This chain of hot dog stands was founded in Miami Beach in 1956 by the Pearlman family, and at its peak, there were more than 400 locations nationwide.
The South Florida fixture, whose trademark was hot dogs steamed in beer, was so successful, in fact, that the company went public and bought Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1969. The chain was purchased by Wienerwald in 1978, but overextended itself and filed for bankruptcy a few years later.
If you best remember Kenny Rogers Roasters from a classic Seinfeld episode, you’re not alone.
This chain, which the singer launched in 1991 along with KFC mogul John Y. Brown, expanded to 425 locations, but a country singer’s name and a focus on rotisserie chicken didn’t exactly make it stand out in an already crowded field, and it went bankrupt in 1998 after being bought by Nathan’s.
While there’s only one U.S. outpost still in business, in Ontario, California, it’s doing surprisingly well in Asia, where there are more than 100 locations.
Grand Ole Opry legend Minnie Pearl affixed her name to this fried chicken chain, which was launched by Nashville attorney John Jay Hooker in 1966.
The company went public in 1968, and over the course of the next few years more than 500 locations opened and thousands more were franchised out, although a lot of those franchises never saw the light of day.
While rival KFC grew organically and focused on quality and consistency, so many outposts of Minnie Pearl’s opened that no two chicken recipes were the same, and people simply stopped going.
Investors sued the company after they were forced to redo their 1968 taxes to show a loss of more than $1 million, and the company shut down shortly thereafter.
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Best hamburger ever. Better than McDonald's. Really miss this restaurant.
so do i so sad.
We still have a Howard Johnson's here in Arlington Texas as well. Right next door to Six Flags over Texas. The best burger you ever ate at Griff's. One name i was surprised to not see was Kip's Big Boy Restaurant. But they are still in Ky. and Ca. As of this writing.
Really nice restaurant. Good food.
Used to eat lunch there a lot. Also, dinner was great. Loved those Chicken Croquet s. They had great ice cream for after the ball games.
Too bad, so many folks put their hearts and souls into these restaurants, Then others opened with copy=cat deals and therefore lots of them couldn't stand the heat in the kitchen and simply gave up, sold out etc. Many dreams, hopes and cash flow was lost along with the broken hearts. Alas that's life in the business world, you gotta be strong and hard as nails to make it, make deals that break the bank , know when to hold em and know when to fold up your tent and go home, if you still have one. josie
no, burger chef lost out to mcdonalds becaue of freemason, mk ultra and mkdelta...your highly successful and stay highly successful because of who is "connected" and who follows the "nwo" agenda....
The Freemasons? MK Ultra? Why not the Illuminati? Does RB NG mean you are "ribbing" us or do you really believe what you wrote? About 50 years or so ago, I would've asked what you were on and could I have some. Well, if that was supposed to be funny, I got a little laugh out of it. Thanks for that.
Very nostalgic memories of going to Howard Johnson restaurants with my mother as a child. I loved the fried clam plate with a dessert. Very pleasant and easy going atmosphere. I really miss those days! Their Inn is still a favorite - would rather stay there than the up scale hotels and motels I've used, with it's contemporary, "Jetson"-like, orange, grey and white decor/furnishings and friendly, laid back staff.
Met my future wife at a Burger Chef in Dothan, Al in 1970. Fortunately, our franchise lasted longer than theirs. 49 years in April.
I worked for my uncle and aunt in their franchise Howard Johnson's Restaurant in New Hampshire in the spring and Summer's of the late 1950's and early 1960's during my high school summer vacations . Great memories and times at the HoJo providing food and ice cream to our customers. When you think of Howard Johnson's it is like apple pie and baseball true American fare. Unfortunately a time that has passed.
We used to go with all my cousins for the fish fry all you can eat.
Ho Jo was our scouting special on our camping trips
There was a Sambo’s near me in 1975 and we loved to go there with a quarter in our pocket and it would pay for 2 coffees with a 25% tip.