Carrol's Restaurants

Hello Folks; I'm new to the real-food forum, and think this is great.
Do any of You remember Carrol's Hamburger Stands. Man, could I go for an old fashioned Club Burger, or one of those half-moon shaped apple pie's they had, and the fresh cut fries, before frozen came on the scene. I was a Manager at the Poughkeepsie South Road Rest. in the late 60's in New York. Anybody out there have any input, be great to hear from Ya. Peace......Unzzzz!

a regional chain in northeast u.s. all carrolls restaurants became burger king stores. I remember the club burger too, it was great, it had a cardboard ring around it to keep it from falling apart.

UNZZZ2003... Never heard of them, sounds good! Tell us more! Hopefully others have memories also!

Hi UNZZZ...welcome to the board! As a Middletown native/resident who grew up with Carrol's as the ONLY fast food around,I can CETAINLY sympathize....did you know that Herbie Slotnick has let ALL of the Carrol's trademarks lapse? You COULD [if you had 3 billion dollars!]set up a NEW Carrol's complete with Club Burgers if you wanted to? Up to a few years ago,a few Carrol's survived in the wilds of Finland,of all places! The Club Burger pics looked JUST like the ones we used to scarf down...sigh....

One other lil bit of trivia UNZZZ- My very first job was helping open one of the Carrol's to BK transformations in 1977.....but my paychecks were STILL signed by Herbert J Slotnick from Carrol's Development Corp in Syracuse..

quote:

Originally posted by marcbla

a regional chain in northeast u.s. all carrolls restaurants became burger king stores. I remember the club burger too, it was great, it had a cardboard ring around it to keep it from falling apart.

Not all Carrol's became BK's...some of the poorer performing stores [like UNZZZ's South Rd Poughkeepsie store...[|)]] were not...

Carrolls came to New Paltz, NY sometime in the '70s. They tore down a lovely old house on Main St. and put in one of their ugly little kiosks. It did'nt last long and they moved up the street and built another of the same. That ugly structrure still defaces out Main Street long after Carrolls has gone to its well deserved grave. It is now some sort of sports goods shop. And we also have Burger King- they put up their ticky-tacky a few more blocks up Main Street where it seems to thrive - much to my puzzlement.

UNZZZ: You have one of the best breakfast and lunch joints in the Hudson Valley right there on the main drag in Highland. The Highland Cafe is excellent. We drive over there for breakfast about once a week,
and sometimes make it for lunch. Hope you are as fond of that place as we are...

Wow, so many replies to my Carrol's Post's I can't believe it. It was a while ago, thought I wouldn't here from anyone. I think the store they opened in New Paltz eventually became a Jack in the Box, and Yes it is now a running shoe store or something like that. We used to have a really good time at the South Road store. The Milk shakes were great, and the orange drink that was in a big glass bowl constantly
aerating was good too! The Dutchess Turnpike Store and the store in Wappingers did become BK's, but I think the South Rd. store location just didn't appeal for some reason, I don't think it was the numbers
because We did pretty good there. A fellow named Jack Roundtree was the Day Manager in 69' and was a great guy, He was a real hustler and taught Me everything I knew. I met Herbert Slotnick when I went to Mgmt. Training School in Syracuse, they paid for the Hotel & everything for the week, I was 19 and it was real cool for Me. We had a lot of IBMer's for lunch, and I can still remember when We would get a bus or two pull in from a basketball game or something and then it was time to Hustle, those were the day's. Ahhh, Yes Marcbla, the paper ring around the Clubburger I'd forgotten about them. They had a little slot & hook in them and We had to put them together. One of the best thing's were the fresh french fries, wow, between the fries and some of the double, triple combinations of cheeseburgers I used to make after hour's it's a wonder My arteries aren't plugged up.
Well, thanks everyone for Your replies.Seafarer John I haven't been in the Highland Cafe for a while, since the New Owners took over. If the walls could talk in that place, wow. That used to be The Sugar Bowl years ago, a lot of kid's grew up in that place, including Me.
What a great hang out that was. My folks had a candy store up by the School back in the late fifties, that was quite the hang out too!
Alrighty then that's enough out of Me for a while, take care All, Thank's again...Peace....Unzzz!

quote:

! The Dutchess Turnpike Store and the store in Wappingers did become BK's, but I think the South Rd. store location just didn't appeal for some reason, I don't think it was the numbers
because We did pretty good there.

If I remember correctly, that South Rd store never got the dining area upgrade,correct? Your store was on a pretty small parcel in front of the one shopping center,correct? I NOW remember that only the 'updated' Carrol's got the BK treatment...another reason might be BK might have thought the South Rd store to be too close to the Wappinger's and Dutchess Tpke for their taste..

My stepbrother now works for Carrol's/BK, and he says that the management situation there is ALL screwed up-The people from Syracuse will come in and say one thing, and people from BK will come in and contridict the CDC people on certain things...apparently apparently after 30 years the Slotnicks can't help thinking they are still in charge!

Howdy; Yes Coneyislandndlou, I don't think they ever got the upgrade
because of the size, there were just those high, small round tables and the little counter with stools on the sides of the inside part of the store. Wow, good memory friend. I think H&R block's building is pretty much where the store used to be now, and the wood's We had next to us
is now an IHOP. Do You know if Herbie Slotnick is still alive? I didn't know the Slotnicks were still involved with the business.
Well I'm gonna be off the P. C. for a few week's as of tomorrow so You All keep up the good work, I hope to find some more info on here when I return. Thank's again, this site is GREAT! Take Care........
Peace.......Unzzzz!...........

I was at a friends house for a party / someone needed an ashtray / I was closest to the drawer / I opened it and lo and behold a Carrol's ashtray / brought a tear to my eye / also believe me or not was about a dozen straws still in thier Carrols wrappers.

Jack in the Box has travelled all the way to New York? Talk about home-town successes. I think there were only about half a dozen JB's in San Diego when I started eating there. San Diego is also the birthplace of Rubio's. I used to eat at Rubio's #1, when there was only one. Does anyone else have any memories of good placesa that became chains?

quote:

Originally posted by Poverty Pete

Jack in the Box has travelled all the way to New York? Talk about home-town successes. I think there were only about half a dozen JB's in San Diego when I started eating there. San Diego is also the birthplace of Rubio's. I used to eat at Rubio's #1, when there was only one. Does anyone else have any memories of good placesa that became chains?

JITB had a BRIEF flirtation with the east coast in the 70's...

There was a JITB in college park MD , Open24/7. Great when you were so drunk it didnt matter what you ate.
Not only did they provide a food like substance , But you lube your car with The leftover grease.

carrolls also gave away the nicest glasses with all the warner brothers cartoon characters on them we still use them at home

Can anyone remember how they made the Club Burger, i.e., the ingredients. I remember it was kind of like a Big Mac. But much better.

Living in Syracuse we used to go to the Carrol's on Salina St. in the Valley Plaza, and I believe the other one we used to go to was on Marshall St.

I think I remember a jingle that went something like this:

"Hamburgers, french fries and triple-thick shakes, at Carrol's you'll find food that always tastes great. You'll come back, you'll...come...back, Carrol's makes sure that you'll come back."

Was this Carrol's?

I replied on the burger forum yeterday about Carrolls. I remember the one in Wappingers Falls. We used to go there after th fireworks at IBM country club on the Fourth of July. There was also a Carrolls on Rte 6 in Peekskill NY, which was a little closer to where I grew up so we would go ther most often...Yummy

Great picture...brings back a lot of memories...Wish they were still around...I just read a whole book about "Googie " archetechture...Great pix mostly from LA.

I remember the ring around the club burger, I think they used reallylong thin shreds of lettuce that fell out when you took the ring off.

I used to work at the Carrols in Peekskill during the late 60's. Prior to a collar around the club burger we used to just wrap them in a gold colored foil. If I recall club burgers were 35 cents. Burgers or fries were 19 cents, and the fries were only offered in one size. Grilled cheese sandwich was also on the menu.

Yes, I vividly remember going to Carroll's restaurants as a child in the mid 1960s in Central New York. When I typed in "Carroll's Restaurant" in the google search, on a whim, I barely expected anything to show up, much less a forum topic. Who would even remember? However, fortunately, I was wrong.

The Carroll's restaurant that I most remember was on, I believe, South Salina Street (just south of downtown Syracuse) and it was near a railroad overpass. I believe that after it was gone, the lot was taken over by DeSimone Used Autos.

My mother and father used to take me there as a kid for delicious chocolate milkshakes, fries and hamburgers--all behavioral bribes. It was delicious. I believe that this particular location had little or no seating and that what seating there was may have been right by the counter where one ordered. The buildings had a lot of glass and fluorescent lights. One thing about the Carroll’s buildings is that they were distinctive.

I also remember in the 70s when Carroll's apparently converted to Burger King, which has never measured up to my standards of fast food, except, perhaps, for their original chicken sandwiches.

Thanks for sharing some happy memories.

Carrol's version of "The Quarter Pounder:

The "BRUTE!!"

And didn't Carrol's bring that out BEFORE the Quarter Pounder?

Club Burgers and the fries, best that were around.

quote:

Originally posted by Poverty Pete

Jack in the Box has travelled all the way to New York? Talk about home-town successes. I think there were only about half a dozen JB's in San Diego when I started eating there. San Diego is also the birthplace of Rubio's. I used to eat at Rubio's #1, when there was only one. Does anyone else have any memories of good placesa that became chains?

Poverty advice for Poverty Pete;
Buy the cheapest thing on Rubio's menu and park yourself at the free salsa bar. Until then start an ff fish taco thread and I'll tell you why
Wahoo's is better.

quote:

Originally posted by NAAMikey

I replied on the burger forum yeterday about Carrolls. I remember the one in Wappingers Falls. We used to go there after th fireworks at IBM country club on the Fourth of July. There was also a Carrolls on Rte 6 in Peekskill NY, which was a little closer to where I grew up so we would go ther most often...Yummy

Hey people, does anyone remember Carrol's version of the "Grilled Cheese" sandwich? It was my favorite thing to order as I did not eat hamburgers. They called them "Toasted Cheese" sandwiches. I have missed them sooo muuch since the chain closed. I remember they used what I thought were 2 bottom sections of a hamburger bun with orange cheese for the sandwich. This past weekend (6-21-08) I had 2 meals at Al's French Frys in Burlington, VT. They had the same grilled cheese sandwich and I was elated to see (and eat these).
I contacted the owners of Al's yesterday and they told me it was a regular hamburger bun smoosched together. The secret is out!
Too bad I live 3.5 hours away, although I suppose I could make them myself.

I don't remember any of their food except the Club Burger, which was wonderful, and their shakes. Carrols was the first fast food joint in my area of NY [Peekskill] that I can remember. Tnere was a drive in root beer place too, A and W??, but it was in another city and kind of far from where I lived. I'm so glad I found this forum, lol. Glad to know that others have fond memories of Carrols too.

Hello Folks! I was Very Interested in reading ALL the comments on Carrols Hamburger Restaurants.
I started as an employee and rose thru the Ranks and was involved with the Development of Carrols in Finland. Yes Virginia.... There IS a Santa Claus.... and He Lives at the NorthPole In Finland.....
The " Home of the ClubBurger".
Mmmmmmm.... I can taste the sweet, tangy flavour of the Royale Dressing. Carrols Lovingly applied it to each and every one of their Delicious,Popular, Western NY Version of the World Famous Triple-Decker Hamburger.
The ClubBurger lives On......This story is FAR from Over.
I have recent pics of Carrols in Finland... BUT I cant figure out how to post them on here. Any assistance would be Greatly Appreciated

Hey!  This is to anyone who would know.  I grewup in Poughkeepsie, NY and there is a Burger King on the corner of Vassar Road and Rt 9 in Poughkeepsie.  I wanted to know if  that  Burger King was a Carrols or was it bult as a burger King? 

Hi Vad,

    And hello all this is my first posting as I was looking for information and quickly found I have some information to share...
Vad, I also grew up there in Poughkeepsie (RCK class of '80)...Carrolls was roughly where the U-Haul on Northbound Rt. 9 in TOP is. In front of Toys R' Us and Stop and Shop. I remember the .15 hamburgers and great milkshakes. I was a little kid and I seem to recall Dad and me leaving with a bag to feed the familyof 4  for less than $2.00... By 1978 or so the building still looking like Carroll's had become a fish market. I know this because mom would send me there for fish when I was first driving...I think it was flattenned in the early '80s.  As for the BK at Vassar and Rt. 9. I can't for the life of me recall what was there before BK...Way before both of us that intersection and surrrounding area was a working farm called Wendover Farms as in Wendover Drive there off of Vassar. Attached to WF was an Inn and restaurant also called Wendover Farms. You can sometimes find postcards or matchbooks or ashtrays on ebay from it. My dad may recall what was there before BK. I'll ask him.  What is now a Stewarts in Red Oaks Mill on Vassar was also a Burger King. Check this Link.
http://books.google.com/books?id=2ryX3Qt3Mx4C&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=Wendover+Farms+Poughkeepsie&source=bl&ots=dQIsKfD2XK&sig=YmThz_iaKMz8IXP3MlbKS2lbEC4&hl=en&ei=XXCySbbsJeCbtweM_vnEBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
Hello Wappingers Falls!
Andy