Recently the only Great Steak and Potato closed their only local location (NE Ohio), which I miss their steak and egg sandwiches and hone fries. I also miss, in no particular order, White Castle, Qdobo, Ponderosa, Hardees, Jack in the Box… Anyone else mourning their culinary losses?
Woolworths, believe it or not. I can remember sitting on the cafeteria counter stool and ordering the patty melt and a malted.
There was a local donut chain called “Montgomery Donuts.” Closed up in the late 90s after a fire at their main bakery, which happened to be very close, like walking distance, to the house I grew up in. It had a 24-hour coffee and donuts counter attached to it, and I would always stop there right before going home if I was out late at night. Sit there for 20-30 minutes, have a cup of coffee and a few extremely fresh donuts, chat with the cops that were always hanging out there, it was a great little spot.
Roy Rogers. They never completely disappeared, and have slowly been coming back, but they used to be everywhere around here. I have to drive quite a ways out of my way to get to one.
I miss Shakey’s. They had a $4.99 lunch buffet and these incredible fries called mojo fries. I also miss Fazoli’s. They were a quick service Italian restaurant with a takeout bucket of spaghetti and meatballs.
Pizzeria Uno. Our Uno’s was always packed and the food was really good. Then, one weekend, we went there for dinner and it was closed. I don’t know what happened, I’ve always just assumed there was some financial hanky-panky going on.
Back Yard Burger. I’m pretty sure I know why they closed – it was about six months after Five Guys opened just down the street from them. I like Five Guys, but I really miss BYB.
Radio Shack. A simplier time . . .
Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips. No one made it quite so good.
Going far further back, there was the Automat.
I miss Ponderosa also. Lums was nice - hot dogs steamed in beer. And Sisters Chicken. Loved their catfish sandwich.
Are we talking about gone, gone? Or just not nearby to you anymore? Since I have JitB within walking distance even if it’s not one of my favorites.
One local/regional chain I miss is Blake’s Lotaburger now that I don’t live in NM anymore. They were really good for fast food burgers, cooked on an actual griddle, with decent green chile. Mmmmm.
Bill Knapp’s. I loved their food as a kid, took my own kids there when we travelled through areas where they had restaurants, and we were all disappointed when we stopped in South Bend, IN around 2003 or so and found the restaurant there closed, along with all the rest. We loved the food, especially their biscuits and honey and their chocolate cake.
Recently I found local stores that do carry their baked goods, including that amazing chocolate cake. Their name and dessert items were revived back in 2019. Yum!
Their vintage menu makes me quite nostalgic.
That cake was amazing! And they would give you your birthday percent off. We took my grandmother there when she was about 75 and her meal was 75% off. I used to ask my Dad if they gave you money if you were 101 or older.
Yeah, I had some just last month! And the local gas station I frequent carries their Dunkers!! I bring them in to work and am quite popular as a result.
Sweet Tomatoes - I’m hoping they will come back. I love the composed salads and all the soup.
Wait, you can still get bill Knapps cakes? How is that a thing?
click the “2019” link in my first post here, it talks about the Bill Knapp’s bakery which supplies a lot of grocery chains now.
Wow, I totally missed that. Amazing.
or just click on https://billknapps.com/
If you google “where to buy bill Knapp’s cake” it’ll show you stores near you. Hopefully. there are a TON around me in WI
Alas, they announced in May of 2020 that they were shutting down permanently, and liquidating.
They had really good pizza too. Inexpensive and good!
I miss Howard Johnson’s. My dad and I would eat there when I was traveling with him on summer vacation. I loved their deep-fried clams and Welsh Rarebit. I thought I spotted a HoJo’s off Hwy 401 when I moved to Toronto a few years back, but either I was mistaken or it closed immediately afterward.
Broken Chains. An excellent blog by a dedicated connoisseur of dead and dying food and retail chains. You can kill a couple of hours if you’re not careful. 