Interesting – this page claims that the original store in Santa Barbara is the only remaining location in the USA. This review suggests that the Lincoln City Sambo’s may not be part of the once-thriving chain, and this listing refers to the place as LIL SAMBO’S RESTAURANT.
Roy Rogers is gone. I really miss that place. When I was a little kid, whenever we ate out it was usually Roy’s that we went to. Mostly the Leesburg Pike location across the street from Tysons Corner Mall (that location is now a patio-furniture store but the building looks almost exactly as it did as RR’s) and the one in downtown Vienna that’s now a Wendy’s.
They had the greatest roast beef sandwiches on the planet; I still recall their intoxicating smell. Also they had barbecue sauce in those plastic squeeze bottles which made them taste even better. My earliest memories of the place are of seats which looked like barrels with padded tops, Western music over the sound system and Old West-related decor covering the walls. All that stuff went away around 1978, replaced with generic earth-toned fast-food-restaurant decor and bland crap music.
It was also at Roy Rogers that I first saw a scrolling-message sign; it was mounted behind the counter and advertised Platters and such. A source of endless fascination for six-year-old me: red letters that moved!
Once in a while we ate at Bob’s Big Boy. There was one on Maple Avenue in Vienna which closed in the early 90s; it’s now an Outback Steakhouse. I’d always have the foot-long hot dog. I remember they’d spiff up the plate with a few toothpicks with colored cellophane crinkles on top. They also had a special seasoning mix which you could buy at the cashier’s counter and use on your own food at home. I loved that stuff.
I might still have a few of their comic books too, moldering away in a box someplace.
/Barbra Streisand
Memories
/end Barbra Streisand/
I was just thinking about Lum’s a few days ago. There was one on Gratiot I think in Roseville in Michigan where I grew up. I think they also had beer-battered onion rings. The place smelled like a greasy brewery but Dad liked it, and it was one of the few places he’d eat out in, so we’d go. Then they shut down.
Up in Michigan, Elias Bros. Big Boys were still in business, as far as I know. There’s one on 23 Mile off I-94 around the corner were I grew up that was always busy. Food was pretty good, too last time I was in there (a few years ago).
Also, I remember Arthur Treacher’s. My grandfather loved their fish and chips.
Like Quadgop, I too miss Bill Knapp’s. You can buy their birthday cakes sometimes at Meijer’s stores, but it’s not the same. And the biscuits! Yum!
Three restaurants in the Little Tavern chain still exist:
Fifty-four restaurants (if I’ve counted correctly) in the Roy Rogers chain still exist:
Man, I loved Roy Roger’s. Great roast beef. In the Cincinnati area stores, you could ask for the beef to be branded. Basically, a little more done. For some reason, it was that much better. They also had a fixin’s bar. Hardee’s advertised Roy Roger’s roast beef for a while after the chain went under.
Bill Knapp’s? Yuck. Always where my grandmother wanted to go.
There was a short lived chain in Kentucky called the Fresher Cooker. Healthy type sandwiches. Turkey and chicken, lots of veggies. They didn’t make it.
The first of the Rally’s type restaurants I remember was Grand Junction. Two drive thru lines around a train station motif. Anyone remember those?
We used to have a local chain of Kewpie’s Hamburgers. Not sure if it was a national chain or local. They were comparable to a Wendy’s but much tastier. Old Skool.
Does anyone remember a restaurant called Po’ Folks or something? I used to love it when I was a kid in North Carolina in the 80’s. When I moved to California in the 90s, I heard rumors there were some on the west coast but I never found them.
Also, does anyone else remember/know about the restaurant Western Sizzler? Well imagine my surprise when I first moved out to California to see it was only called Sizzler here! Is that still the case?
There’s a Po’ Folks on Beach Bl. in Buena Park just north of Knott’s Berry Farm.
Has anyone seen a stand-alone Tastee Freeze lately? I see a lot of taco stands and donut shops in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles county that obviously used to be Tastee Freeze, and almost every Weinerschnitzel uses the brand name, but the last actual one I’ve seen was in Illinois in the early eighties.
How widespread was Picnic ‘N Chicken? There were a few in San Diego, but they shut down in the mid eighties. They had these big goofy buildings that looked like a white barn, and some of them got converted to other use. I actually worked at one that changed to Church’s in high school. When Church’s went under (in SD at least) that one changed into the strangest looking Subway on earth. A few months ago I was down there and noticed that the Subway moved to a new building next door and the ol’ barn was vacant. I wonder if they’re finally going to rip it down.
BTW, does anyone know why Jack In The Box shut down in the midwest? I remember them being quite common in Chicago when I was little, but then sometime in the mid to late seventies they all closed and the buildings sat boarded up for a long time. At the time I figured the whole chain went under for some reason, but then in '82 I moved to San Diego and was surprised to see them all over the place. Have they made it back there yet?
OK, just checked out Po’ Folks website, and it looks like Buena Park is the only one left in California, although I remember there used to be more. There’s also one in Arizona, the rest are in the southeast, mostly Florida. There are only 14 left overall. Too bad, that was damn good eatin’.
That link depressed me. The Little Tavern that was demolished in Silver Spring was the one my dad used to talk about. Although he must not have eaten there very often as his office was down on Wisconsin Ave.
I was also a fan of Roy Rogers. I remember Roy doing the commercials. I also remember the western decor. Very unusual for the DC Suburbs. Hardees is just a pale imitation of Roy Rogers as far as I’m concerned.
As I was just a little guy at the time, the only memories of **Hot Shoppes ** I can still recall are the enourmas (and tasty) onion rings and the uber-strange 60’s decor.
Well, they still have Roy Rogers at rest stops on the PA Turnpike.
As for Rax, I know there’s still one open right off Rt. 30 in Greensburg, PA, but I haven’t stopped in to give it a try.
Around here, the Big Boys were Elby’s (which actually confused me when I travelled as a kid when I saw a non-Elby’s…“Ripoff!” :D) but now as far as I know they’re just Big Boys.
Finally, I don’t remember the food (I was born in '79), but does anyone remember Winky’s?
Rax
Yep, I grew up with Sambo’s in the Portland OR / Vancouver WA area , they were sort of a Denny’s clone. To my 7-year-old taste buds, they made the best pancakes on the planet. I also remember the cool placemat puzzles and games they had.
They gradually disappeared from my area in the late 70’s.
I remember Sambo’s but I don’t think I ever ate there. Just remember seeing the name every once in a while.
There used to be a place called Sister’s Chicken and Biscuits. My mom and I loved that place. The spicy chicken and rice were wonderful.
Not sure how wide spread they may have been, I only ever knew of one location.
I’ve been to Bixby’s which is just like Wendy’s.
White Castle is the best. I loathe Krystal’s. Yucky
I used to love Wetsons. (Brooklyn on Eastern Parkway)
Golden Skillet Fried Chicken was great - I had it in Richmond, Virginia.
The one right near Wheaton Plaza? That’s the one my dad used to stop at (my mom lived where Wheaton Plaza would eventually be built) and the one I visited in college, drunk on New Years. They tore it down? Dirty filthy bastards.
I think there’s still a Golden Skillet - maybe several of them - unfortunately, in higher crime parts of the city. I could swear there’s one off of West Broad, and another one near Parham on the way to the fairgrounds.
I haven’t had Golden Skillet in years.
E.
So sad this chain is gone-it had a bit of germanic food about it-hot dogs steamed in beer! Could a dead chain like this be revived? Who was the last corporate owner of the Lums chain?
Anybody else here ever had a Gurneyburger at the House of the Gurneyburger? Probably not; I’m pretty sure there was only ever one. Gurney’s gone, and so are his excellent burgers.
I guess that doesn’t qualify as a chain.
Any folks in Tennessee enjoy Pal’s? If you see something that looks like this, pull in and get some fries and a chiliburger.