Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up?

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (felix4067)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:16:24 GMT

wanderingjew

Felix,4067

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if I recall,you are the same person who called those that travel and do trip reports "braggarts" "show offs" and "attention getters", is that correct?

Like I said before, there are "posters" and "roadfooders".....

Not once was I abrasive or judgemental. Just the opposite, if anyone was rude, abrasive, insulting and obnoxious it was Ice Cream Man.

Thanks PP and MH for backing me up.

You are quite wrong. I have no idea who might have said that, but it certainly wasn't me.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (1bbqboy)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:01:09 GMT

Maybe Back Rhodes and ICM are brothers.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (wanderingjew)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 14:33:43 GMT

Felix,4067

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if I recall,you are the same person who called those that travel and do trip reports "braggarts" "show offs" and "attention getters", is that correct?

Like I said before, there are "posters" and "roadfooders".....

Not once was I abrasive or judgemental. Just the opposite, if anyone was rude, abrasive, insulting and obnoxious it was Ice Cream Man.

Thanks PP and MH for backing me up.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (pnwchef)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:54:19 GMT

Just because I don't agree with something, doesn't make it wrong.....

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (felix4067)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:01:32 GMT

At risk of poking the bear, he was pretty abrasive and judgmental in this instance. I will never understand those who come into the Fast Food Franchises & Non-Roadfood Chains forum and pass judgment on those who eat there on occasion. If the concept of something non-Roadfood offends the very fiber of your being, hide the forum and don't read things in it. I often end up eating at a chain for the very reasons Ice Cream Man states...no time to do research, and unsure of the city where I am, which makes me unwilling to risk going somewhere I could get in trouble just because I wanted a burger that didn't come from a chain. Neighbourhoods, especially those around major attractions that bring in a ton of people who aren't from the city, can go from good to bad simply by crossing a street, and it's not worth the risk sometimes.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Michael Hoffman)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:36:25 GMT

It's not even that smart.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Poverty Pete)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:12:30 GMT

Calling wanderingjew ignorant is just, well, ignorant.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Ice Cream Man)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 09:28:16 GMT

Ok Mr. road food, I'll leave you to your ignorance.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (wanderingjew)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 09:01:49 GMT

Ice Cream Man

Well good for you, it was late and we were hungry, no time to do research no intention of going down town in a strange city to see if one or the bars had good food or good fights.

Well, that's really a shame, I guess thats what separates posters from Roadfooders

Ice Cream Man

Most Mom & Pops are in bed.

Perhaps some, but certainly not most....There are plenty of great local restaurants in my neck of the woods that are open well past 8pm

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Ice Cream Man)

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 00:32:06 GMT

Well good for you, it was late and we were hungry, no time to do research no intention of going down town in a strange city to see if one or the bars had good food or good fights. Most Mom & Pops are in bed.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Michael Hoffman)

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 15:10:59 GMT

I haven't eaten at Joe's Stone Crab since the late '60s or early '70s. I wish I hadn't lost their mustard sauce recipe.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (wanderingjew)

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:55:42 GMT

Ice Cream Man

Well maybe, but you still only have a 50/50 chance of getting good food. Most think quantity makes it good or cover it in gravy because otherwise it's so dried out it would choke you. Most True road food seems to close at 8pm.

Well, I guess if youlhave an extremely limited definition of roadfood as a greasy spoon on the wrong side of the tracks then you are correct.

There are some great taverns, country inns, steakhouses, etc that are open well past 8pm....

I've had probably about a 90% success rate in finding roadfood that is above average or better by doing my own research...

even this place is classic Roadfood...

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Poverty Pete)

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:50:57 GMT

I know of Roadfood places that are only open three hours a day (Isaiah's in Montgomery) and I know places that are open 24-7 (Hermitage Cafe in Nashville.)

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Ice Cream Man)

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:21:28 GMT

Well maybe, but you still only have a 50/50 chance of getting good food. Most think quantity makes it good or cover it in gravy because otherwise it's so dried out it would choke you. Most True road food seems to close at 8pm.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (wanderingjew)

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:04:33 GMT

Ice Cream Man

Because by the time you get out of the Opry it's 10:30.
Also I like to try all the chains you have that we don't.
Best lunch road food or not was a Cheese steak at Pyramids in the Opry Mills Food Court. We ate half chains and half road food for 18 days. Also I didn't see this tread before we went or I would have chose a different fast food place.

Wow........I'm just glad I never go to chains. That's what Roadfood is all about.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Ice Cream Man)

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:37:00 GMT

Because by the time you get out of the Opry it's 10:30.
Also I like to try all the chains you have that we don't.
Best lunch road food or not was a Cheese steak at Pyramids in the Opry Mills Food Court. We ate half chains and half road food for 18 days. Also I didn't see this tread before we went or I would have chose a different fast food place.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Michael Hoffman)

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:46:10 GMT

You were in NASHVILLE and went to a Shoney's? Why in the world would you do that?

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Ice Cream Man)

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:29:39 GMT

Last week I had a Cheese Steak at Shoney's in Nashville, greasy and over cooked.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (airlineguy99)

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:02:30 GMT

The Shoney's in Grayson, KY just recently closed... It had been going downhill for years...

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (CajunKing)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:30:46 GMT

There are sevral Shoney's here in the Nashville TN area and all are packed for the early bird special times. Other than that somewhat quiet.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (HollyDolly)

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:48:46 GMT

Only cafeterias around here are Luby's a San Antonio chain.HOJO is long gone from here as is Sambo's. There are a couple of Denny's one in Schertz and one in Live Oak but the one on Broadway across from the University of the Incarnate Word in Alamo Heights is gone.Thought that was an odd location given to the fact the town is a ritzy suburb of San Antonio built back in the 1900s. However, the McDonald's there always seem to do a lot of business.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (HollyDolly)

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:44:37 GMT

Don't have any idea. There is one on Interstate 35 North in the Windcrest area,a suburb of San Antonio and it's right next door to Red lobster.Haven't eaten there in years. Might have to try it sometime before it too goes.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (michaelcarraher)

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 19:59:07 GMT

Shoney's had the Big Boy franchise for several Southern states and then decided to go on their own. From the comments here, sounds like it was a mistake.

The market seems to have moved away from the coffee shop chains that once dominated the low-end the restaurant biz: Big Boy (including or not including Shoney's), HoJo's, Denny's, Sambo's. ...
All are barely limping along or dead in the water.
Same for cafeterias.
Fast food took over on the bottom and theme chains took over the next rung up. Times change.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (ann peeples)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:03:51 GMT

Funny you should mention Big Boy, Jim. Thats exactly what the local owners did-dumped Big Boy for Shoney's. Big mistake.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (MetroplexJim)

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 07:30:16 GMT

Did they dump Big Boy and the gelatinous 'strawberry pie'?

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Adjudicator)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:52:17 GMT

Probably because they are devoting more time & $$$ to Capt. D's, their most sucessful chain.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (kland01s)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:46:07 GMT

We had one years ago in far west Chicago land. It didn't last long and we only went there for breakfast a few times. Now we just got a Golden Corral. Sort of the same. We tried it right after they opened and found it dismal. Too many local mom and pops yet in this area that are good if not great!

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Michael Hoffman)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:31:33 GMT

Shoney's used to be pretty darned good. But that was back when Alex Shoenbaum was running the company he founded in Charleston, West Virginia. I loved the Shoneyburger, and as much as I hate to admit it, the fudge cake was fabulous. Oh, and so was the strawberry pie.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (RKB)

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:21:09 GMT

ann peeples

Because they suck-food was horrible. Ate there once and never went back.

+1. I totally agree.

Re:Shoneys-why are so many locations closing up? (Louis)

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:30:56 GMT

Back in the early 1980s, the one here was pretty good. Then it gradually went down quality hill. It eventually hit rock bottom by the mid-1990s and I stayed away. I went there recently after a five-year absence, and the food had improved somewhat. The ground round sirloin was good enough that I came back for it the following week. Maybe the new CEO can work a miracle, but he's got his work cut out for him. As is the case with all chains, it's the manager of the individual unit (and corporate support) that make or break these places. A single manager can make all the difference in the world; he's either dedicated to his job, or he's just there for a paycheck.