Salad bars at FF burger places

On another thread I mentioned McDonald's having a salad bar in the 70's.  Many people said they don't recall salad bars at burger chains.  Does anyone else remember SB at McD, Roy Rogers, Wendy's and I believe Arby's had a small salad bar.

I posted in that other thread that Wendy's had a salad bar in the 90's.  I don't remember seeing them anywhere else at a burger place.

Burger King definitely had a salad bar in the 80's, at least on Long Island.

In the early 80's, I got kicked out of a Wendy's along with several of my colleagues for abusing their "all you could eat" salad bar.
 If I remember correctly, we might have consumed a bit of "herbal" appetite enhancer before dining.
Carl's Jr also had salad bars in their stores in CA.

Definitely remember the Wendy's salad bar, but I don't remember ever getting it. Was it the same bar that they had toppings for their baked potatoes?

A salad bar at a FF joint is as functional as a screen door on a Submarine.

I seem to remember that Wendy's had 2 options. You could get the salad bar and you got a big plate and could go back but if you ordered the side salad you were given a small bowl and could take only one trip. 

Red Barn had a large salad bar. 1st place I ever went with the family that we salad as a meal.

It wasn't fast food, but the very first time I ever saw a salad bar anywhere was at Chuck's Steakhouse on the Boston Post Road in Orange, Connecticut in 1964. I'd never heard of such a thing. I even went over and looked at it.

Around here, the only FF chain to ever have a salad bar was Wendy's, from about the mid-80's to maybe 1994. Pizza Hut used to have one in the 80's, when you could still find one that had a seating area instead of just a take-out counter. Never saw one at Burger King, or McDonald's, or Burger Chef, or Rax.

chewingthefat


A salad bar at a FF joint is as functional as a screen door on a Submarine.

 
I disagree.  On more than one occasion I've been dragged to a Wendy's by a particular gluttonous friend. At least at the salad bar I could eat something that resembled actual food, as opposed to the dreck they were slinging at the counter. 

Pigiron


Burger King definitely had a salad bar in the 80's, at least on Long Island.

 
Burger Queen had a salad bar.  BQ morphed into Druther's. The salad bar was very good for a hamburger joint.

Pigiron

chewingthefat


A salad bar at a FF joint is as functional as a screen door on a Submarine.

I disagree.  On more than one occasion I've been dragged to a Wendy's by a particular gluttonous friend. At least at the salad bar I could eat something that resembled actual food, as opposed to the dreck they were slinging at the counter. 

Well, there is that, I was thinking crappy burger chain has crappy salad bar. I don't recall ever seeing one, although anytime I've been to a chain, 95% of the time I drive thru.

chewingthefat


Well, there is that, I was thinking crappy burger chain has crappy salad bar. I don't recall ever seeing one, although anytime I've been to a chain, 95% of the time I drive thru.

 
There's your problem.  Going through a drive-thru to get your food at a FF place pretty much guarantees bad results.  By the time you get back home or the office, the food has continued to cook down into an homogenous mess.  A Wendy's burger eaten inside is pretty good, as is a Whopper from BK if you ask them to cook it fresh and not microwave it. 

 
Some of these were not actual "salad bars", but they were "Fixins bars"  ... a small bar with lettuce, onion, tomato, etc. to top your burger.   Burger Chef was well known for this, and I think Wendy's might have done it for a while. 
 
 
Glenn
 
 

Glenn1234


 
Some of these were not actual "salad bars", but they were "Fixins bars"  ... a small bar with lettuce, onion, tomato, etc. to top your burger.   Burger Chef was well known for this, and I think Wendy's might have done it for a while. 


Glenn

 
Nope, Wendy's was a full salad bar.  You weren't allowed to fix up your burger unless you paid for the salad bar.

chefbuba


In the early 80's, I got kicked out of a Wendy's along with several of my colleagues for abusing their "all you could eat" salad bar.
If I remember correctly, we might have consumed a bit of "herbal" appetite enhancer before dining.
Carl's Jr also had salad bars in their stores in CA.

I hope you had your pants on when you did that.

I can confirm salad bars at Wendy's (at least some of them) and Red Barn.  Wendy's switched to pre-made salads at some point.  Not sure why.  Actually, Wendy's seemed to try several ideas that appeared to work well but were dropped.  I've seen some that don't have the single line anymore.  And they used to send somebody out during busy times to get people's orders while they waiting in line.  All they did was write the order down and hand it to the person, but it made people think about what they wanted BEFORE they got to the counter and, as a result, made the line move a lot faster.
 

Glenn1234


 
Some of these were not actual "salad bars", but they were "Fixins bars"  ... a small bar with lettuce, onion, tomato, etc. to top your burger.   Burger Chef was well known for this, and I think Wendy's might have done it for a while. 


Glenn
 

 
Believe Burger Chef introduced this concept.

I don't consider Pizza Hut fast food but chain food. They still have salad/pizza bars for lunch in many locations. I know in rural northwest Illinois, in many small towns the Pizza Hut is the only option and they all have lunch/pizza bars because we have stopped at many of them when we travel that way. My partner is vegetarian and very few mom and pops out that way can accommodate.

My daughter was working at Wendy's at the time. To get a salad bar, a Wendy's had to consistently pass a rather strenuous cleanliness test. Hers did.
 
Bart

I remember (in the same location) Gino's had a salad bar. Gino's became Roy Rogers with a salad bar that was phased-out a few years before closing. Wendy's took over and had a salad bar for a short run.

Wasn't Wendy's salad bar called the "Super Bar" ??? 
Besides salad they offered I believe a pasta bar and for a time a taco bar when one could make their own tacos and taco salads. Actually the latter I have in my collection an old radio spot for them advertising that one but it didn't mention the pasta or use the name "Super Bar" though.  The ad was from either March or April 1982. Easy to find that one out since after the ad the dj mentioned the "recent" death of John Belushi.

yes, wendy's was the 'super bar' at some point and they had some hot pasta items as well as cold pasta salads. 
 
gino's had a salad bar.  i remember it well since it was my responsibility when i worked there :)
 
roy rogers did as well - and i think at least one of them (in maryland) still does. i didn't take all that good a look because i was in a bit of a rush - there did seem to be more there than condiments though.
 
i think it was gino's that started it - not sure though.  i don't remember any mc d's or burger kings having the salad bars, just gino's and then the roys added them.  (no wendy's in the area really except for the one in glenolden and that one didn't open until '81 or '82 and i don't think i ever was inside, just used the drive through).

I have fond memories of Gino's. I was very young during the Gino's years...but I remember my Father loved the salad bar. Gino's had separate left/right smoking/non-smoking sections.

 
wendys salad bar commercial

joclyn


yes, wendy's was the 'super bar' at some point and they had some hot pasta items as well as cold pasta salads. 

gino's had a salad bar.  i remember it well since it was my responsibility when i worked there :)

roy rogers did as well - and i think at least one of them (in maryland) still does. i didn't take all that good a look because i was in a bit of a rush - there did seem to be more there than condiments though.

i think it was gino's that started it - not sure though.  i don't remember any mc d's or burger kings having the salad bars, just gino's and then the roys added them.  (no wendy's in the area really except for the one in glenolden and that one didn't open until '81 or '82 and i don't think i ever was inside, just used the drive through).

I don't know if Roy Roger's ever had or now has a salad bar, but the fixins bar has lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, sometimes red onions as well, pepper rings, some sort of pico di gallo and one or two other items, as well as all the sauces.  They often have a big canister of Old Bay, and a bottle of the hot sauce with the wooden cap (Chalulu or something like that).  The fixins bar does resemble a salad bar.
 

Roy Rogers discontinued the majority of salad bars in the late 80s.

Wow, classic commerical.

fishtaco

Believe Burger Chef introduced this concept.

First time I ever saw a salad bar anywhere was at Burger Chef. A buddy and I didn't know, got Big Chefs and fries, sat down, then saw the salad bar.  We had no clue that you had to pay extra for it, or why there were no plates or forks. Like 2 morons, we helped ourselves, putting it all on our orange plastic trays......ewww!