Long Gone Regional Chains

Sambo's was named for the founders, Sam and Bo. In 1957 it was acceptable to use an african child "mascot" - but they changed it to a tiger.

Sambos's original coffee shop is still open by the harbor in Santa Barbara, CA.

Here's an interesting page with pics, a bit of history and a story
about some intriguing vandalism...

http://www.americanplanet.com/Archive/AAD/Sambo.html

Googling "Sambos' Restaurants" turns up lots of collector's items...

I was reading this topic and did not see any mention of a local chain in Lancaster County PA called Twin Kiss. They had square hamburgers and very good soft icecream in twin flavors, usually chocalate and vanilla. I have just returned to this area and was driving around looking for old landmarks and actually passed a sign that said Twin Kiss, however I am not sure it is actually a going concern anymore, will return at a later time in the sping to check it out.

I always felt that the Zantigo's mexican chain, very similar to Taco Bell in a general sense, offerrd superior food when compared to Taco Bell. In Cincinnati, Taco Bell and Zantigo's pretty much were the only lower priced mexican/texmex places around for quite a while. It was a shame to see the Zantigo's close down back in the 80s or early 90's.

We also had a good pizza joint called Cassanos that I believe is still doing well in Dayton but is down to a single location in Cincinnati.

I miss King's Food Host, out of Omaha, of which we had a couple in the Kansas City area when I was growing up in the '60s & '70s. (Tuna frenchees...ahhh!) And I miss Don's World of Beef, which had great hotdogs, but not much else, during the '60s and '70s.

If you lived in Central Iowa in the 60's, there was a very small chain named Charco's. The burgers were awesome, the onion rings superb and the soda cold.
We sure miss them.
Al Booton
Carlisle, Iowa
alanhomer@aol.com

There were a lot of fast food burger places around named Henry's in the late 50's and early 60's. There were several in Des Moines. Does anyone remember this chain and know anything about them?
Al Booton
alanhomer@aol.com

Yes, we had some Burger Queens around here as well, mostly in Northern KY, late 70's-ish. I recall they were pretty good too....

quote:

Originally posted by GordonW

Not exactly roadfood, but in Philadelphia, how about Horn and Hardts? Home of the automat.

I was really surprised when I saw a Horn&Hardart's in Philadelphia in about 1960. I had been unaware that there were any outside New York.

During my time as an undergrad at Cornell in Ithaca, NY in the mid to late 60's, there was a Henry's Hamburgers on Elmira Rd in Ithaca. I don't remember going there very much. I always assumed that it was part of a chain, but I was never quite sure.

Wally
Cornell '67

A few more vanished restaurant chains that have not been mentioned, and some comments about others that have been mentioned.

Bill Knapp's Restaurants at one time had 69 restaurants in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The first Bill Knapp's opened in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1948. The company went bankrupt and ceased operating in August, 2002.

In an earlier post Burger Queen was mentioned as a chain in northern Kentucky - in the mid-1960's there was a Burger Queen in Chillicothe, Ohio (southern Ohio).

Dutch Pantry Restaurants was a chain of restaurants with a Pennsylvania Dutch theme, which belonged to CPC International. CPC got out of the restaurant business, closing them shortly before bring aquired by Unilever. There were several of these restaurants located at interchanges along Interstate 75 in Ohio, which is probably about as far west as they got. All the Dutch Pantry buildings along I-75 were acquired by the same company, and they have been reopened as sports bars named Fricker's.

Another chain that has disappeared is Marriott's Hot Shoppes. The company now known as Marriott Corporation was originally Hot Shoppes, Inc, and operated under this name from 1929 until 1967, when the name was changed. The last Hot Shoppe, located in Washington, DC, was closed in 1999.

The Po' Folks chain had several entertainers involved as investors, probably because these entertainers all used the same financial management firm. Burt Reynolds was one of the major investors, and I do remember that he declared bankruptcy at about the same time that all the restaurants closed down.

I worked as a cook at Bill Knapps in the early 80's, and really really liked the food there. The quality seemed to tail off sharply in the 90's, which is suprising considering they did most of their food prep in tightly controlled regional commissaries. Probably the only restaurant in the Cincinnati area that I knew of that offerred chopped olives as a burger topping....

There were two main drive-in chains in Houston - The Pig Stand and Prince's Drive-In. The Pig Stand was the first of its kind in Houston, but Prince's was the first to use carhops. In fact, it was Doug Prince who created the concept of using carhops. Most of the drive-ins have long ago disappeared, and I can't say I miss them exactly. But I do miss the days when they were popular.

After browsing this thread I have a few comments on places mentioned.

Shakey's was one of my favorite places to take a date in high school. I couldn't wait till I was 21 so I could go over to the "adult" side where they drank beer and sang old songs. By the time I was old enough, Shakey's had left the Houston area. I miss their pizza.

Loved Po Folks, but it seems they grew too quickly. They were popping up all over Houston, then they were gone.

Does anyone remember Sveden House? How about Der Wienerschnitzel?

I still remember the radio ad.

Wienerschnitzel, Wienerschnitzel,
this must be the place.
Just drive right in and put
a great big hot dog in your face!

That was probably forty years ago. Some ad guy did his job, eh?

They dropped the "Der" but otherwise the chain still lives, at least here in So Cal. Also mentioned on Holly Eats: http://www.hollyeats.com/DerWeiner.htm

They're not bad at all in my book... try the all-beef dog on a pretzel bun!

Re: (Mariott) Hot Shoppes - I loved their burgers and fries when I was a kid... There was one with car hop service on Broad Street in Philly, I seem to remember Ogontz Ave. Was my favorite place to eat (in the car of course).

Later they had Hot Shoppes Jr. without car hops... just wasn't the same.

quote:

Originally posted by ardee

Bill Knapp's Restaurants at one time had 69 restaurants in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The first Bill Knapp's opened in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1948. The company went bankrupt and ceased operating in August, 2002.

Ah yes. My wife loved Bill Knapp's chocolate cake. We used to go there from time to time and I was always amazed at how may times Happy Birthday was played over the intercom each time we were there. It must have been the place for the over 65 crowd to go. I wonder where they go now.

Is the Cambridge Inn Cafeteria chain still in business somewhere out there?

The Po Folks that was located on Hiway 131 in Clarksville, Indiana was a great place to lunch on a workday. Service was always quick and the costs were right for a lunch and run place. That's where I learned to appreciate Catfish.
The last time we were in there before it shut down was on a roadtrip in 96 or so. It had dropped bigtime in both the quality and the service by then.
The building housed a Chinese Buffet for several years...and now has one of the Mongolian BBQ/Chinese buffet outlets in it.

Dutch Pantry- We had one at the interchange of i-65 and IN-46 in Columbus, IN. it was a great stop for coffee and Apple Fritters (hush-puppy shaped apples in dough, deep-fried and powdered sugar coated).

In Socal, one of the new 'combination' foodstands was Popeyes and A&W. Interesting combination. In this area (Louisville Metro) A & W has teamed with Long John Silver.

The combination foodstand concept has been expanding the last few years...I read somewhere that the reasons supporting the teaming of brands was two-fold..
1. Lower overhead for both companies, usually with non-competitive menu's. AND
2. The move in society to give the little critters in the family a voice in the selection of their dinner. Instead of Dad or Mom saying tonight is burger (or chicken, or pizza) nite...You can let each of the whining little cretins choose "their" food without having to stop at multiple locations (drive thru's) to satisy the sniveling desires of kids who should be told to Sit-Down, Shut-Up and Take what you're given Thankfully.!!
Yes I do feel much better now, Thank You.

My first real job in the food industry was in 1962 at Henry's Drive-In in Lincolnwood. Henry's Drive-In was a burger chain similar to McDonalds with locations in the Chicagoland area. Henry's also had stores outside Illinois. I ate at one in Michigan. Some time in the 70's Henry's began to fade away with the last known store closing in Wheeling, Illinois sometime in the 80's. Henry's was also known for their pies.

Papa Gino's in New England. Someone mentioned that they are "long gone." Last time I was up there they were around. Can someone confirm the status of Papa Gino's pizza from Boston?

Here is an addendum to two posts.

Zestos: Last I heard, there are still about five Zestos in Atlanta, Georgia and they still sell the Chubby Decker burger.

Pig Stand from Houston, TX. The original Pig Stand was started in the twenties on Broadway in San Antonio and it is the only one still doing business. Stop by for a good pork sandwich.

Does anyone remember a chain called Hagers Fried Chicken. There were a few in Ct. I know they had others around the country but they had very bad locations, the chicken was great but that was not enough.

Anyone remember "Jack's Hamburgers"? I think there are still some left in the Birmingham, AL, area. I still remember their "jingle" from way back in '64 when I lived in Montgomery (AL) area. BTW, glad to see this (my) string still active & ongoing...

quote:

bravehearteire
Junior Burger



18 Posts
Posted - 02/02/2004 : 22:59:01
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Burger Chef was bought out by Hardee's in the 1980's. A few independent operators hung on, but all are gone now. They did bring back the Big Shef a few years ago though.
Lums is one I will always miss. Great Hot Dogs!
Howard Johnson's is where I got my love of fried clams. Also the Hojo Dogs and coconut and peppermint ice cream. I heard the new owners were planning a cahin of ice cream shops, and they sell the muffins in grocery stores now.
We had several local chains in SW Virginia that are very much missed. One was Kenney's Fried Chicken....they fried their biscuits and served them with honey. If you go to the R and R market in Radford they still make Kenney's Fried chicken and the burgers with Kenney's sauce.
Lendy's was a local chain that had the Big Boy franchise and Kentucky Fried chicken when it was done right.
Also, does anyone remember a chain called Ray's? They had fried chicken and hamburgers as well.
Also Pappy's Pizza.....they had great root beer and pizza.
Plus the lunch counters at Roses and Woolworths. At Roses you would pop a balloon to find out how much your banana split cost....anywhere from 1 to 75 cents.
When I was in college in Florida we had a mexican chain called Naugles that was open 24 hours...they were bought out by Del Taco.
My stomach rumbles nostalgically. (sigh)

Dang, bravehearteire. I was just thinking about Rays and Kenney's the other day. My sister moved to Blacksburg in 1967 when I was a wee lass.(she's much older than I) I would have to spend summers in Blacksburg quite often because of , well I really don't know why....but I did. ANYWAY...I remember being a regular patroness of Kenney's, Roses, and the Rays across from the old strip mall where Leggetts was. In fact I have a picture somewhere here of me wearing a Rays milkshake and cheeseburger after my 2 year old nephew had doused me with them as we sat out at one of those aluminum picnic tables out front. I always whined when we went to Roses', because I had a fascination with the nearby Hokie House for some reason. I also remember the fight of the century between my sister and her husband, as he had left us off at Leggetts to go to park the car, while my sister dropped off something to be altered. When we emerged from the store, he was no where to be found. We walked over to Rays , assuming he might be there and spent her last nickel on here getting fries and drinks to await him, and he didn't show there either. After two hours of waiting , we proceeded to walk towards downtown on Main Street, in 100 degree weather, my sister 7 months pregnant, pushing a stroller with an 18 month old in it, and a 3 year old by the hand, and me tagging along behind, not wanting to be in the path of her then smouldering eyes. We finally reached the house of one of her fellow church members , who gave us a ride home....(my sister lived off of N. Main Street). When we got into the house, there was my brother in law lying in the air conditioning and his bvd's, on the bed, asleep, with an empty Rays bag by him. The resulting fracas is one of the most memorable arguments of my lifetime, and Rays has always had deep meaning to me since.

I recall many years back there was a 'overstuffed' sandwich place called the Upper Krust here in Cincinnati. The place was built to look like a two story new orleans style building, painted yellow, with the balconies (faux in this case) on the second floor. They advertised enormous sandwiches with then unusual ingredients, like bananas on sandwiches. My memories come from the early 1970's or so. I'll add that it had a chain/franchised look to it.

A search of the internet found me some listings in nearby Dayton for a restautrant by the same name with apparently similar fare as well, but no pictures to confirm that this was the place I remember from long ago.

Anyone remember such a chain?

Does Pioneer Chicken still exist in Los Angeles? Ate a lot of that during the one year (1972) I was in LA because my dad was transferred there for a year.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Does Pioneer Chicken still exist in Los Angeles? Ate a lot of that during the one year (1972) I was in LA because my dad was transferred there for a year.

As I remember it, the chain collapsed several years ago - the company had financial problems and the franchisees tried to take it over. Ultimately I think most converted to Popeye's Chicken. The original Echo Park stand (shown in the photo someone posted) still stands, still operates but I believe it was bought by someone else. In that block is now a "Pioneer Market" supermarket which I seem to remember was a collection of different Pioneer restaurants and a grocery store back in the late 70's. There are some web links via Google that say that there are five stores still left, but no date to show how current that is.

I have fond memories of Pioneer chicken dinners, crunchy huge breasts at a time when KFC's chicken was puny... They seem to have
gotten better over the years, and I always thought that "Extra Crispy" was in reaction to Pioneer's offerings.

I saw the "Pioneer" name mentioned. Back in '68 or so, there was such a FF chain in Texas (Dallas and W. Falls area). All I remember 'bout this chain was although food=good, food=squirts...

Whatever, that WUZ a while back...

The only time I ate at a Le Peep was in Indianapolis, Looking at their website, www.lepeep.com I would guess that their headquarters may likely be in Indianapolis because there are so many locations there compared to anywhere else in the country, or there is just a great fanchisee in Indianapolis.

As far as breakfast operations go, Le Peep and First Watch are a cut below Original Pancake House.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffskal

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by tiki

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<div style="border: 1px #999999 solid; background-color: #DCDCDC; padding: 4px;">Originally posted by Leemart

Please don't forget the first franchise restaurant of all, Howard Johnson's. At one time there were well over 1000 Ho Jo's in the country but many factors led to their near demise. I haven't seen one in over 20 years, but have located four of them along the I-95 corridor that I intend to visit on an upcoming trip from Florida to Nova Scotia. Most folks don't remember the heyday of this chain, and the fantastic ice cream (average 18% butterfat content) as well as the best fried clams and frankfurters in the country.

Another favorite was Royal Castle, which had it all over the other "mini-burger" businesses such as White Castle, Krystal, etc. And who could forget Royal Castle's signature Birch Beer, served in a frosted mug? I've heard that there is still an operating Royal Castle in Miami, but have not yet had the opportunity to check it out.

I worked for HoJo's once---long long ago in Bloomington Indiania--for about 6 months, When i started we actually used BUTTER to melt on the grill for the natural casing franks and grilled the bun with butter too---and used clams with bellies!!!---when i left---the new "Cook Book" said----place frozen entreepack in microwave. Set temp at med for six mins.....We parted ways---sad
While im here---anyone remember Dogie Diner out in the Bay Area--open all night in some amazing locations----like surrounded by factories and no sign of life anywhere and here are two guys working to bring us a good Hot dog!A woderful site at 3am!!


See http://www.doggiediner.com.

Unfortunately I'm only familiar with them through the Zippy the Pinhead comics which would feature Zippy talking to the large dog head icon (usually in the storage yard it ended up in).

I too worked at HoJo's in Atlantic City (Summer 1971) - it was a small fast-food and ice cream type stand on the corner of the Boardwalk and Arkansas Aves., and the hotel itself was on that block. We definitely grilled the hot dogs in butter. And the staff was allowed to eat the ice cream once a week... :)


Jeff,

Regarding DoggieDiner, please refer to the following links:

http://mistersf.com/new/index.html?newdoggie02.htm

http://mistersf.com/new/index.html?newdoggie03.htm

http://mistersf.com/new/index.html?newdoggie.htm

I lived in S.F. for five years ('97-'02) and ate there whenever I took a trip to the zoo out near the ocean. There was a big to-do about whether or not the doggie head should be torn down. Luckily, it was saved and has been cleaned up.

Thanks,

TennThomas

Anybody remember Ozark Fried Chicken? Kinda KFCish with spicier chicken and good sides.