Long Gone Regional Chains

How many of you folks remember the LUMS chain? (Hint: Hot Dogs steamed in beer)


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I do remember Lum's. Does anyone remember D'Lites the "healthy" fast food chain? One chain I miss in the east that I know is still in the west is Sizzler. And my all-time favorite chain: Horn & Hardart's.

D'Lites ceased to exist from the arena in my area just about the same time that the multi-grain bun vanished from the Wendy's menu. Just another example of customers who will not support a healthy FFR menu. As they say: "if its not at least 55% or more "FAT" per serving, then it is not for me."

Ginos & the Gino's Giant It had it all way before Big Mac

I loved Lums ... I remember when I was a kid and living in Florida, I had my first experience at a Lums. I thought I was cool because I was eating a hot dog cooked in Beer !!


Another chain I miss (it is gone from my neck of the woods anyway) is A&W Root beer ! Loved those frosty mugs of root beer and Big Boy hamburgers !

There use to be a Lum's in Gatlinburg, TN. Every trek I made into the neat little town in the Smokies, I stopped in and got a hot dog steamed in beer. They just sort of faded away. I looked "Lums Hot dogs" up on the internet and it seems that there are still some fans out there.

It seems like they also did good roast beef and did a Ollie Burger. They bought the sauce from "Ollie's Trolley"

They mentioned that that they were bought by "Perlman". I am not sure if that was Ron Perlman from Revlon or not. They appeared to imply that Perlman run it into the ground.

They boiled their hot dogs in beer all day long. One site said they used "Bud"

They were good but almost all are gone although the web site I looked up said there were a few remaining perhaps in Fla and VA

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Lum's Ollieburger


3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp A-1 Steak Sauce
1 Tbsp Corn Oil
1/2 Cup Beef Broth
1 tsp Heinz 57 Sauce
1/4 tsp Garlic Salt
1 tsp Vinegar

1. Mix the above ingredients.
2. Take 1 1/2 to 2 lbs. of ground round and shape meat into round
patties, 3/4" thick and 3 1/2"round.
3. Place in a covered container and pour the marinade mixture over them.
Cover tightly and refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.
Turn the patties frequently.
4. Remove from marinade and sear over high heat to seal in the juices,
then turn down heat and cook to your desired doneness.

I grew up in LA. There used to be Bob's Big Boy everywhere. I really do miss a lot of items. Shrimp salad. Chili spaghetti size. Navy bean soup. I remember looking forward to coloring the placemat. A possible mistake they made was hopping on the buffet trend. They couldn't quite figure out if the buffet was a one shot deal or all-you-can-eat. It had to do something with how many bowls of soup you can have. That just threw the whole Bob's goodwill vibe off kilter. Then there was the fall of Sambo's which overnight became Four Seasons and later something else though I can't quite remember. That too threw in a "healthy" aspect, perhaps a grilled chicken, even though they specialized in pies. That grilled chicken really destroyed the joy of chain diners. The only real health food on the menu should be the burger patty with cottage cheese. People in the '90s would laugh at the burger patty plate as diet food, but now that's Atkins an promotes weight loss, so they knew something we didn't. Anyways, RIP Bob's.

Not sure how many other there are left, but here in God's Country (oops, I mean Plattsburgh, NY, sorry!) there is a very nice Lum's which still has most of the original Lum's menu favotites. I think that there is also a Lum's across Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT

Wally

How about Carroll's, "Home of the Club Burger"? Carroll's was a Syracuse, NY based regional chain. They had locations in numerous upstate NY communities, including two here in Plattsburgh. Carroll's later turned all of their locations into Burger King outlets. I think that they remain as one of the larger Burger King franchise operators. Having said that, BK's Whopper is no comparison the the Carroll's Clubburger.

Wally

AMEN Brother Wall...I think Carrol's [two 'r's ONE 'l']at its peak was spread from NY west thru Ohio..I think...One thing around here is that I dont think that the two BKs in our town that used to be Carrol's do NEARLY as well as BKs as they did as Carrol's..and its been 25 years since the changeover! One funny thing is that there was several Carrol's in FINLAND of all places up to a year or so ago..complete with the ClubBurger!

Are there any Orange Julius stands out there anymore? Frothy orange drinks and orange chili dogs were the thing when I was a wee one.

Orange devil fan

Strawberry juliuses or julii were good but they always gave me a stomach ache. Were they made with powdered milk?

There used to be a A&W just as you come into Kingsport,TN. Do not know if it's still there.

There are still 2 Bob's Big Boys in LA, although they used to be everywhere. Still a few A&Ws, but A&Ws are all over Alberta Canada. I still love their floats and kitschy tiny mugs, but the burgers aren't very good. Orange Julius' freaked us out as kids because they had egg white in them.

I remember my first visit to Lum's. I was in Miaimi for the heart-stopping Penn State (15) - Kansas (14) Orange Bowl. On our first venture out of the hotel where we were staying, we discovered a Lum's. They had giant mugs of beer and with a PSU or Kanses college I.D., they were half-price. Throughout the next few days, Lum's became our 'home away from home' and the juicy hot dogs our major source of nutrition.

With all the talk about Lum's, it made me recall my first hot dog there. The more I read, the more hungry I became. I went to Walmart, bought a six pack of beer, some all beef hot dogs, Housers chili, buns and I went back home and boiled the dogs in beer. Every hot dog was consumed and everybody enjoyed them. I bought tall boys and of course, I had to have one.

The dogs at Lum's were better for some reason.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

A long long time ago my first introduction to McDonalds type fast food was at Wetsons on Morris Ave in either Union or Elizabeth NJ. High school friens would pile into a car and head for Wetsons to consume large quantities of cheeseburgers and fries. Those were the days.

In the NYC area, there were Schraftt's,Chock full of nuts, and Nedick's. In Philly, there was Linton's. And, I remember Stouffer's as a restaurant chain first before the frozen food line.

There are still A & W's in Chicagoland. I know of one that recently opened and is paired with KFC but there are plenty of free standing ones. One local A & W sponsors an 50's night in the summer and has car hops.

OUCH RUBY ROSE! the famous jayhawk 12 man defense. We don't have good football teams very often at KU. That was a heartbreak for the ages for us. You didn't exactly make me remember that game because unfortunately, we've never forgotten it. On a happier note, at least there's no Griff's Burger bars anymore. The huts in KC were all metal building A frames, with $.19 hamburgers. I just recall the stomach ache after eating 6 of them at a time. Ah, the glories of being 13.

We miss Lum.s in the Midwest, but stop at one in Corning NY area. We,ve got plenty of A&W's, but they've become fast food joints. What I really miss is the King's Food Host regional chain with great burgers and cheese frenchies.

Lum's - OMG!!! Just recently I was thinking about that place. I could picture it, I knew there were a couple of locations near where I grew up, but couldn't for the life of me remember the name of the place. Thank you!

Before McDonald's came to town, at least MY town, we had Howdie Beefburger. Same thing, pretty much. And then there was Burger Chef, before Burger King took over. Their burgers went from the regular hamburger and cheeseburger to the big chef, the super chef, and maybe a couple of other variations.

And there was an A&W nearby, which is now long gone - I don't think they've been around here for a loooooooooooong time - but I have fond memories of the little baby rootbeer mugs, and of Tuesday Night 10-cent "Coney Island Dogs" which were chilli dogs.

Does anyone remember Roy Rogers? I remember it growing up in New Orleans in the '60s. It was a roast beef sandwich house, almost identical to Arby's.

Also - another childhood fave of mine was the Bonanza steak house chain.

-Yumbo

There are still Roy Rogers' in NY, NJ, MD, PA.

quote:

Originally posted by yumbo
Does anyone remember Roy Rogers?

In the late '60s I worked at a Roy Rogers in Memphis, and had just assumed the chain had changed names because the menus were identical. The one difference that I'm pretty sure of is that RR used seamed boneless beef (inside top round?), while Arby's uses processed beef of uncertain provenance--and it's not always freshly sliced as RR's was.

Dearfolk,
Not long ago, I ran back into the man who managed the Lum's here in Athens, Georgia. He remembered when my dad and I used to come in for lunch and - over a considerable period of time - drank our way "around the world," two beers at a time. Yep, my Dad turned me on to Guinness, and - proudly - I'll never be the same. Our Lum's burned down in a lightning-strike fire and was never rebuilt. There were two or three afterward around Atlanta, but they've all vanished now. (When I worked at Peaches Records there, we used to eat at the one across the street, which we dubbed "Glum's" because everyone who worked there was an utter sourpuss.)
Nobody's mentioned Shakey's Pizza Parlor! Used to be you could go there and sing corny old songs around a ricky-tick piano. The last one of those that I saw was on Stewart Avenue, S/W in Atlanta: it was open even after the one on Dickerson Pike in Nashville had closed: late 1980's.
Right down the road on Dickerson was the second last Minnie Pearl's Fried Chicken. Gracious, their food was so salty that I hardly could eat it. I'm sure it wasn't Mrs. Sarah Ophelia Colley's recipe! I hear tell that one remaining Minnie Pearl's is open in someplace like Bedford, Virginia.
Eddy Arnold also had a fried chicken joint chain at one time. Wonder if his was any better than Minnie Pearl's?
Fats Domino was associated in some capacity with a restaurant chain bearing his name seome years ago. Now Antoine (that's Mr. Domino's real name) can cook, mind you; he remains alive and well in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans at age 75, rocking and rolling with the best of them. - And boiling shrimps in a cauldron out in the yard!
Lastly, I'll mention Stan's Sandwich Shops. An outfit out of Jacksonville, Florida, they produced some of the most immemorable food I ever put into my mouth.
Still Here And Not Forgotten Myself, The Non-Chain-able, Non-Franchise-able Ort. Carlton in Athens, Georgia.

Shakeys Pizza is alive and not so well here in the Los Angles Area. A few of the remaining ones have a good "Bunch A Lunch" the rest, well I don't know how they stay in Business?

Hey BigGlenn, yay! Another LA person...we'll have to start a thread to swap favorite local places. Anyways, I am convinced that Shakey's Pizza and H. Salt Fish and Chips have to be some kind of fronts for money laundering or something, because they are always totally deserted, yet they drag on and on.

Wallhd, growing up in Cortland New York we had not one but two Carroll's for a while. We also had a Lums and still have an A&W (recently re-opened after a fire).

I had a twilight zone moment in Chicago in the early eighties. I had ordered a lunch in a downtown Burger King, and when I went to open the straw, I noticed it was a Carrolls straw. I kind of freaked because they were long gone from Central New York at the time. I didn't know they had become BK owners.

quote:

Originally posted by Adjudicator

How many of you folks remember the LUMS chain? (Hint: Hot Dogs steamed in beer)

The first time I ever ate at Lums was in Miami in 1958. Oh, those hot dogs steamed in beer.

I also remember a Lums in Clearwater where my wife and I had a couple of huge laughs. A waitress brought root beer to the table instead of iced tea and when I put sugar in the glass it foamed up and went all over the table and the floor. The waitresses there were elderly women, and one, who seemed quite frail, delivered a tray of food to an outdoor table, then was unable to get the door open so that she could get back in the dining room. Someone had to open it for her.

In the early 1970s they opened several Lums in the Columbus, Ohio area, but they didn't last very long.

You can still find Bob's Big Boy on the Parkway rest stop in NJ. And a KFC was recently torn down and rebuilt with half a KFC and the other half an A&W Root Beer place. So I guess they own them now....

Wetson's in NJ. They used that orange colored cheese on their cheeseburgers, not the pale yellow stuff of today. Mc Donald's also used the darker colored American cheese back in the day. Burger Chef (not exactly regional, but sorely missed)..Also, Little Taven in DC and Baltimore. There was a scene in the 1983 movie "Diner" when they were having coffee in a Little Tavern..How about Village Inn Pizza? White Towers were in downtown areas in the Northeast and Upper South. Can't forget about Schrafft's In NYC, plus Horn and Hardat. We had Cedrick's Fish and Chips here in NC back in the 70's. I also remember a little burger chain called Bell's in SC.

First of all, yes, the A & W in Kingsport, Tennessee, is still in operation. Second, here's a link to an archived piece I did for the Kingsport paper on the one remaining restaurant that was once part of a regional chain called the Blue Circle:

http://www.wets.org/index.cgi?&CONTEXT=cat&cat=324

Fred Sauceman
Johnson City, Tennessee

Cosmo: did that experience happen to occur at the Greyhound bus station? Greyhound used to be a big BK franchisee also,but sold some of their locations to the Carrol's Development Corp,and I am SURE Carrol's had TONS of material that had 'Carrols' on it that they needed to get rid of!

From my Philadelphia childhood: Hot Shoppes (Drive-In) and Hot Shoppes Jr. Burger Chef, And a small chain - I remember the Chuckwagon (delis) downtown. Also, the White Tower coffee shops (kind of a White Castle knockoff?) Can anyone remember the Nedick's-like restaurants selling hot dogs, orange juice, etc. ah- Deweys! - all counters, I think - I remember one at 17th and Market... also King of Pizza. And what about the cheap steak place - Tad's - maybe $3.95 for a steak and salad, they had a grill in the window.

There were more Gino's restaurants (by football player Gino Marchetti) in Philly than McDonald's - and they were the Kentucky Fried Chicken dealer in Philly, I remember being surprised to see a real KFC outlet on Girard Ave in the '70s.

Sambo's started in Santa Barbara, CA - the original still operates, down by the wharf. http://www.americanplanet.com/Archive/AAD/Sambo.html">Sambo's story and a prank played on them.. They were a real contender for a while, gave Denny's a run for their money.

quote:

Originally posted by EliseT

quote:

Originally posted by pdxyyz

How about Sambo's?

Last one I know of burnt down just last year in Lincoln City, Oregon.

I thought they changed their name to Denny's in the 70s because it was so politically incorrect. There was still a Sambo's operating in Oregon?

quote:

Originally posted by sauceman

First of all, yes, the A & W in Kingsport, Tennessee, is still in operation. Second, here's a link to an archived piece I did for the Kingsport paper on the one remaining restaurant that was once part of a regional chain called the Blue Circle:

http://www.wets.org/index.cgi?&CONTEXT=cat&cat=324

Fred Sauceman
Johnson City, Tennessee

Mr. Sauceman: I ate at the Blue Circle on Henley in Knoxville many times. In fact, I was eating at the Blue Circle on Henley when JFK was shot. On the way back from lunch, a storeowner came outside to tell me the news. I guess everyone remembers where they were at swhen that occurred.

Do you know their current menu?

I use to get their hamburger steak along with fries. Pretty good then, but that was 40 years ago.

Next time I am around the Bluff City area, I will stop.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Tad's were in NYC as well...Ginos were all over the Mid-Atlantic- there was one in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus even. I believe that Ginos ranks right up there with the Harmans in Salt Lake when it came to being an early,pre-John Brown buyer of the Colonel's idea .KFC had to REALLY scramble when Ginos sold out to Marriott, and Marriott made them all into Roy Rogers.

BigGlenn; Elise T; All Y'all,
Maybe Shakey's is hanging on, but their future is really Shakey! - Especially if they have stores along or near the San Andreas fault!
Money laundering operation? Possibly; the Feds just closed down a pizza chain in Illinois for that very thing!
H. Salt, Esq.? Yeah, I remember that. I also remember Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips. My friends and I used to go in the one on Buford Highway in N/E Atlanta and ask the teenaged help if Arthur was there: "He comes around and checks," we'd warn them, "You'd better be prepared. He's veddy British and veddy formal."
There used to be a Jax Hot Shoppe on Main Street in downtown Anderson, South Carolina. We stopped there when I was a small child. It's been gone since some time like 1961. There are some great mom-and-pop eateries there now; I will report back when my research (AHEM!) is complete (as if it ever is!).
Atlanta used to have - and there were others - a chain called Toddle House. They were little doll-house-like places; short orders only; open all night. One on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta survives intact architecturally: for years, it was Mother's Tire Co.; now it's a dog training school.
Athens just lost its oldest restaurant, by the way. Parsons' Restaurant on Macon Highway closed after 53 years, and will reopen as Old 441 Diner. Chester Parsons received Clarke County mixed drink license # 1 in 1967; the establishment was still operating on it until last night. The place opened right after Macon Highway was completed in 1950.
Not Writing Chain Letters, Ort. Carlton in Athens, Georgia.

quote:

Originally posted by Rayme

Are there any Orange Julius stands out there anymore? Frothy orange drinks and orange chili dogs were the thing when I was a wee one.

Orange devil fan

There is still an Orange Julius in the Southern Hills Mall, Sioux City, IA. It's wonderful!!!!

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.

The Toluca Lake Bob's is back on it's game... we had breakfast there a few months ago, and it was very good - crowded, too.

Here's a URL to the current web site...
http://bobs.net/history/hist.html

I also found this 1969 menu on this food listing from the LA Public Library: http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food1.html

quote:

Originally posted by goldsborscht

I grew up in LA. There used to be Bob's Big Boy everywhere. I really do miss a lot of items. Shrimp salad. Chili spaghetti size. Navy bean soup. I remember looking forward to coloring the placemat. A possible mistake they made was hopping on the buffet trend. They couldn't quite figure out if the buffet was a one shot deal or all-you-can-eat. It had to do something with how many bowls of soup you can have. That just threw the whole Bob's goodwill vibe off kilter. Then there was the fall of Sambo's which overnight became Four Seasons and later something else though I can't quite remember. That too threw in a "healthy" aspect, perhaps a grilled chicken, even though they specialized in pies. That grilled chicken really destroyed the joy of chain diners. The only real health food on the menu should be the burger patty with cottage cheese. People in the '90s would laugh at the burger patty plate as diet food, but now that's Atkins an promotes weight loss, so they knew something we didn't. Anyways, RIP Bob's.

The Big Boy family came under different names---Shoney's, Elby's, Franklin's (the last two here in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA). The Big Boy mascot was actually stolen a few years ago. The hunt was on to find him, and they did! But then the restaurant closed a year or so later anyway. Now, it's a 50's style McDonald's

There is still A Lums That Is operating in WoodBridge Va .
To the best of my memory They still serve "Lum Dogs" and "Olie Burgers"

Folks,
Re- The "BIG BOY". Different area's of the country had a chain that purchased the BIG BOY Name and Logo. Out West it is/was "BOB'S BIG BOY". In the Intermountain area it is "JB'S BIG BOY" and here in the Midwest it is "FRISCH'S BIG BOY" I am sure it has other parent companies in the East and Deep South also.
RE- HOWARD JOHNSON's, I worked my way thru my first college experience by cooking at the HOJO's located on Rt95 Northbound in Rowley, Mass. (1960's) It is gone now with the new RT95 paving over the former food/gas stop there. Items of interest from that era... The clam strips- Some folks like them, Some bitched about the lack of 'whole' clams every time they came in. When They introduced the company-brand of cola...HOJO Cola to replace Coke in all the foodstands the reaction was very negative. It was said (at the time) that the drink was named HOJO COLA because they couldn't spell "YUCK". The sandwich of choice was the "3 D" A forerunner of the Big Mac. The prices were high out on the freeway..captive market .. but I recall having 40 cent burgers, $1.35 for the Hot Turkey or Hot Beef sandwich with either Mashed or FF on the side. and the big meal 8 oz steak for $2.65. Employees were not allowed to eat the steak as their meal of choice while on duty. The best deal on the menu was the Wed. Fish Fry...Flounder and FF and Slaw for a buck...drink extra. Hardest thing for the short-order cook were the onion rings that had to be double breaded before cooking..thus taking a worker out of action for the grill or other things until he had scrubbed the double breading "batter" off his hands before touching anything else. The 99 cent Beans and Franks were a favorite of many folks who stopped in...2 Franks (grilled), a small beanpot of pea-beans, and a slice of canned Brown bread. Indian Pudding was also available with a small scoop of Vanila ice cream.
Hope this brings back some memories for you as it has for me.
We have just returned from a week on the road...will post a report on the Misc. Threads later today.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffskal

From my Philadelphia childhood: Hot Shoppes (Drive-In) and Hot Shoppes Jr. Burger Chef, And a small chain - I remember the Chuckwagon (delis) downtown. Also, the White Tower coffee shops (kind of a White Castle knockoff?) Can anyone remember the Nedick's-like restaurants selling hot dogs, orange juice, etc. ah- Deweys! - all counters, I think - I remember one at 17th and Market... also King of Pizza. And what about the cheap steak place - Tad's - maybe $3.95 for a steak and salad, they had a grill in the window.

There were more Gino's restaurants (by football player Gino Marchetti) in Philly than McDonald's - and they were the Kentucky Fried Chicken dealer in Philly, I remember being surprised to see a real KFC outlet on Girard Ave in the '70s.

I certainly remember the White Tower in New Haven. It was at the corner of College and Crown streets, and it was a great place to go after a movie downtown. A couple of hamburgers, a plate of baked beans (a dime, as I recall), and some coffee. Nedicks? I used to hit the Nedick's stand in Grand Central Station for a hot dog and an orange drink every time I went into the city.

Anyone remember a chain called Griff's? I don't know how far they extended (we had one in Springfield, MO, and I saw one in Irving, TX years ago), and I don't really remember much about the food. I found this, though:

There is still a Shakey's Pizza in Springfield, IL--the state capitol.
It is primarily a buffet, however, you can still order pizza, chicken, and mojo potatoes to go. Allegedly, it is the biggest one still left.

Does anybody remember a chain called King's? You placed your order from your booth by telephone. Kind of different, but the food was nothing to write home (or here) about.

I remeber a King's in northern Iowa when I was in college in the 60's. We used to really yuk it up when we placed in order, we just thought it was the funniest thing. I can't remember if it was in Cedar Falls or Waterloo.

jeffskal-

Thanks for the great link! Very interesting and entertaining!

There is still a Sambo's---the only one I think. Its in Santa Barbara right across from the Harbor. Brings back a lot of memories!

Isnt HoJo Cola one of the things that helped kill HoJo's?? Or at least,the attitude that helped create it...I dont think Big Boys have survived east of Illinois/Michigan..if they were EVER this far east....

Lou,
You're probably right about HoJo Cola.. It was terrible, and never boosted sales of anything for the corporation.
RE- BIG BOY's, We have several in the Louisville area and I have seen them in Ohio and West Virginia within the past year.

quote:

Originally posted by Bushie

Anyone remember a chain called Griff's? I don't know how far they extended (we had one in Springfield, MO, and I saw one in Irving, TX years ago), and I don't really remember much about the food. I found this, though:

I think they're still around. There's one off of I-25 in Denver though I never stopped in and the yellow pages show 3 in Ft. Worth and one in Irving (probably the one you remember). I need to stop in - it looks like a classic joint!

quote:

Originally posted by Tacohead

I think they're still around. There's one off of I-25 in Denver though I never stopped in and the yellow pages show 3 in Ft. Worth and one in Irving (probably the one you remember). I need to stop in - it looks like a classic joint!

Tacohead, I wasn't sure if Griff's was still open or not. Let me know what it's like now if you go there. Thanks.

Dearfolk,
Is there still such a chain as Burger Chef? I've got their "A nickel and a dime" jingle running through my head as I type.
The former Burger Chef on Alps Road here in Athens, Georgia ia now a liquor store.
Gee, why doesn't somebody go around to all the old Minnie Pearl's locations and photograph them today? Now THAT would be an interesting book in the popular culture/architecture field!
Ungreasily, Ort. Carlton.

Burger Chef -> General Foods -> Hardees -> oblivion:
See:
http://www.burgerchef.com/BCHistory.htm
[url]
I got the image from here - looks like they're covering some of
the same ground we are:
http://www.octanecreative.com/boomerbaby/food.html

quote:

Originally posted by hawkeyejohn

Does anybody remember a chain called King's? You placed your order from your booth by telephone. Kind of different, but the food was nothing to write home (or here) about.

I think this was King's Food Host, a regional chain out of Lincoln NE. I still think the Cheese Frenchies were unique and quite tasty. PS, I'd prefer Cyclone to Hawkeye!