# Chain places I miss **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 31, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721 "2021-07-31T19:44:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/61 "2021-08-01T16:06:20Z")
Agree with this. There were none of them anywhere near me but it seemed whenever we went on vacation there was one, so it was my vacation indulgence. I was so hoping we’d someday get one near us… 😭 ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/62 "2021-08-01T16:07:25Z")
Zantigo. There was one near campus when I was in college and I liked it so much better than Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![Somethingwitty1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/somethingwitty1/32/8899_2.png) [@Somethingwitty1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Somethingwitty1)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/63 "2021-08-01T16:18:41Z")
H Salt Fish n Chips. I think they still exist, but not where I live now. I’d put it in the category with some other dying but not dead chains. The level of grease coating all the maritime decoration was disgusting. I think some franchise owners with a decent location try to hang on. I don’t know what support H Salt owners get from H Salt corporate these days. good fish though. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/64 "2021-08-01T16:19:30Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > There’s actually a Der Wienerschitzel not far from me. There are about seven of them here in Tucson. ---
**Author:** ![Somethingwitty1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/somethingwitty1/32/8899_2.png) [@Somethingwitty1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Somethingwitty1)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/65 "2021-08-01T16:24:58Z")
Anyone who calls it “Der” Wienerschitzel is over 50. I think they are still a fairly profitable going concern, just a regional chain. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/66 "2021-08-01T16:26:19Z")
Yeah, they just call themselves “Wienerschitzel.” ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/67 "2021-08-01T16:35:04Z")
Another in the “don’t have any near me” camp for [Cookout.](https://cookout.com/menu/) Good burgers, hush puppies, and **great** shakes. I did grad school in Winston Salem, and there was one near campus. I also miss Bojangles chicken and biscuits from my time there. Or as we called it “Bo-honlges.” ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/68 "2021-08-01T16:49:23Z")
Yet they don’t even serve the item they are named for… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/69 "2021-08-01T16:50:10Z")
> [@Apodder](#): > > Zantigo. Yeah, I remember them well. Damn . . . ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/70 "2021-08-01T17:13:21Z")
Friendly’s (none near me anymore, when there used to be two). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/71 "2021-08-01T17:19:31Z")
Friendly’s was a regular go-to place when I was in college. There were several in the Albany area, including one a mile or so from campus. (One minor advantage of the place was the way the waitress wrote up the tickets, with each of the four seats in a four-top in a quarter of the pad, made it easy for us to determine who owed what.) ---
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/72 "2021-08-01T17:24:39Z")
Chi-Chi’s. Ground Round. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/73 "2021-08-01T17:53:46Z")
Canadian chains are sometimes different from the US. Sometimes they are regional and survive in smaller towns only (Godfather). That said, I liked Ponderosa (still in New Brunswick and Niagara Falls NY), Mothers and Red Barn. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/74 "2021-08-01T17:57:55Z")
There’s a Friendly’s near my shop, but after the stories my good friend who cooked there back in the 90’s told me, I won’t go there. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/75 "2021-08-01T19:18:39Z")
Ahh yes, bumpy cake. A bakery outlet very near me sells them. My Bill Knapp’s go to was the fried chicken. Remember the little ramekins of au gratin potatoes? Never walked away disappointed from Bill Knapp’s. mmm ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/76 "2021-08-01T19:22:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Friendly’s was a regular go-to place when I was in college. There were several in the Albany area, including one a mile or so from campus. (One minor advantage of the place was the way the waitress wrote up the tickets, with each of the four seats in a four-top in a quarter of the pad, made it easy for us to determine who owed what.) There’s one on Clifton Park, but it’s not impressive. Friendly’s was never able to adjust when interest in ice cream sundaes waned. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/77 "2021-08-01T19:44:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > There are still about 50 Shakey’s left. There was actually a Shakey’s in Bangkok for a while, a real one, part of the chain. That was about 25 years ago. It was pretty good but lasted only a year or two. Dunno why they went bust, they were in a good location, Siam Square, a big shopping hub smack in the middle of the city. And even among the locals pizza is hugely popular, never mind the large international community. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/78 "2021-08-01T19:46:35Z")
There’s a Shakey’s about 10 miles from here. I go every few years just to remind myself why it isn’t more often. Nostalgia is a powerful force, but so is food poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/79 "2021-08-01T19:50:38Z")
> [@Somethingwitty1](#): > > Anyone who calls it “Der” Wienerschitzel is over 50. Oh yeah. Where I grew up in West Texas, we informally shortened it to Der Dog. My first job right out of high school was night baker at a Dunkin’ Donuts, and there was a Der Wienerschnitzel right next door. The staff at the two places were always trading doughnuts and hot dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/80 "2021-08-01T19:53:37Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > **Whataburger**. I know they still exist, but not anywhere near me. I miss them too. There was one across from my West Texas dive-bar hangout back in the day, and it stayed open very late. Many a late-night drunken meal was had there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721.md?page=5)