break and also next to one of the area's biggest Baptist churches, thus bringing in big crowds on early Sunday afternoons. Most of the area locations have since ceased being a Ruby Tuesday including the original batch, with restaurants either outright closing or converting to other restaurant brands. The one I worked at has since been converted to a Denny's.
My local denny's have all closed, along with Ruby Tuesdays, Tim Hortons, TGI,s, Red Lobster, Smokey Bones and outbacks..
I always liked Ruby Tuesdays. It's a shame to see them disappearing.
@vulpo There's one near where I live. My kid and I go there. The staff is nice, the food is pretty good, and the salad bar is good. Plus, they email me coupons so I always get a deal.
Should've included Bennigans. As of last autumn, they have a grand total of EIGHT restaurants still running! 😮
Benningan's appears in another video named "Endangered and near extinct restaurants of America: Part 2"
Most of their restaurants are outside the US, including a few in Mexico and I think a few in like the Middle East(forget which countries). If you count all remaining restaurants in the US and international, the overall number of Bennigan's is about 24.
Big Boy is still thriving in Michigan. Its official website had about 50 locations in the state, including one in my hometown which was around while I was growing up. It was called Elias Brothers' Big Boy.
Big Boy had like 34 different names because for some reason they allowed franchise owners to put their first name, nickname or Intitials before Big Boy. There was Bob's, Abdow's, Tops, TJ's Kip's. JB's, Lendy's, Manners & many more. There was even Yoda's Big Boy in Virginia! Tasty burger found you have! yes! may the fries be with you!
Only place I know of you can get chili spaghetti.
I wondered why I still see those every now and then in spite of the major decline...
They actually just opened a big boy in Plymouth Michigan about 2 weeks ago
Used to absolutely love getting their spaghetti as a kid. I loved the sandwich as a teen, then I left Michigan and haven't seen a Big Boy since.
Big Boys are still alive and kicking in SE Michigan, they never really died out here. The hot fudge ice cream cake is to die for, but yeah, to me it’s more of a version of dennys that doesnt suck and is good in a pinch.
Actually, I just realized that Big Boy and Denny's aren't the same chain. I always conflated them in my mind...
Their Big Mac looks great!
I was about to comment the same thing. We actually had one reopen just before covid that I was supposed to work at. But I can think of at least 3-4 that are always busy
Southeast michy baby woodhaven here, we have one , there’s one in Taylor , Wyandotte just to name a few ..their big boy sandwich blows away the Big Mac , plus you can get it regular sized and a larger Pattied one…yum
I'm surprised Jack In The Box hasn't made the list yet.
Steak n Shake used to be my friends and I’s go to during college because it was cheap, open late and decent food. Haven’t been there since pre pandemic and all the local ones have closed except one. A shame, plenty of great late night memories I have there.
except one...
hoffman estates?
@@NewPaulActs17the one in Plano, TX is still open. Haven't been there in years. My dog and I got her last meal from there. She loved the cheeseburgers and mocha shakes. That was 7 years ago, and I still miss her.
We used to hit Steak 🥩 and Shake after seeing a movie at the huge Cineplex across the street from it! Used to love the side by side shakes!
TGI Friday's comes to my mind. Used to be at least half a dozen locations in my market, all closed now.
The one in my town shut it's doors during quarantine.
You forgot Friendly's. They're more regional but they used to have at least one in every town in New Jersey, now they barely have any left nationwide.
actually seeing a Bright Sun Films had a Ruby Tuesday video ... showed how their changes were why people didn't like them as much ... people MISSED the original Ruby Tuesdays from years ago ... they completely changed what they were loved for
Big time. Back in the early 90s, there was a Ruby Tuesday near my house that I loved. Going there on Friday night, the joint was rocking. I was in the Navy at the time, clearly not much money. Then I went to college. Still not much money, perfectly geared toward me. Then they declined bad. I haven't been there in 20 years now.
@@Skank_and_Gutterboy that was the Morrisons years that you liked.
Morrisons (a Mobile Ala cafeteria and hospital food service) bought the small chain in the early 80s and turned it into the big regional success. A competitor with Applebee's and other yuppie bistros.
They also created or bought several other yuppie chains.
Eventually Morrisons split up into 3 corps in the late 90s...one was RT with the ancillary chains.
That's when they started changing formulas and ownership. Failing RT were turned into their other brands.
Bob's Big Boy's original location in Burbank, CA is still a hot spot for car lovers. Every Saturday they still have a big lot car show where people can show off their classic cars and mods. Last time I ate there, about ten years ago, there were roaches on the wall and so I've avoided it since then. Still, the car culture there is a thing to admire.
That’s normal for Burbank
I ate there once around 2015, the food was disgusting.
Sounds awesome. We had a similar thing in San Antonio, with the last-standing Pig Stand restaurant. It was once a coast-to-coast chain, but the last one closed a couple of years ago.
Growing up in Euclid Ohio during the 60's and 70's there was a Manners Big Boy. The big attraction on Saturday and Wednesday were the cars. And the carhops too.
For Boston Market, almost all the outlets in New Jersey closed abruptly in mid-Summer of 2023, all under one franchise holder, due to charges by the NJ Labor Dept. over underpaying staff. They had been in decline for a while due to competition from cheap cooked rotisserie chicken from Costco, many supermarkets, pricing getting to high and like many restaurants, their concept didn't keep up with the times.
Thier chicken made me sick!
I thought that their food always tasted greasy. Never had a good meal there.
My sister worked there. That shit was hell.
Ruby Tuesday used to have a sign at the carry out parking spaces that said something like "Reserved for carry out only. All others will be crushed and melted."
Sns was so good . The atmosphere was so cool with the old school chome builds. Ice cream shakes was phenomenal.
I miss Ruby Tuesday. Was one of my favorite chain restaurants.
I do, too. My wife and I enjoyed their salad bar, combined with a small entree.
@@jacksonfl The salad bar was spectacular, when he had salad bars. What the hell happened that they fell out of favor?
@@gobbletegookCovid
I always thought that Big Boy was originally from Michigan because their ads were on the Detroit Red Wings rink at Joe Louis Arena
Its popular here
That was Elias brothers bog bpy
Like all great things (me) + fast food too all originated SoCal- Bob’s, McD’s, In-n-Out, Taco Bell, Jack, Carl’s (Hardee’s your neck of the woods), Wienerschnitzel, Fatburger, Panda Express, Del Taco... Get a clue dweeb. What you got- White Castle? 😂
the nostalgic in me loves these videos
Ruby Tuesday really did have a magnificent salad bar. I still dream of their homemade croutons. 🤤
Every time the competition fades away, the heavy rollers know they can slack off on quality and increase prices.
My local Steak n Shake used to be always busy, even late at night. The last time I was there, most of the lights were turned off in the dining room, it took 30 minutes to get my order, and the kiosk wouldn't accept my gift card but they had no way to manually override it. Their menu is also a shadow of its formal self. Honestly makes me sad because I used to tell people Steak n Shake had the best chain burgers, but it's not worth even trying anymore.
Definitely didn’t know Big Boy started in California, as a metro Detroiter I just assumed the headquarters were always here. They have a few new smaller footprint fast casual locations around here they’ve just opened, I hope they do well!
We have one coming back to Lansing. We had one on the west side of town, mere minutes from where I currently live, ironically, and the new one is opening on the south side, closer to where I grew up for 16+ years. There’s also locations in nearby Mason, Charlotte and St. Johns, and there used to be a location inside Meridian Mall just off the main food court, out in Okemos.
Weird I am from Detroit and never saw a Bob's til I came to California. That was a long time ago, though.
Forgot, have taken trips up north and at last check there was still one next to perhaps a chain doing even worse, a Ponderosa, in Clare.
@@bennylevine387 In the southeast (like Kentucky), we had Frisch's Big Boys from at least the late 60s, I had only vaguely heard of Bob's Big Boy and never saw one until I moved to California.
McDonald's is going to be on one of these lists if they keep heading in the direction they are.
Mc D’s is committing suicide...
Nah they will get another Olympics sponsorship like always ;))
Steak and Shake has gone way downhill in consistency. In the mid 2000s, I'd hit em up every time I saw one in my travels. Over the past 7-8 years, I've had consistently bad experiences.
Food quality went down hill.
In my area, it was keeping servers. It's not far from O'Hare, so you'd get the late concert or drunks at night. But daytime it was usually busy. Lockdown really hurt & kiosk is painful to figure out & workers look at you figure it out. Big turn off, they don't understand their job is keeping customers to.
There were 4 steak and shakes in my area. 3 of them were shut down for health code violations. The one closest to me had a very rough last few years. We ended up woth a free meal becuase it tooke 2 hours in an empty restraunt to get our burgers ans shakes. For the longest time they had a sign up on the outside "own this franchise for $10,000" i have no idea if that was corporate or the owner. It just got torn down a few weeks ago and rumor has it its going to be a starbucks. Even though theres a krispy kreme dunkin and a new scooters all within a mile
You hit the problem. Many S&S were badly run by the franchise operator and staff. Corporate didn't sit on them enough with inspections and quality survey.
The ones that had quick service, organized staff, and 97 to 100 point health inspections are the ones that remain.
The ones that popped up next to a new mall and didn't run well...tended to dissapear.
The burger was ok to good.
The fries were rather lackluster even for frozen fries which all FF restaurants use.
Starbucks can open one across from another and no business is lost. Have you noticed there's usually one in a grocery store and Target and that same shopping center will have a drive through location as well.
We had a Big Boys that held on for a long time, but when it sold the new owner only changed the name... the food was exactly the same. Our Ruby Tuesday came when it was at it's peak in 2007, then a few years later they just locked the doors one day. Didn't even bother to inform their staff it was closing.
Love Ruby Tuesday’s salad bar.
The best!
Five Guys is tasty, but $10 for a burger, not including fries or a drink, is insane! No amount of free peanuts can justify that.
I dont really compare them to fast food places. I often compare them to sit down resturaunt burgers to which they are closer in quality. And to that i say they are om the cheap emd of that spectrum.
@@therecalcitrantseditionist3613 Fair point.
Doesn't surprise me about Ruby Tuesday's They were similar to Red Robin or Applebee's...basically just another burger place. Food was good but lots of places like them everywhere.
Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant in my area, are very inconsistent. The Dayton Mall restaurant, tends to sell old or cold hamburger patties on the Big Boy sandwiches and the fries are usually cold, especially if you’re going through their drive thru. It’s so frustrating and annoying, that I’ve stopped going to that particular place. And, “if” I have a craving for a Big Boy sandwich and fries. I’ll drive to the Wilmington Pike, restaurant, where they’re always consistent and they take a lot of pride in their food and the customer service is really good too, especially the drive thru!
The one on Wilmington is a solid spot for sure
The one in Springfield is good
My days of dining out are over. Can't afford it. Spend $50 in a restaurant for one meal or spend $50 in a food store for several meals? Survival dictates the latter.
Good Bye, Ruby Tuesday, who could hang a name on you when you DON'T change with every new day.....still I'm gonna miss you.
6:17 I recognized this as the Lemay Ferry location, which I really hope makes it. It's so cool and retro, totally worth saving. Many of the local SNS buildings have been stripped of their branding and even demolished now, but somebody is keeping this one alive, I've seen service vans maintaining it from time to time.
I heard their big problem was a company bought it in 2008 and used the earnings to prop up their other failing companies, while making prices too low (and reducing the size of tips) and not investing back in the restaurants to keep up with the industry, so they struggled for good help and the quality at a number of them plummeted. Cold fudge on freezer-burnt ice cream and cold congealed cheese sauce were a couple of experiences I had. I liked the food and the value though, as long as I drove past 3 bad ones to get to the good one.
Apparently (according to Google maps) the only STL location is Hampton just south of FP.. hard to believe!
@@blueshattrick There is at least 1 more at Kingshighway and Chippewa, but both those are TECHNICALLY in the city of St. Louis. There are a handful more out in St. Louis county and beyond. There were 4 on Manchester Road alone, but ALL are gone, and Ellisville one was the only one not yet demolished yet as of the last time I saw. 😉🙂
The service (or horrible lack thereof,) was what made me stop going to the STL City locations, years ago. But that seems to be every fast food joint here, except Chik-Fil-A.
Merritt Square Mall back home in Florida had a Ruby Tuesday for decades there. It was always packed. Had a 4 out of 5 stars on Google. It's a shame, so many places I've know all gone. Makes me sad.
we have one in Cocoa... over by lowes.
Can A&W and Long John Silvers return to their primes?
A&W is the 5th largest fast food chain in Canada, with only 1053 locations. There are only 300 more McDonald’s. For some reason, it works well up there.
Our A and W was as slow as Popeyes doing shift change at evening rush.
@@lelandgaunt9985quality is much more important than being fast.
Went to A&W the other day and it was disgusting.
Long John Silver’s needs something like the Captain D’s lobster roll to bring it back from death. A&W needs to start investing in their actual food instead of shakes and root beer. Their buns are sandpapers and their burger patties are paper thin. More expensive than other fast food chains with less quality.
We enjoy cooking at home. Dinning out is just not the great experience it once was.
Very true, Prices went up and quality went down.
All of these restaurants are still in my area Ruby Tuesday’s being my favorite
Big boy sandwiches were way bigger than Big Macs. Plus they had the Slim Jim.
Why would you fast food to casual dining?
The Mac was a McD copy of the Big Boy to try and attract adults and working class men to McD...and compete with Wendys stacks 1969 and The Whopper. Ray Kroc assembled the copy with what he already had. Two thin McD patties, borrowed a bun bottom for the middle, used bag army lettuce with "special sauce" just a mix of ketchup, mustard, mayo.
It was a hit. Go figure.
@@STho205 Ray Kroc had nothing to do w the Big Mac.
The big boy burger used two 1/8th pound patties. The Big Mac totals 3.6 oz. Big Boy changed from a 1/4 to a 1/5th of a pound. It’s funny how you try to paint the picture.
Big boy also used shredded lettuce like the Big Mac.
Lastly, big boy sauce is, like special sauce, just thousand island/slight variant.
It's just a stupid sandwich and easy to copy on the cheap.
McD introduced it in 1967 specifically to compete with Big Boy in the older teen and adult sector.
Ray Kroc bought out McD in 1961 and became owner. He became CEO in 1967.... coincidence....no it wasn't. He was an idea man that utilized other people's ideas....most are.
67 to 72 was their biggest expansion period based on percentage growth.
It is a cheap copy using the small frozen patties already in stock and the existing buns. Eventually the complete sandwich was packaged...but in 67 it had two bottom buns.
@@jamespohl-md2eq Thousand Island dressing is mayo, ketchup, mustard mixed with pickle relish. A popular young adult dressing because it reminds them of burger joint taste till their tastes grow up a bit in their 30s.
I think not mentioning the decline of malls in America is a missed point with some of these restaurants. For instance, the only Ruby Tuesday and Steak and Shake in my area was in the malls.
My Boston Market just closed :(. Right across the street Steak n Shake closed during pandemic and recently re-opened.
I miss Buffalo Wild Wings being good and Applebee's.
Buffalo Wild Wings used to let every GM run their restaurant the way they wanted. I was 21 in 2003. I lived in a place known as Irish Hill in Louisville. Near the Highlands aka party area of Louisville.
The Buffalo Wild Wings there was a party every Monday night during the NFL season. Some of the best times i had in my life took place there.
If you didn't get a table 2 hours in advance during football season, you didn't get a seat. About 5 years ago, i called a bartender friend that worked at one. This was Super Bowl Sunday. I walked in and found a seat at the bar. It was only half full.
BWW is too expensive for what they are and while their sauces are great - the wings quality has took a nosedive.
Man, every time I cue up one of your videos I keep expecting to see the Ground Round.
Only five are left in existence but I remember going there all the time as a kid.
I loved that place😄
I remember when they gave free peanuts, and then when the cost went up free popcorn.
Several years ago, had a ground round pop back up in the Milwaukee area. I was excited because remember loving this place. It took over a space in a hotel, occupied by the hotel restaurant at one time. Didn't remodel, so still felt like a 1990s era hotel restaurant. Food was all prepackaged food service proccesed garbage. Lasted about a year. Now it's an IHOP.
@@whyherewhynow7418shells all over the floor, it was like going to the circus for dinner as a kid
@whyherewhynow7418 when i was a kid and we went out to eat I would say I wanted to go to the popcorn restaurant lol. I remember how they served ice cream in little mini plastic baseball helmets and you got to take the helmet home. I still have one 😂
Man, I miss Big Boy! I've noticed over the years that a sure fire way to guarantee a restaurant failure is for me to develop an affinity for the place!! If I like a restaurant and start to frequent it - well, it's got a year left at the most. The kiss of death!!
Steak N Shake opened with much hype just south of San Francisco less than 10 years ago. Lines out the door. But a year later they were gone. Food was expensive and inferior compared to In-N-Out a few miles away.
I would say there shakes are the best compared to other places but unfortunately that will only get you so far especially with how much competition their is in the frozen desert market
The "Big Boy" brand was licensed to "Shoney's" in the South-East at least, and was very popular at one time. I suspect Shoney's dropping that affiliation was part of the overall "Big Boy" decline.
At the time, Shoney's was the largest Big Boy franchisee. I think part of the problem was that Big Boy allowed Shoney's and Frisch's to sub-franchise. I'm not aware of any other restaurant franchise system that allows that.
We had a Shoney's in Joplin MO (that once had the Big Boy out front,) up through my leaving for college in the 90s. Not sure when it closed exactly, but loved that breakfast buffet!
We had an Elby’s Big Boy in PA. I was working construction in the 90’s and had to travel to KY for a job. I went to a Shoney’s for dinner and was surprised to see all the Elby’s stuff on their menu.
I went to Big Boy in Japan (they are all over the place there) and it was totally different than here in the USA, the food was so much healthier and better. I guess that's to be expected though sadly lol.
Phoenix metro area is THE test market for chains and retailers. Today you can’t find any Boston Markets. The two that I knew of closed within the last 3 months. It’s bummer.
I don't eat cheesecake factory. I don't eat Chipotle either.
I miss bennigans.
A Boston market just closed by me, it's been there since i was a child. I'm 35 now. Can't believe it's gone. They've fallen off. Chicken doesn't taste as good, none of the food tastes as good. I used to love them.
Fast food prices are too high right now, you will go bankrupt if you eat out every meal
There were four Boston Markets in my area growing up. All of them have closed and have been sitting unsold and vacant for years, it's pretty eerie.
Probably should have included McDonald’s, home of the McCrap burgers and wilted French fries. I’d rather eat a turd taco than try and consume the fertilizer food of McDonalds 🤮🤮🤮
My college campus still has a Steak ‘n Shake, and it was really good when I was there. I was only able to get it a few times though, as my class schedules never aligned with the times it was opened.
Ruby Tuesday died here because it was too expensive for our market. People just weren’t willing to pay as much as they were charging when they could pay for something similar for much less.
I worked at Steak n Shake in Indianapolis when I was in high school. One of my funniest memories was they had team sponsorship deals with the Colts and Cowboys, and had special paper tray liners printed to reflect that for the Indy and Dallas markets. Right before the two teams played each other that year there was a mistake(?) at the printer or distribution center and the Cowboys liners were sent to Indy locations and the Colts liners were sent to Dallas. 😂
I’m surprised not to see TGI Friday’s, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, etc. on this list. I’m not knocking any of the included restaurants or excluded ones either, but the ones I mentioned all appear to be in decline from what I can see.
Boston Market is one of
my favorite restaurants. I they closed all the ones near me years ago. I went to one in Cleveland a month ago and it was TERRIBLE. It was filthy. It has folding tables set up. The food was a shell of what it once was. It was sad 😢
10% to the big guy
Lol
Biden is a criminal
You're so ignorant. You believe anything you hear on the internet don't you?
Russian fake news.
I recently finally got Boston Market chicken for my folks after letting them know about it. We enjoyed it very well and it's a shame that stores are closing and hopefully the one near my place.
There are a couple locations by me, and I have always wondered how they stay open, as they never seem busy
I waited tables at Steak and Shake for 2 years in high school (74-76). It was on the same street as a McDonalds and Pizza Hut, so when we hit 16 we headed for one of them to get a job. I made $1.10 an hour + tips and often made close to $5 an hour with tips when it was busy, like lunch rush in the summer when I worked days. Back then they even had curb service. I think they started going downhill when they changed the menu, as often happens. It’ sad to see them fading away.
There is a Big Boy near my house, and I always try my best to visit it before it may close due to the scarcity of Big Boys.
Part of the issue with Big Boy was that various sections of the country had their own franchisee who ran a number of Big Boy Restaurants, a couple of whom split away and went under their own name once they filled out their area and started encroaching into other territories. Shoney's was the largest franchisee, when they finally broke free they took nearly 40% of the Big Boy Branded restaurants with them (they've shrunken down since then).
My late Husband and I each had food poisoning three times at the local Boston Market finally we decided NEVER AGAIN.
Having said that we both really miss THE BIG BOY!!!
We LOVED Ruby Tuesday out here in the west...one of the best salad bars ever...Went often to two locations..Then gone....inexplicably...
Just hearing your summary of Bob's Big Boy, I can tell you aren't really looking for the cause of the decline of these places - "appealing to families and older people" is a BIG chunk of the restaurant market, but even those customers aren't going anymore - seems like a throwaway summary of whatever issues caused their decline.
one that annoys me (DAMN MCDONALDS buying them out and turning them to even MORE McD's ) .... Boston Market ... I miss having them around my area
typed that before seeing it in the video. I LOVE Boston Market. You could get stuff like homestyle chicken, cornbread and a favorite of mine .. Creamed Spinach ... sort of a fast food version with FRESH food
I loved the shrimp penne alfredo at Ruby Tuesdays good memories. Friday night after school I'd sometimes go there with my mom. Then after we went to the blockbuster next door and I get to rent a N64 game lol
Just had Ruby Tuesday's shrimp penne alfredo a few weeks ago in Cincinnati. Sadly, it's now the only Ruby's in the area.
@@michaelsimpson4268 Yea they're very rare. Sucks I rather them than alot of other restaurants in my area
2:24 One thing you didn't mention about Boston Market is that though their menu was unique for a fast food restaurant, it was easily imitated by grocery stores. 25 years ago the number of grocery delis offering mac and cheese, meatloaf, salad bar, etc started to skyrocket. Yes, some took in Boston Market as branding but quickly realized they could do it cheaper on their own. Folks going to do their grocery shopping just picked up the foods they used to get at Boston Market, saving themselves an extra stop.
4:13 Bob's Big Boy. I have fond memories of this place from my childhood (in the 1970s). There was one near where I used to live in southern California, and the West Covina Historical Society wanted to save the sign.. However, the crew removing the huge neon sign managed to drop it from 30 feet up into the street, destroying it.
The last time I went to a Steak n Shake was Atlanta
and we were treated like racist whites by an all black staff who told us it would be a 2 hour wait
Fazollis probably could be on the list though I love that place.
I was a student at the Univ. of TN from 1971 - 1976 and I well remember the Ruby Tuesday's that opened there and I ate there on numerous occasions. It lost it's direction like most good restaurants do. Why do restaurants always want to change a winning formula. It usually leads to disaster.
I'm not crying for the loss of any of these restaurants.
interestingly enough I interviewed with Boston Market in the early 90s because I wanted to work for a more fresh approach to fast food! I explained that to the HR guy and he quickly told me that they were trying McDonaldize the company and that I might not be a good fit! He was right . I decided to stay true to my search for a company that wants to serve GOOD FOOD ! I found one and did very well (retired at 58).
Being greedy always bites you in the butt .
Mcdonald's was novel in the 1950's, and popular in the 1960's. Now it's just a damn expensive blah burger place.
Its the Walmart of fast food…
Boston Market reminds me of a other failed rotisserie chicken chain, Kenny Rogers Roasters. That place was so good!
Steak n Shake was one of the last restaurants to reopen their dining rooms here, some 1.5 years AFTER most of the restaurants here had opened fully. Then when they reopened, they got rid of waitresses and cashiers... no thanks.
Wow…how did they get rid of the waitresses? So you pick up the food at the counter like a fast food place? Weird..pass.
Seeing Bob’s Big Boy on here is unsurprising. I’ve had one in my hometown for almost as long as I’ve been alive and their food has just always tasted cheap and outdated to me.
I remember seeing Austin Powers as a kid and didn't know that Big Boy was an actual restaurant until years later lol. Maybe they just didn't have it in my part of town? I'm pretty close to California though
Last time I ate at Ruby Tuesday was in August 2016.
My grandfather passed away that day.
Chipotle lmao that place sux in comparison to Ruby Tuesday
Steak 'n Shake: "Who are you?"
Culver's: "I'm you, but stronger."
Culver’s: “I’m you, but actually good.”
I miss Boston Market. Their sides, particularly their creamed spinach and mac and cheese, were 100% fire. Their chicken and mashed with gravy was awesome too. I used to go to the original store when at my dad's as we lived in Newton (village of Auburndale) not far from it. There was another one near my mom's in Newton Highlands on the corner of Centre St and Lincoln St. Such a shame.
My grandmother loved steak ‘n Shake. They had one nearby when they would go to Florida for the winter.
Big boy is still very popular in Japan. They are a family style restaurant. Similar menu to the USA, but definitely their own bent on it.
There are still several Bob’s Big Boy locations in and around Burbank. My family used to eat breakfast at the Northridge location almost weekly about 10 years ago. They had a great breakfast buffet.
Man I miss the Boston Market in my area that went out of business like a year ago I loved that place
The big boy technically never left-Austin Powers
In the late 90s a Boston Market was just about finished construction near me. It never opened. Became a Tim Hortons.
All of them, I gave up on eating out over 15 years ago after walking away from my job at Montana's in Toronto, worked a few other restaurants and Pizza joints too, all over priced crap, silly people out in the dining room huffing copium about their middle class lives... I might be salty.
You sound like a Quebecer in your saltiness!
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... in San Salvador, El Salvador, there was a Big Boy restaurant. I loved those burgers.
I didn’t realize any Big Boys were still around. I haven’t actually seen one since the ‘90s.
What I think about Ruby Tuesday's decline is the competition of other sit down chains like Applebee's, Chili's, Red Robin, BJ's, and Outback Steakhouse
Ironically, they're all just as bad as the others. Generic crap food.
Applebees is having a large decline too
I agree with you. Years ago, Outback was a place for special occasions… a real treat. The last steak I got there about five years ago, was like a piece of stew meat. Their salad and steamed vegetables were also bad