Arthur Treacher’s is still around, and here’s their homepage
http://www.arthurtreachers.com/
Checkers is still around in the DC area, at least, judging from the number of commercials I hear for them.
There was one in Palatine as of - er - well a couple years ago. It was on Rand Road next to the McDonald’s.
They used to have one in Palatine until a few years ago. It was on Rand Road across from Menard’s.
My son used to ride his bike there - we LOVED their fries!!
In the Washington, DC area, the “White Castle” clone was “Little Tavern Hamburgers” (buy 'em by the bag!)
They’re gone, but you can still recognize the distinct architecture of a Little Tavern in the repurposed buildings.
Does Golden Skillet ring any bells? We used to eat at them when I was a kid (25 years ago), but I can’t remember if they were any good. I drove past one about 2 months ago in NC or VA and was tempted to stop.
They had the steep, green shigle roofs, right? I remember getting that stuff. I only had it once or twice as a little kid, but my dad ate there for lunch. So I got to hear about how great it was.
Whatever happened to Hot Shoppes?
Sorry. Most of the ones I can remember are/were totally fuct. 
But seriously…I also grew up in/around Memphis, and used to hang out at the Shoney’s drive in on Bellevue (now Elvis Presley Blvd.) just up the street from Graceland. They had great hot fudge sundaes and strawberry pie.
I remember a place over on S. Third (Hwy 61) that was called Pirtle’s Chicken, and IIRC, it came in a yellow bucket with a picture of a Tennessee Colonel on the side.
There was a Judy’s that fits your description exactly in Beaufort, SC. Their cups had:
Judy’s
Judy’s
Judy’s
right down the side. You are not imagining things.
I came in to mention Burger Queen. Had a queen bee as their mascot. They got sued, and changed over to Druther’s.
Luckily, Druther’s went away as well. Bad bad bad bad bad food. If you are actually feeling nostalgic about Burger Queen for some reason, go to Marion, KY. There’s a chinese restaraunt there that hasn’t changed stuff from the Burger Queen day’s. They still have the Queen Bee logo on their sign. It’s the same one, and my wife confirms that it was a Burger Queen when she was growing up.
Growing up on Green Bay in the mid-late 1970s, we had a Marc’s Big Boy, a Mars (I remember the jingle… “There’s more on the menu at Mars!”) and a Sambo’s. And I think I had forgotten about all of them up until a few minutes ago. Come to think of it, I believe the Big Boy building is still there (but it was a different restaurant when I last visited).
We had a Shoney’s here in Knoxville, and my wife and I apparently ate at the one Big Boys in all of NC a few months ago.
Anybody remember D’Lites, a “healthy” fast food chain big in the SE in the mid 1980’s? Herschel Walker lost a ton of money when they filed for bankruptcy in 1987 or so.
I remember them…they sucked:D. My mom loved going there, though.
I miss Burger Chef. I think they went out of business when I was six or seven, but damn, they were good. We begged to go to Burger Chef.
Yeah, I remember Lums quite well. Very popular in the 1970s. I don’t know what happened to them, but I was hooked on their hot dogs and, especially, the Ollieburger.
BTW, I had my first legal beer in a Lums.
Anyone remember Wags, with the racoon mascot? They were kinda like Denny’s, Shoney’s, or IHOP. I used to love it when I was a little kid (early-to-mid '80s in Miami).
Sambo’s is used in CSA: The Confederate States of America (shameless plug) to great effect.
This thread is freaking old.
Aw, heck! I don’t reply to resurrected threads, usually, but this time I never thought to check the first posting date. :o
Oh, well, as long as I’m already here:
Not only do I remember 'em, I was a store manager for them early 1979-late 1980. Running a 24x7x365 coffee shop is what made up my mind to return to college and finish my degree. No kidding!
They folded about a year and a half after I left, which would make it somewhere in 1982 if I recall correctly, or maybe late 1981. I could be wrong about that.
I remember they were in trouble when I started. They had a comprehensive training program, starting with a week in Dallas (Farmer’s Branch, actually) and then a 3-month or so term in a training restaurant. I got Orange, Texas. My trainee partner lasted about 4 weeks before getting himself fired. I was on my feet so much, they were literally numb each night.
Just before we were to return to Dallas and undergo “final exams” they cancelled the entire program. Within a year, the local stores were even trying to recruit high school grads for manager training. WTF? Running a Sambo’s was almost like being in boot camp, only with no time off!
During that period, they got themselves a new CEO to effect a turnaround, a Mister Harvard Gradjiate, once dissimenated a famous “Let’s Cut the Bullshit” memo. Oh, yeah, THAT got him a lot of respect from those of us in the trenches.
When I turned in my keys I predicted the chain would be gone in a year. I was wrong by 6 months.
You want any anecdotes or war stories, let me know. I mean, “This is no crap, there I was…”
I vaguely remember Hot Shoppes. I think Roy Roger’s bought them out. Didn’t Hot Shoppes have fried chicken? I seem to remember Roy’s advertising about having Hot Shoppes fried chicken now. In fact, in reading this thread I wanted to point out 3 things:
Burger Chef had the fun meal before McDonald’s had the happy meal (already done)
Little Tavern was the DC clone of White Castle (already done)
I loved Roy Rogers. Fixin’s bar! They were #1 in the DC area. I believe they stretched to NYC. There were some independent Roy’s after Hardee’s bought out the Roy Rogers franchisees, but they weren’t the same. Double R-Bar Burger: Best hamburger ever.
About your dad and Little Tavern: My mom tells the story about how when my dad was courting her, he lived on a farm out in the country. It was a long drive home in the evening. After leaving, he’d stop by Little Tavern and buy a bag to eat on the way home. A silly story, but kinda sweet that she remembers that 55 years later.
When I was in college, on New Year’s Eve (actually New Year’s Day at this point) my drunken friends and I stopped by the SAME Little Tavern my dad would stop at. Another silly story, but a fond one for me for some reason.
On at least the West Coast, Sambo’s used to be everywhere. During the 70’s, they were as common as Denny’s–their main competitor in the franchise coffee shop/family restaurant field. Then, as I recall, the company got more heavy-handed with regard to running its stores at the expense of franchisee’s independence and control. All-around quality suffered, business fell off, and restaurants either closed or became independently-run. Then, of course, there was the whole problem with the franchise’s name. It was changed to Season’s around 1983 but by then it was late to save the company.
The last time I went to a Sambo’s was on a cold wet night in December 1982 in Lacey, Washington. I was travelling with my high school debate team and it was the only place in town still open. Unfortunately, because it was soon to be closing for good, there was not any food. In particular, I remember one of my friends ordering spaghetti only to be told 20 minutes later that they were out of sauce but they could substitute gravy instead! The whole experience got to be like Monty Python’s “Cheese Shop” sketch set in a dying franchise restaurant chain.
Incidentally, there is at least one Sambo’s left. It’s in Lincoln City, Oregon. I drove by it only a couple weeks ago.
Rax had good roast beef. So did Roy Rogers. Are they still around?
I also miss Bill Knapps.
here in omaha we had a good number of red barn restaurants. when they closed, the buildings were empty for awhile. some of them opened back up as a new business, applause video. the owner of the business met with my boss to buy fire extinguishers for the new locations. after he left, we wondered if video rental was a good idea for a business. we were wrong.
There is a Rax still open in Harlan, KY if I’m not mistaken. I was there a couple of years ago, it was still a great place.