ground round resturant

We used to go to the one at Jamestown mall all the time until it closed. I know the last one in St. Louis burned down several years ago. Are any still around anywhere? I remember the one at Jamestown was called Jacks or Better before Ground Round. Were others called that before Ground Round?

I know there is one in the mall in Hadley, Massachusetts ... I have no idea if it still has any of the original connections that come from Ground Round as an outgrowth of Howard Johnson's in the seventies.

I think the Ground Round in Bel Air, Maryland became a LoneStar Steakhouse.

I think before it was the Ground Round it was a Hard Times Cafe.

Back in the late 70's and early 80's, I enjoyed the Ground Round many times. They had great burgers, peanuts in the shell and great pinball.

I have not seen one open in many years.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

There is still one in St Joseph, MO.

Still one in Kingston, NY, my last trip there earlier this year.

There is an open one on Riverside Drive in Iowa City.

One in Fargo, ND too

There are a few in northeast Pennsylvania. Scranton-Wilkes Barre & Hazleton.

we used to have one here about 7 miles from AC... (until about 5 years or so ago)

IMO, it was a "shell of its former self", (the Ground Rounds we used to know in the late 70's, early 80's.)
I thought the food at this local one was "just okay", not horrible enough to send back, but lackluster

Incidently , I worked at the Ground Round in West Orange, NJ (across from Turtle Back Zoo) back in high school days in the late 70's. It was right next to the place that had some great singles dances.
One of the few jobs I got fired from. We were supposed to wear red shirts, and my shirt was red, but it had a white collar.

Isnt there one still in Worcester, MA?.. On Route 9?...
I vaguely remember it from 2002....
Someone mentioned the other day, that he thought he heard one was coming here, but I think he got his info wrong, as there arent any in the SE, according to their website..

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

Isnt there one still in Worcester, MA?.. On Route 9?...
I vaguely remember it from 2002....
Someone mentioned the other day, that he thought he heard one was coming here, but I think he got his info wrong, as there arent any in the SE, according to their website..

There was one in Shrewsbury on Route 9 near Spag's, about a mile from the Worc city limit....torn down and now a CVS.

There is a new Ground Round in downtown Boston, Mass Ave at Melnea Cass. First new one that I have seen opne up in a long time.

A new Ground Round in Boston? That's kind of surprising considering the rotten way they closed most of their restaurants in the region a few years ago and stiffed the employees.

Of course, Mass. Ave. and Melnea Cass isn't exactly a dining destination. Maybe they're catering to the crowd that needs someplace to get a bite while waiting for a boyfriend to get his knife wounds stitched up at City Hospital.

Several of the GRs in the region have been converted to Appleby's. Some are still abandoned, one on Route One in Norwood seems to be used as additional parking for one of the car dealers.

BTW - I don't know of the Ground Round chain ever being called anything else. I understand that the first one opened as Ground Round in North Main Street in Providence.

quote:

Originally posted by Ashphalt

A new Ground Round in Boston? That's kind of surprising considering the rotten way they closed most of their restaurants in the region a few years ago and stiffed the employees.

Of course, Mass. Ave. and Melnea Cass isn't exactly a dining destination. Maybe they're catering to the crowd that needs someplace to get a bite while waiting for a boyfriend to get his knife wounds stitched up at City Hospital.

Several of the GRs in the region have been converted to Appleby's. Some are still abandoned, one on Route One in Norwood seems to be used as additional parking for one of the car dealers.

BTW - I don't know of the Ground Round chain ever being called anything else. I understand that the first one opened as Ground Round in North Main Street in Providence.

I was shocked too about the one in Boston.

Funny, this afternoon I needed to meet someone up in Chelmsford for a drink and I told her to go to the Ground Round on Route 110...she called me while I was on the way...she had gotten there before me and the Ground Round was out of business. Maybe I should have known.

LINCOLNWOOD ILLINOIS, CRAWFORD (PULASKI) AND LINCOLN AVE. I LOVED THROWING THE PEANUTS ON THE GROUND AND FREEZING COLD BEER. CHISTYLE PROBABLY KNOWS THIS ONE WELL

Well, they ARE still in business! Kind of a surprise to me!

www.groundround.com

But none near me....

Ground Round is an interesting story. As noted above the parent company folded and ,with very little notice closed all the COMPANY OWNED stores (about half the total) The franchisees, instead of giving up, banded together formed a new parent company owned by them, and carried on. So far they seem to be surviving. Locally (the Lehigh Valley of Pa) there is one location which seems to do well, due at least partially to its prime location near our largest shopping mall. Its a nice story of the little guy (oh, okay medium sized guys) struggling on after being abandoned by an uncaring corporate parent.

After all that I wish I could tell you that the food was worthwhile but unfotunately in my experience its pretty much the same caliber as Bennigans, Houlihans chilis etc.

"After all that I wish I could tell you that the food was worthwhile but unfotunately in my experience its pretty much the same caliber as Bennigans, Houlihans chilis etc."

So, you're saying they've improved since corporate walked out?

Back in college, they had a Ground Round across the street from the campus and that is where we used to hang out a lot. As far as I know, they are all gone from the Pittsburgh area. I miss the all-you-can-eat wing nights!

That was my favorite restaurant as a teenager. They had some kind of large hotdog with cheese that I would always order. I don't see it on the current menu.

A bunch of us in community theater used to go to a Ground Round for drinks and appetizers after rehearsals and performances.

One guy loved the deep-fried cheese, and ordered it pour la table regularly.

One night he offered some to Chuck, another of the guys in the group. "Nope." "Why not?"

Chuck took one off the plate, hurled it to the floor, and it bounced higher than his head where he caught it one-handed.

quote:

Originally posted by Wistah

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

Isnt there one still in Worcester, MA?.. On Route 9?...
I vaguely remember it from 2002....
Someone mentioned the other day, that he thought he heard one was coming here, but I think he got his info wrong, as there arent any in the SE, according to their website..

There was one in Shrewsbury on Route 9 near Spag's, about a mile from the Worc city limit....torn down and now a CVS.

There is a new Ground Round in downtown Boston, Mass Ave at Melnea Cass. First new one that I have seen opne up in a long time.

Thats the one!...

<<One of the few jobs I got fired from. We were supposed to wear red shirts, and my shirt was red, but it had a white collar.>>

So typical of the mentalilty of the Corporate bozos who run most chain restaurants. From the Handbook for Managers, (which I'll bet ran at least 100 pages): "Don't worry about what the food tastes like, just make sure all the employees are wearing identical clothes"

quote:

Originally posted by ken8038

<<One of the few jobs I got fired from. We were supposed to wear red shirts, and my shirt was red, but it had a white collar.>>

So typical of the mentalilty of the Corporate bozos who run most chain restaurants. From the Handbook for Managers, (which I'll bet ran at least 100 pages): "Don't worry about what the food tastes like, just make sure all the employees are wearing identical clothes"

thanks for the support, Ken...
I remember it feeling pretty painful at the time, cause the manager was'nt too pleasant about it. Usually I am in good with managers, but this time he really had his favorites, and I just did'nt seem to be one of them..

thank goodness, I'm on real good terms with all my shift managers in our poker room... and hope it stays that way.. I'm grateful

The Ground Round in the 1970's used to have video arcade games, silent movies and vintage cartoons on a giant screen, and even a clown named Bingo who walked around the tables entertaining kids.

Remember the Ground Round deal where kids paid for their meals the price of their weight?

We were vacationing through the northeast US a few years ago, and found a Ground Round in Augusta, Maine. It was about the only restaurant open at 10PM, so we stopped in. I wasn't driving, and had just spent 12 or more hours on the road, so I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea. After I finished, they brought the appetizers we'd ordered and I ordered another drink. After we'd finished our entree, I decided to have one last Long Island, but was informed that two was the limit per "house rules."

There used to be one in Greenwood, IN (just south of Indianapolis) where we ate when I was younger. I haven't been there in years and have no idea if it still exists. I don't remember much about it except the peanut shells you could drop all over the floor...