The Endangered and Near Extinct Restaurant Chains of America
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- The Endangered and Near Extinct Restaurant Chains of America…
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"Friendly's Restaurant" by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Friendly's (Willimantic, Connecticut)" by jjbers is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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"Friendly's Ice Cream Restaurant" by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Friendly's Ice Cream, Plainville, CT With Mike Mozart and Scringy Sept 2, 2009" by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Red Robin" by Phillip Pessar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Friendly's - West Springfield MA" by Rusty Clark ~ 100K Photos is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Roy Rogers" by Random Retail is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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"Roy Roger's at Walt Whitman Service Area" by brownpau is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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"Shuttered Shoney's" by Blue MauMau is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Country Fried Steak Breakfast at Shoney's" by pointnshoot is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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"Former Shoney's, Dry Ridge, KY" by wachovia_138 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Abandoned Shoney's (Salem, Virginia)" by jjbers is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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"Ponder o Rosa" by Random Retail is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Ponderosa Steakhouse, Saginaw" by wachovia_138 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips at Miami Subs" by Phillip Pessar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"Nathan’s Famous And Arthur Treachers Fish And Chips Miami Subs Hollywood" by Phillip Pessar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
I really appreciate hearing a real human voice on videos like this when so many are using the annoying robot text-to-speech! Well done!
Me too. I've taken to clicking out of videos as soon as I detect a robot voice. Such lazy production.
Yep, I can't stand the TTS channels. As AI continues to grow in complexity and popularity we're gonna see more and more robot videos
AI sucks.
Exactly. Videos are (or should be) about human-to-human communication.
At least they don't put annoying music in their videos, like this one.
Quality has gone down and prices have risen,
When the prices go up up up and the quality goes down down down.
DEMOCRATS are running things (into the ground, on purpose).
@John-PaulHunt-wy7lfEverything is about doing it yourself now, even if you have more money than you know how to spend. It's a 'fix your own car' jack-of-all-trades culture nowadays where grease under your hands is the sign of a functioning adult and you lay your own driveway, install your own gutters, and prepare all your meals from scratch. Institutional distrust is high and the only guaranteed way to ensure the quality of your ingredients is to source everything locally.
That's where the money is, nowadays. Ronald McDonald is slowly giving way in favor of Old MacDonald's Farm- or, at least, the idea of Old MacDonald's Farm.
Of course, this means the people that simply can't/aren't able to do everything themselves (because they're working 12 hrs a day, because they're disabled, because they have five kids etc etc) end up bearing the brunt of it as it's simply not viable to maintain the same low price high volume strategy that categorized food service (or, indeed, a lot of specialized trades) once-upon-a-time.
Story being told across the entire economy. Every CEO is chasing next quarter growth, and the easiest way is to cut costs and screw over the next guy.
As long as you get your stock options and dip out before the consequences of your decisions, you can make a killing.
Eventually this won’t be able to continue
Stop letting politics live rent free in your head, and go touch grass.@John-PaulHunt-wy7lf
Shoney's closing was a national tragedy. After it closed my family had to just wander the streets hungry after church.
There isn't a local restaurant nearby?
@@robk7266 fr lol, support local businesses guys
@@robk7266pretty clearly is sarcasm. They’re saying that was their favorite place to go after church, and now sarcastically saying they’d almost rather not eat than go somewhere else.
@@patrickmccormack3209 Sarcasm doesn't translate to text very well, but I also thought it was obvious. lol
Shoneys was the bomb.
I miss Friendly’s, I used to love that place. There’s a few more places like Quiznos, O’Charleys, CiCi’s Pizza, Ruby Tuesday. They are on the endangered list.
There is a Quiznos in Washington somewhere
I loved Quiznos! Some of their subs were awesome. That company was very poorly run, though, and really took advantage of their franchisees. It's no surprise they're not around anymore
There are tons of friendlys here in NJ
I'm happy that my local Friendly's has survived so far. I went there a couple months ago, and while it wasn't packed, it wasn't empty either.
O'Charleys here in ohio closed like half their locations last year
Friendly's is the one I have the most emotional attachment to. I remember going to one in Morrisville PA in the early 1980s with my Mom and my grandmother, then going to that same exact one when my wife and I began going out and when we were newlyweds. It was also that same exact spot where we took our son for his first dining out to eat experiences. When it closed down it was very sad to me. None of us have eaten at the other one in the Langhorne area since my son was like in 6th or 7th grade I believe. I think the days of all of these types of restaurants is coming to an end.
Same, my dad and I would go to Friendly's (my mom couldn't stand it.) The food was OK and the ice cream was good. The location in my home town is closed and demolished now.
@@elibaumann9718I can reckon w/u, Mr. Baumann. Most of the Friendly's locations in the Metro Detroit (MI) area were located in shopping malls (all have been closed since w/in the past 15 yrs). Another location (a free-standing 1) closed in the mid-1980s but became a very successful bar & grill called the Brass Pointe in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills. Nvrthlss; I still miss Friendly's & their Fribble Shakes.
@billyba You can make Fribbles at home - just add ICED milk and strawberry or chocolate syrup to a blender, no ice cream
@@colleenmarin8907 Thanks; once I obtain a more permanent residence (I'm semi-homeless currently), I'll definitely take up ur advice RE: homemade Fribbles.
They should have just stayed with Ice Cream. The regular meals aren't great. I believe it started in Springfield MA.
In Nova Scotia in the 1990's one could go to Ponderosa and get a steak & potato meal (with complimentary salad and vegetables from the buffet) for $5.99.
(That is about $13 today, adjusted for inflation).
It was a great option for family events, but at those low prices, it isn't hard to see why they started going broke.
Same with the one here in Charlottetown. It was a real happening place at one time. Lineups out the door at peak periods were common.
They tried to relaunch Bonanza in Edmonton in the late 2000's/early 2010's but it was a flop. Also shows you how bad value was at the time when a steakhouse closed in Alberta...
I'm guessing meat prices being lower (even taking account inflation) is one of the reasons for the low prices back then.
If it existed, I go today! But…. What’s the alternative in Canada today? Outback for $100 for 2?
Even low prices will not save you if your product sucks.
A while ago my wife and I saw a sign saying that there was a Roy Rogers at a rest stop on I-95. We had to stop. Roy's used to be a major player in the burger wars. If they did something like add a fixin's bar or whatever then the other chains had to answer. Eating there was like a trip back in time
Back when I worked Swing Shift at Texas Instruments, in Dallas, TX, in the mid 1980's, we'd get coupons for Bonanza every week in the newspaper. Steak, baked potato, and salad bar for $4.99, including a drink and soft serve ice cream dessert. I'd go there two or three times a week for 'brunch' before work (working 3:00-11:30pm) and eat enough to last all shift. Decent food, always filling, for a price that left me enough money to chase girls and drink lots of beer at night! Good times.
Bonanza was our "treat" restaurant when I was a little kid and we'd get a child support check in the mail from my dad. Even as a kid I loved getting a t-bone!
Is that why they are dying, too cheap?
Arthur Treacher’s has 4 locations in Rochester, NY still operating, however they are co-branded inside Salvatore’s Pizzerias.
There's also one in a mall in bridgewater NJ, I think connected to Nathan's hot dogs in the food court. As soon as I saw the logo I recognized it. Google says it's still there, probably wasn't counted as a food court restaurant though
And even so it's still not amazing. Went to the one on Ridge and Culver road once and it tasted pretty much like Long John Silvers
i live in buffalo so i gotta go and check this out thnaks for letting me know
I live in Rochester. Where’s the Arthur treachers lol
In the 80s, there was one in Old Say brook CT
Arthur Treacher’s % of Peak Remaining is 0.2%, not 0.002% [(2/826)*100 = 0.2]. Also, as others have noted, there has been a move to get Roy Roger’s up and going again.
One you missed was Rax roast beef. Only like 5 left. Still has the best roast beef. Only a few in Ohio Kentucky and one in Joliet IL. Man I’m hoping the next time I got back to Chicago to take a trip for some 80s nostalgia.
I drove all the way to Joliet from Milwaukee to go to that Rax! It was worth it - literally like going back in time!!
We still have one in my town of Circleville Ohio
@@jeffwilson3527had one in my hometown of Portsmouth, Oh for a couple of years. It was literally within a stone’s throw of an Arby’s. We have 3 Arby’s in the county. “What the heck is Rax? It’s just another Arby’s? Why bother going there?” Rax didn’t have a chance. It was gone in a couple of years.
Loved Friendly's as a kid (ice cream was included with the kids meal), Roy's had great fried chicken, burgers, fries, biscuits and the condiment bar (you could use it as a salad bar). That was my favorite place to eat when I was a kid in D.C.
Yes, Roy Rogers burgers were the best (IMO), and their fried chicken was good as well.
Friendly Ice Cream
I didn’t even know friendlys was a restaurant at one point I’ve only ever known them as a supermarket ice cream brand
I can understand Friendly's going under. Over the past decade, we have had just one too many really bad experiences with the food and staff, and finally just gave up on the chain. It was a shame because in the late 80's that was the Go-To place; great fries and ice cream. Oh well.
You had mentioned Red Robin. I dined at one once. The food made me so sick, I did not make it through the meal. I'll never step foot in one again.
Same goes for Chipolte. Watched the prep cook spill a skillet of cooked chicken all over the range, then use his tongs to fish it out from inside the grates and under the burners, then put the chicken into the serving pan. Done. Out of there. Will never eat in one again.
I've been to the Red Robin at Virginia Center Commons (now a dead-and-converting mall; the RR is a separate building). I found the food good but not worth the price.
@@josepherhardt164 VERY important question for you - do you know anyone who calls it "VCC"? My sister and her friends call it that and my parents and I all think they are weird haha.
@@sevendeadlysquids404 Both my wife & I have called it VCC. BTW, Sal's channel has an episode where he researches VCC as a dead mall. The channel here on YT is just called "Sal" .
Red Robin is not only not good it’s way over priced. Not sure how they stay in business.
The Red Robin around my area was great, I loved their burgers and would go there to celebrate special occasions such as completing a grade of school. Their milkshakes were great too.
Interesting to read this thread and hear other people having bad experiences with the place. Goes to show how much the crew in the kitchen make a difference.
Roy Rogers fixins bar got me hooked as a kid... very nostalgic.
I would totally choose Roy Rogers over the fast food choices of today. I was a loyal buckaroo back in the day.
I actually paused the video to make this comment.
I was also convinced Shoney's was made up for Rick and Morty... seemed fake to me
Me too, by a mile. RR was superior to Arby's, the nearest equivalent. They had a standardized menu of decent quality no-frills food for a reasonable price, which was the formula that created the whole fast food industry, of which McDonalds was once the exemplar. The narrator keeps saying these old chains aren't "modern", but that word has become just a synonym for "Current". In other words, hyped up crap. The last actually Modern era in the U.S. was the early 1960s. That "marketing uber allesr" repurposing of words is one of the hallmarks of Neoliberalism, which has been the dominant ideology of our current era in the West and the driver of universal crapification.
Bennigan's? My parents said that if i complain about going to church, they wouldnt take me there afterwards 😂
We went to our local Bennigan's so often, that the waitstaff would occasionally sit and have a drink with us.
Not worth it.
There still is one in Clear Lake, Iowa.
@@maggiegarber246I was there in 2005, funny that it's still there
The one I really miss that is also down to only a handful of location is Tastee Freeze/Big T. We had one in Vegreville until the mid 1990's and it was my absolute favorite.. Again there used to be hundreds of locations across North America. Now? About a dozen last time I checked... And the Turtle Sundae was me and my mom's favorite. So good!
Ugh, I'm devastated. We had 1(1!!) in the entire Northeast, in Bennington, VT. At least a 2 hour drive for me. And I'd take drives out there just to say I got to go to Tastee Freez. It's now just called "The Freez"? I'm trying to find out if it truly is no longer part of the franchise...
@@derbagger22 I remember seeing TV commercials on an extremely independent over-the-air TV station in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area many years ago. I remember one of the few ads on the one TV show I watched was for a Tastee Freez... towards the end of the spot the announcer would say "We call it 'The Freez'". So I guess the accidental(?) rebranding might have been happening over time. Your location is probably still the same chain.
My Dad lost all of his money twice in bad investments before dying broke and one of those investments was a Ponderosa that lasted a few years before going under.
I can't remember ever eating at one. A few years ago I moved to Beaver Dam Wisconsin and their Poderosa's closed just before I arrived, sort of wish I had gone there once before that happened.
Thanks for this… Chains are dynamic just like much else in our modern world… they require their owners to continually assess and innovate and figure out what the general public wants and can afford .… And also where the competition is
Friendly’s and Roy Roger’s were two of my favorites growing up. The Roy’s in my town closed in the mid to late nineties and became a Boston Market, which recently closed. Friendly’s closed about ten years ago and became a 7-11.
Black-eyed pea would’ve been a good mention. Starting in 1975, it peaked with 130 locations in the late 90s. It was spread across the American south and mountain West. Now only 10 locations exist most mostly in the Denver metro.
I remember going to one once
I’ve seen at least one around and never knew it was a chain. I’ll have to try it out some time!
That’s such a weird place for the chain to be hanging on. The last Black Eyed Pea I went to was in Denver in 2008. It was so depressing, I can’t imagine how they’re still operating.
@@ryanlunde575only seen one here in Denver the rest are abandoned
I did see a black eyed pea open up in the mid 90s in the Midwest young feller
I was kind of surprised that RAX was not on the list, talk about good food and a chain that's almost extinct!
When I was a kid back in the late 70's we used to go to Bonanza with my Parents and Grandparents nearly every Friday. I really loved it! We still have a Roy Rogers near me. I really like their fried chicken. We often go there despite there being a Chick-fil-a, Popeyes, and a newly opened Raisin Cane's in the same town. You might want to add Long John Silvers to that list. It's probably my favorite fast food place, but most local to me have closed. The nearest one is about 50 minutes away and is combined with a KFC.
Staten Island Bonanza where everyone worked.
The interesting thing about the Arthur Treacher's is the two remaining locations are like within 25 miles apart, Garfield Hts. and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Just ate at the one in Garfield Hts. yesterday afternoon, food was great.
Whats also interesting is that there used to be a Ponderosa about 100ft down rockside from that Arthur Treachers, overlooking the former Kmart.
@@forgottenplaces9780 This is interesting because the Arthur Treachers in Cuyahoga Falls also had a Ponderosa down the Street on State Road!
Around in the Detroit area they became Seafood Bay
@@forgottenplaces9780 Your right, thanks for jogging my memory! There was a Roy Rogers near that area also, they were in competition with Arby's at the time and I actually liked them better.
Never been to Arthur Treacher's. I live in central Maryland and they never really ventured into this area
I had already come to this conclusion prior to watching this, but after watching this it helps confirm it. Our society as a whole peaked in the 1990's.
I can agree with that assessment.
The cell phone was our biggest mistake, along with American Idol and Chik Fil A
@@casanovafrankenstein8538biggest mistake for chain restaurants sure. The internet has taught many to cook for themselves and save money over going out to eat.
Ground Round and Max & Erma's are two more you could add to this list
They were supposed to put a Max and Erma,s in San Antonio.They closed the San Antonio Shoney,s a couple of years ago.Their was a Bonanza on Broadway in San Antonio.Bonanza was started by Dan Blocker who played Hoss on the tv show Bonanza.Blocjer was born in O 'Donnel Texas up in Lynn County towards the Panhandle.
I miss friendlys so much. Last time I went back home my hometown still had its restaurant that was there back before I was even born.
Im 40. Those times in that small town are something I dont take for granted for a moment.
In Calumet City, IL (south suburb of Chicago) there was an Arthur Treachers, Jack In The Box and Shakey's Pizza pretty much all in a row. A little further down the same road were Bennigan's, Rocky Rococo's, Chi Chi's and inside the mall a Magic Pan restaurant. All gone. The Jack In The Box building is still standing but is an independent shrimp place now.
Jack in the Box did NOT have a good name for the male adolescent mentality. That didn't help. 'Twas the "Fuddruckers" of the day. Bad marketing research.
Shakey's Pizza had an outlet on Broad Street in Richmond, Va., in the 1970's. Went there once, ca. 1972. Was NOT impressed. That location had a sign on the wall: "Shakey's made a deal with the bank. Shakey's doesn't take checks and the bank doesn't make pizza." I so wished I had a marker with me so that I could have added, "Shakey's doesn't make pizza either." Last I checked, I think there are some Shakey's still left in Oregon & northern California.
@bossfan49
We had an Arthur Teacher's and it was the bomb in its day!
I remember all of those. I really miss Bennigan’s. And Shopping at Marshal Field’s in River Oaks Mall. The good old days.
Ha wow. Rocky Rococo's. We had the chance to get a slice, at my elementary and middle school, once per month. Blast from the past. I always loved getting a corner piece 🤣
JitB is all over the west coast.
In the early to mid 90s, I bothered my parents constantly to take me to Roy Rogers. We lived outside of DC, and at the time it was my favorite "restaurant." It's 30ish years later now and I'm living way out west - no one here has ever heard of the chain, and it's been so long since I've thought of them. Thank you for the flashback.
My finest memory of ponderosa was the time I ate what turned out to be five pounds of steak all in one sitting. My mom was concerned I'd be bound up so she gave me some chocolate laxative, but neglected to tell me that it was laxative so I ate the whole package. Later that evening blew my ass out. We're talking clutching the rim with both hands so I don't launch up and hit the ceiling. A ten-ton red-faced head-shaker. I was shitting out stuff I hadn't even eaten yet. Anyway I was a bit of a dick back then so I didn't flush, i just left the bowl of netherslop intact for the next person to witness. Turned out to be my sister. She comes downstairs, and it's like well after midnight at this point and I'm still up watching TV, but she's like "who made beef stew?" I had no idea what she was talking about, but she's walking around the house sniffing the air, like "I swear I smell beef stew, god that smells so good." It was my shit. She was smelling my shit. We both realized the same thing at the same time when she followed her nose to the bathroom and flipped the light on, and had vastly different reactions. She started dry heaving and gagging, while running back up to her room. I on the other hand laughed my fool head off.
Too funny!
Lol
I always liked Ponderosa
This story is so funny I suspect its fake, but I choose to believe it.
So, that was good for a great laugh. What a story!
Visited America last year, flight back is delayed, drove straight into nowhere to "get a decent burger from a place with no name", paid (what felt like) 1960's prices, got the best burger yet with a nice smile and my very first Arnold Palmer 😅🎉 Detroit, MI
Our local mom & pop Taqueria was closed early for the day so I decided to try KFC which I haven’t had in years. $25 for 2 people and it was pretty terrible. I used to love their mac n cheese. It used to be super creamy and moist. Well this time it was dry and flavorless. The side of mashed taters was tiny and the chicken was pretty boring. Never again
Yeah, my local KFC closed years ago, and earlier this year I moved to a different city that had KFC. I was excited, because I always loved their food... But I tried it, and it was crap. I was so freaking disappointed!
Haven’t had KFC in decades. A good Popeye’s location is usually light years better than kfc.
As a New Englander Friendly's has SO many good memories attached to it for me. It's sad that they just haven't updated their design and just slowly faded away... 😥😥
Only reason I have heard of Arthur Treacher's is because there was one with the Nathan's in the Quakerbridge Mall in NJ. I would see it for years and just never go. Not a huge fish and chips guy either, but that's just my personal taste.
I know of a single _Blimpie_ location still in operation. Better than Subway by a country mile, still "America's best-dressed sandwich."
Funny Ponderosa was mentioned. I was just at one a month ago. It really was like stepping back 20 years once I got through the doors.
Only one on this list that I miss. It was never the best food, but it was decent, and a great value when you had hungry teenagers to feed lol
I used to love Shoney's as a kid. There was one about an hour and a half away from where I grew up, and a lot of the times on weekends my family would go there for breakfast. I always loved it. Then it really started going downhill, I remember the last time we went there my dad was given a cup that was full of mold, and the food was also shit by that point. We ended up leaving and eating somewhere else, and the restaurant closed down not long after. The building houses a Mexican restaurant now. I've only eaten there once, but it was pretty good. Still miss the Shoney's, despite how much it went downhill in its last years.
I had breakfast from roy rogers at a rest stop somewhere outside of new york city. Best fast food breakfast ive ever had! Wish more were around
As someone who grew up in New England with Friendly's restaurants everywhere, the chronic problem with the locations, all of them wherever you found them, was service. Food was generally good and reasonably priced but there was (is still) no stopping in for a quick meal. It's a place that attracts a lot of young families and when that was me I didn't want to be there for over an hour for a burger and scoop of ice cream. I remember lines to get in at lunch with a dining room full of hungry screaming little kids who were all frustrated from sitting there so long. When they expanded their menu choices it only got worse as they ranged too far from their core items - nobody is going to Friendly's for nachos or an Asian chicken salad.
Friendly's will always be the GOAT for naming a sandwich The Fishamajig 😂 TBH all these places follow the same story. Good restaurant, well-loved, bought out by a restaurant/hotel group in the 1980's/1990's, over-expanded, collapsed. I grew up in MA and friendly's was great but was sold to Hershey's in 1980ish (which was actually good - looking at you mini hershey kiss sundae!) but then got sold again in the late 80's then went public and (as they all do) got worse and worse.
My grandfather grew up watching Roy Rogers movies so we went all the time as a kid...i remember when they were everywhere in Maryland. Now most are gone
As a Canadian from Northern Alberta I actually got to try out ONE of these defunct brands (nearly two but the now closed Bonanza was too busy that weekend) and that's Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips. There was a location in Manhattan at the South Street Seaport before it was demo'd and rebuilt...
Ironically this food court went on to launch Canada's most successful franchise that wasn't named A&W (again an American spin off that is the largest burger brand in Canada by far...) NEW YORK FRIES... For us it's in every food court and mall good and bad in the nation. Meanwhile it started off and died on the vine as a failed fried chain in the USA...
A & W Canada made a giant comeback in recent years.
More than one thousand locations. And they are pretty good.
Totally thought Quiznos would be on here. Good video
There are actually many quiznos remaining just not so much in the usa
@@forgottenplaces9780Unfortunately. I really liked Quizno's and I miss it.
I miss Friendly’s the one near me got turned into a Five Guys. Also got to try Roy Rogers with burgers and roast beef, not bad.
While Friendly’s would obviously be ideal, take the win with Five Guys - my local Friendly’s was sentenced to become a doctor’s office for the rest of eternity 😂
Roy Rogers wasn't just "another burger place". Me and my family would go there back in the 80s. We had one near our K-mart. The burgers had a smokey, beefy taste that none of the other chains did, plus they were very tender and moist. The fixins bar was also fun, because you could load up on bacon, tomato, onions, whatever, and just pile everything on. Nowadays, burger places give you one strip of bacon and think that's enough.
Shoneys was a huge deal when I was a kid. They were everywhere in the south.
It’s interesting how it seemed to be a common thing a few decades ago to name random stuff after celebrities. No one really questions the older brands that did that but if it happened today it would feel so weird. Like imagine somebody starting a burger chain and calling it Chris Pratt or something lol
Wahlburger's.
Mr Beast Burger?
Guy's Burger Joint
The Ponderosa in my area, NE Ohio, just closed a year or two ago. It made money but the couple that owned it were older and wanted to retire. They couldn't find a buyer for the restaurant, so just closed it.
I came across 'Lums' in Colorado Springs in 1969 and assumed it was a chain restaurant. The only other time I came across one was in Rhode Island in the mid-1970s.
We had a few in FL when i was a kid, but long gone
We had one in Chelmsford, MA that I remember going to in the very late 70s/very early 80s! Man, amazing what worked for restaurant names back then...
@@LaserRanger15 I think Lum's was from Miami! I remember it from childhood in the sixties, "Hot Dogs Steamed in Beer", and also a selection of imported beer which was sort of exotic at the time. It was a little place, and I thought it was the original! ??? This might just be some little kid idea. They had some big locations later on, one very prominent busy one in Coconut Grove, big frozen glasses for beer. I notice a lot of these lamented lost chain restaurants seem a little gimmicky, and I never went to them. Shoney's was big locally, a big place for breakfast buffet, every seat full. Locally we can go on all day about restaurants we used to like.... I personally wrote up a list of maybe thirty places where we used to enjoy breakfast!
Seeing these places brings back good memories from the 60s and 70s. Thanks for the interesting video
Man, I'm gettin' old. I used to eat at all those places! It sure hurts seeing them go away.
I can't forget shoney's because my elementary school would give students free dinner coupons for a year of perfect attendance. All those days when i was spreading the flu was worth those 90s diner experience.
😂😂😂
In 1947, the first Shoney's drive-in restaurant was opened in Charleston, West Virginia. Five years later, the name was changed to Big Boy Restaurants - only to be renamed three years later to what is now known as Shoney's.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s. We ate at home. Going to a restaurant was considered a treat.
Now, the food sux, the customer service sux even more, and the prices are ludicrous.
So for me & my amily, we've come full circle. Now, we eat at home and never go to a restaurant unless we HAVE to.
We brown-bag it when we go on the road, too. Far more convenient & economical. 🥪
I had only even heard of two of these, and have seen none in the wild in my life. Wild that these businesses were so big but even at their peaks had almost no presence in my region.
Yah, I don’t think any of these made it to where I’m from (Pacific NW).
Many, MANY years ago my hometown had a Friendly's, Ponderosa and Arthur Treacher's all at the same time on the same road. All gone now.
Kinda' surprised that Rax isn't on this list.
If Pauly had only listened to Christopher and stopped at Roy Rogers....
I went to Friendly's last year. Restaurant was empty and food for 2 people took 45 minutes, and three ice creams took another 30, and they had started to melt. Almost definitely sat there melting, waiting to be picked up by our waitress. I know every kitchen is totally different, and it's tangential, but the fact that a manager didn't come say anything was pretty bad. Clearly no one cared at all in there, the energy was like that of a funeral reception. All this to say, the bright and happy memories I have of Friendly's seem to be a thing of my childhood.
Arthur Treacher's is the KMart of fast food
One of the two Arthur Treacher's is right down the street from my house. It reopened as "Captain Arthur's". I spoke with the woman who runs it, who was actually a long time Arthur Treacher's employee for as long as I could remember, she told me that all the food is the same that they served at Arthur Treacher's they get it from the same distributor. It is still great especially the hush puppies.
I miss the bonanza that was where I live, I closed a few years ago, and I am surprised that it lasted that long in northern maine considering how little locations there are
Bonanza was one of my family's favorite places to eat from the 80's to 2000's. Now that they're gone from our area it's like there is a void in our lives. No more affordable steakhouse.
Roy Rogers lived on second street in the spot were they would later build Riverfront Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. The restaurant that bears his name returned to Cincinnati a year ago with their new expansion efforts.
Roy Roger's roast beef is so much better than Arby's. I guess quality doesn't always matter.
It's all down to marketing. Is McDonalds better than Burger King or Wendys? Probably not, but they're still the biggest.
Just had a long established local chain here in NE Indiana shut down recently (Penguin Point). Didn't frequent too often but do remember going there as a kid with my dad sometimes. Sad to see it go. Good vid.
EDIT: The last Hot N' Now is about half hour away from me, in Sturgis, MI. Just another tidbit. Also about an hour away from a Ponderosa in Coldwater, MI
I eat at both of these places frequently:)! Love it. We have Big Boys here still. Charlotte MI has a great one. It's top notch and still here for everyone to enjoy ❤
Nasty Subway needs to go!
Hot 'n Now exploded in the early 90s, at one point I think they were up to 150 stores. Now there's one.
Roy rogers being on here absolutely blew my mind. There’s 6 just within a 10 minute drive from me. Honestly never been huge on their burgers but everything else they have is great. And they have the best fast food French fries, I’ll die on that hill. I’ve traveled the country and somehow I never noticed I never saw them anywhere else.
great video idea
On the extinct list you could have included Chi Chi's, Only in Grocery stores now. Endangered A&W, Perkins, Denny's, Rainforest Cafe (used to be a staple in every Mall, but has declined with malls collapse in the 2000's)
Being a southerner born in ‘95, Shoney’s falling out saddens me deeply. We had one in my little town and while I won’t say the food was astonishing, it was pretty good, but the buffet was the star of the show. Clean establishment, fresh buffet food, good service, just a great family place. I have many fond memories of my grandparents taking me to Shoney’s on Sunday afternoons.
That said we also had a Ponderosa, I’m not at all saddened about them going out of business lmao they were god awful😂
Man I miss Friendlies I just remembered it exists. There was one near where I grew up where me and my dad would always go eat whenever I saw him. Unfortunately it closed sometime in my teens and I completely forgot about it until now.
Friendlies is still a beloved restaurant in my town on Long Island. Everyone with kids go there and everyone who wants ice cream during the winter goes there.
i remember watching the road-trip series on Food Network with Alton Brown. I forgot what town he was in but he was at a Made Right (?) diner which was a sloppy joe sandwich type of place that evidently was a chain but if i remember correctly that restaurant was the very last one
I went to a Made Right once, during a road-trip in the Midwest. That and White Castle are well known in FL but we don't have them, so it was an event. I thought MR was about the ultimate reduction of the burger place, it couldn't be any simpler! They had what looked like half a cow worth of hamburger already cooked, and would just scoop some onto a bun and decorate like a basic generic hamburger. A cheap filling generic meal! I recall the local customers were huge men. So Made Right was like White Castle, if they just cooked the meat instead of making patties. It was definitely a budget thing! If it still existed I'd probably go there a few times a year.
When I was a kid, we went to Ponderosa, Tumbleweed, Lonestar, Shoneys, Ryans, and probably a few other places I've forgotten that are no longer really around. I think part of loss of these and so many other chains is urbanization. I feel like they really thrived in small towns, but as more and more people flock to the cities, the bigger chains move into town and brand recognition and reliability win out over the old guard. Even places like TGI Fridays, O'Charleys, and Ruby Tuesdays seem to be on the decline.
One place not mentioned I've had is called Kewpee's, opened in 1918 at one point they had over 400 locations across the US. Now they only have two locations left in Lima Ohio.
If you're ever near Cleveland, make a trip to Lima and get a burger, you won't be disappointed.
Prices are out of control at franchises due to inflationary Obiden economy. We go to an independent Mexican place and have an outstanding lunch for $12.
The pandemic forced the US to put almost half a trillion dollars into the economy, and it didn't matter who was president at the time (it was Trump, BTW). When you put that much money into an economy, you're going to get severe inflationary pressures that will show up 6 months to a couple of years later. Again, REGARDLESS of who is president. That the inflation is not worse than it is, is actually a surprise to me. IOW, trying to lay inflation at the hands or feet of Biden is just silly. He had nothing to do with it, nor could he do anything about it. No president could.
Biden is killing every.
sheep
Inflationary "Obiden" economy? Have we forgotten that during the height of the pandemic, nearly half a trillion dollars was pumped into the economy (under the Trump administration) to keep things going? You can't do that without significant hang-back inflationary pressures. Note that I don't blame Trump for this either, as the money had to be spent regardless of who was in office. But hanging inflation on Biden is also not correct. PLUS, for the Biden administration to do anything palliative about the effects of this inflation would require legislation, and the Republicans would never approve of legislation that would give a good result under the Biden administration.
“obiden” it’s really funny to see what the two braincell people come up with sometimes, this one is def new
I haven't been to a Friendly's since I was 16, my grandparents took me there for lunch after taking me to get my ears pierced for my birthday. I used to love going there.
I remember one of my business texts in college having a case study entitled "Arthur Treacher's Trouble" (the book series Arthur's Teacher Trouble was reasonably well known at the time.)
I remember the food quality at Friendly's taking a hit at one point around 2000. The chain had always been a stop of convenience while traveling for me but after that I never went again.
Another candidate for the list is Big Boy which is down to 60-odd locations.
I’VE BEEN TRYING TO REMEMBER THIS CHANNEL FOR YEARS! I watched your video about the Memphis Pyramid years ago, as well as a few others, and then I forgot what your channel was called
Roy Rogers started opening new sites about 10 years ago. They’re under new ownership and its trying to slowly build the brand again.
There's a golden opportunity for Roy Rogers to expand. Hardee's just filed for bankruptcy and has less than hundred restaurants left. Burger King keeps closing more and more restaurants across the US. Everyone is tired of McDonald's and Wendy's. Roy Rogers roast beef sandwiches can challenge Arby's as well.
Roy Rogers had the best Philly cheese steaks apart from maybe Philadelphia. My little sister and I would walk to the one by our house and pick up a couple, then go to Woolco next door for their cheesecake slice. Good memories and we still talk about it 50 years later.
Here in my hometown of Cullman AL. We used to have two of these stores. Shoney's and Bonanza. Bonanza closed when I was just a little tike so I don't remember it but I do remember eating at Shoney's. It closed sometime when I was in my 20's. lol.
The problem with naming a restaurant after an actor or a TV show is, once the show is off the air or the actor dies, the patrons of those restaurants disappear. Many people frequent a restaurant because of the name. Roy Rogers was popular in my earliest of years, but most people we knew back then didn't spend money at restaurants. Because of that, I was surprised that the restaurant made it at all.
I absolutely LOVE Friendly's. It was a treat to go there as a kid. But, Friendly's is not about the food, it's about the ice cream. OMG their Sundaes are amazing!
Went back to my home town last year, the ponderosa was closed down. I was confused at first, it was the best ponderosa I'd been to, larger, higher quality, always packed with customers. But when covid shut everything down they went under.
Roy Rogers is starting to make a comeback. They just built one near me.
wish we still had friendys and roy rogers everywhere ive managed to still find one in the areas and its still good.
My favorite is Mr. Burger they had several locations around Amarillo and the Texas panhandle and were considered a competitor of McDonald's, today they've dwindled down to just 2 locations both outside of Amarillo.
Glad to still have Roy Rogers and Friendly's near me. Might go there and enjoy it while it lasts.
I used to go to friendly all the time with my mom in grade school. I partially credit the coloring page contests they had there with jump starting my interest in art because of how winning them gave me a little confidence boost. Their ice cream also slaps
i still go to a friendly's, pretty good americana food selection and of course the ice cream motivation for my kids. i remember roy rogers growing up (mostly on interstate rest stop locations), interesting how such popular venues can fade with the times
We used to have a Ponderosa in my hometown of Wooster, Ohio. It shut down about 20 years ago, became a Chinese restaurant for a few years, and ultimately got demolished to make way for an Advance Auto Parts store.
I remember eating at the (now long-gone) Arthur Treacher's restaurant in Barberton, Ohio, about 17 or 18 years ago. The food wasn't bad, and it was actually better than Long John Silver's (which, ironically, closed its Wooster location just last year).
Roy Roger’s in Pennsylvania is usually on the turnpike that require a toll to enter and are part of a food court rather than a real standalone restaurant
There are two on this list that are/were my favorites: Arthur Treachers and Roy Rogers.
I remember a little ago in 2023 the Ponderosa I went to suddenly shut down, I had went there in Indiana as a kid to eat at times, they had some really good wings, the last time we tried to go, mom and I had thought it was still running only for us to find the place entirely empty, they had been running for about 30 years I heard, I'm turning 22 this year and mom is 62 this year, it was a good place for us at least.
I used to love Friendly’s as a kid… can’t beat that strawberry Fribble. Also remember Roy Rogers and Arthur Treachers but wasn’t a fan. The Pondarosa was the “nice” restaurant we went to on a Saturday night. Remember the plastic steak markers.
I recall eating at friendlys growing up. The bbq chicken supermelt was always a favorite. I don’t live near one now but i do visit and get one when i go back east
One of the last 21 Ponderosas is where I live, and I eat at it sometimes. I remember my uncle from out of town was coming to visit and he asked for local places in my town we could eat, and after I said Ponderosa he said "Holy crap, those still exist? I thought they went out of business".
I’m surprised you started with Frendlies, I have several near me considering I live in New England. Honestly I love them still despite their prices now being competitive with higher quality restaurants. I can see why they are more of a local commodity than an national chain.