# Defunct restaurant chains
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 6, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004 "2006-12-06T00:37:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/61 "2006-12-06T05:38:19Z")
I remember Lums, Burger Chef, Farrells, Arthur Treachers, Frish’s Big Boy, Sambo’s and The Red Barn. The whole family always went to Lums and Red Barn. When I was in grade school, whenever I’d go to the mall with friends we’d always go to Farrell’s and pig out on ice cream.
We still have Po Folks, Church’s, Popeye’s and Chi-Chi’s but those aren’t ones I remember from childhood.
I also remember a hamburger place called [Sandy’s](http://www.geocities.com/sandyshamburgers/sandysmoline/sandysmoline.html) , I preferred it over McDonalds. Also there was [Shakey’s Pizza](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakey's_Pizza) but apparently there are still some of those around. That was another place for family night’s out.
When I was a kid there was an A&W Root Beer drive-in nearby, we’d always go there for hot dogs and ice cold root beer (in a frosted glass!) or a root beer float if we were good. Sometimes mom would buy us a gallon of root beer to take home. That was the best root beer I’ve ever had. There’s still A&W restaurants and the root beer is sold in stores now but the root beer just isn’t the same. _sigh_ I don’t dare eat hot dogs anymore either.
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/62 "2006-12-06T05:48:48Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E]
When I was a kid there was an A&W Root Beer drive-in nearby, we’d always go there for hot dogs and ice cold root beer (in a frosted glass!) or a root beer float if we were good. Sometimes mom would buy us a gallon of root beer to take home. That was the best root beer I’ve ever had. There’s still A&W restaurants and the root beer is sold in stores now but the root beer just isn’t the same. _sigh_ I don’t dare eat hot dogs anymore either.
[/QUOTE]
We never had A&W places in Florida until the last few years. I had a disappointing burger at one (it shared space with Long John Silver’s, as they often do), but I was thrilled to get an actual frosty glass mug to fill up with root beer from a barrel-shaped tap. I love root beer, and A&W is still one of the best!
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### Author:  [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/63 "2006-12-06T05:55:03Z")
Here I am again with another long-lost, much-loved burger joint in mind: Rudy’s. They were in Miami in the mid-to-late '80s, and had a 1950s retro diner feel with lots of white and chrome, kind of like how newer Steak ‘n’ Shake or Johnny Rockets restaurants look today. They specialized in sirloin burgers cooked to order, and they were amazing. They had a toppings bar so you could dress your own burgers (much like Fuddrucker’s, of which I’ve declared my great love for several times on the SDMB) and great sides like mozzarella cheese sticks, back before every neighborhood bar and grill started offering them. As far as burger quality goes, they were large, juicy, fresh, and in my childhood memories, second only to the great Fudd’s itself. Did anyone else have these?
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### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/64 "2006-12-06T05:57:59Z")
[QUOTE=Aunt Flow]
First introduced to this by a friend who does ALOT of antiquing. She had quite a bit of memoralbilia from the chain.
[Coon Chicken](http://hollywood.pdx.edu/html/coon_chicken_inn.html)
I think my jaw literally dropped when I saw the design of the restaurant @\_@
[/QUOTE]
I’ve read about this chain and couldn’t believe they were still operating as late as the 50’s. I was also surprised to find out they had one in Seattle located on Lake City Way at NE 85th Street (it’s now a Chinese restaurant called Ying’s Drive-In).
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton]
Remember Burger Chef? I had almost entirely forgotten about it until it was mentioned in this thread. (I do remember the “Burger Chef and Jeff” commercials.) It finally closed in 1996.
[/QUOTE]
BrainGlutton, [this one’s](http://youtube.com/watch?v=OvYrG5ny6vM) for you.
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### Author:  [@Stinkum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinkum)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/65 "2006-12-06T06:30:53Z")
Friendly’s Ice Cream Parlor. I remember seeing them in malls. They had a watermelon sherbert thingy with chocolate chip “seeds” that was pretty awesome to my teen palate. I haven’t seen one in ages.
I still weep for Bill Knapps, tho’ you can get their cakes in Meijer’s stores sometimes.
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### Author:  [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/66 "2006-12-06T06:42:02Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat]
Pioneer Chicken (bigger portions than KFC)
[/QUOTE]
One of the very last Pioneer Chickens is about a mile away from me, on the corner of Florence and Garfield in Bell Gardens, if you want to know.
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### Author:  [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/67 "2006-12-06T07:01:14Z")
To my surprise, [Stuckey’s](http://www.stuckeys.com/) is still around.
I remember Burger Chef well…mainly for my brother throwing up all over one of their booths (Columbus, Ohio, circa 1976).
Anyone besides me remember **Borden Burger**? We got a set of commemorative glasses with a patriotic/bicentennial theme.
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### Author:  [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/68 "2006-12-06T07:21:04Z")
[Rax](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rax_Restaurants) (and the accompanying alligator mascot) left the Kansas City area years ago, so I thought it was no longer around; however, turns out (according to the Wikipedia article), there are 30 or so of them left.
Also, local Mexican fast food franchise, Taco Via, seems to be slowly dying out. Not quite defunct, but getting there. Which is a pity, 'cause where else can I get me some delicious (yet artery-clogging) [taco dogs](http://www.taco-via.com/wst_page11.html)?
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/69 "2006-12-06T08:16:00Z")
Does anyone remember Roy Rodgers’ restaurants? You had to put your own toppings on the burgers or roast beef. I remember a competitor (Burger King?) had a pretty effective negative commercial about that: “Slow down, pardner. We don’t fix your burger, you get to fix it yourself.”
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### Author:  [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/70 "2006-12-06T08:38:17Z")
I remember Sambo’s. Spent many a drunken late night there, I always ordered breakfast… Ours (Chambersburg area) suddenly turned into a Denny’s. Same dealy.
I _think_ I remember a Burger Chef, in Hagerstown, MD. This is back to the early '70’s. It closed. But I have this vague recollection that it wasn’t a Burger _Chef_, but something other. Not King btw… 😛
Everytime I think of Burger Chef, I think of Burger Chef and Jeff. Was that a commercial?
And one other, [The White Coffee Pot](http://experts.about.com/e/w/wh/white_coffee_pot.htm). More like a real restaraunt, pretty good truck-stop-y food.
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### Author:  [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/71 "2006-12-06T08:40:02Z")
[QUOTE=if6was9]
Everytime I think of Burger Chef, I think of Burger Chef and Jeff. Was that a commercial?
[/QUOTE]
READ the whole thread! :smack:
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### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/72 "2006-12-06T08:44:56Z")
[QUOTE=Stinkum]
Friendly’s Ice Cream Parlor. I remember seeing them in malls. They had a watermelon sherbert thingy with chocolate chip “seeds” that was pretty awesome to my teen palate. I haven’t seen one in ages.
[/QUOTE]
Although they don’t have any in my part of the country, [Friendly’s is still around.](http://www.friendlys.com/)
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/73 "2006-12-06T08:53:31Z")
[QUOTE=The Sausage Creature]
Straw Hat pizza. I think Papa John’s bought them out. I remember the local Straw Hat fondly for its many video games and the “quarter horse”.
[/QUOTE]
Straw Hat Pizza debuted in 1959; Pizza Hut bought out the company-owned locales in the 80s, but most of the franchisees kept the name and recipes.
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### Author:  [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/74 "2006-12-06T09:51:58Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope]
Can’t say I miss Pofolks.
[/QUOTE]
I had completely forgotten Pofolks! It was a staple of the family driving vacation when I was a kid. Yeah, completely stupid restaurant.
My parents were on a weekend trip years ago and stopped to eat dinner at a Pofolks. During their meal, the entire staff was fired and the store was permanently closed. I don’t think they had to pay, but when your waitress is crying the free food probably isn’t worth it. Must’ve been like dinner theater in Hell.
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### Author:  [@Asgardking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asgardking)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/75 "2006-12-06T10:23:07Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia]
Little Caesars mainly seems to operate inside Kmarts now.
[/QUOTE]
Not around here. Heck, the one I used to ride my bike to as a kid is still there.
My ex stepson’s favorite food was the Little Ceasar’s Hot and Ready (a medium pepperoni pizza that you didn’t have to preorder and only cost $5)
Also around here there are plent of Popeyes, Churchs and Big Boys (Elias Bros).
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### Author:  [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/76 "2006-12-06T11:32:28Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope]
I came in here to mention [Pofolks](http://www.pofolks.com/), but it turns out they’re still in business. Somehow.
For the uninitiated: The name “Pofolks” is supposed to be how an illiterate person would say “Poor Folks.” The chain was (is) devoted to its carefully crafted image as “poor country folks food”; it was like eating dinner on the set of _Hee-Haw_. Drinks were served in Mason jars, and the menu included such delicacies as the fried hotdog sandwich. All the signs everywhere were misspelled in a dreadful attempt at hillbilly quaintness–I remember clearly that the sign over the cash register said, “HEER’S WHAR YA PAY.” I don’t recall specifically, but I feel pretty sure there were a lot of needlepoint wall hangings saying things like “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
The menu, as you can see on the [site](http://www.pofolks.com/menuitems.htm), offers “appetizements,” “Chicken Livers an’ Gizzards,” and “our Famous Kuntry Fried Steaks.”
There were a few Pofolks restaurants in Atlanta in the late 70s or early 80s; my mom used to take me there sometimes. Not being much of a cultural connoisseur at the time, I loved it.
I remember asking Mom why everything was spelled funny. “It’s supposed to be country,” she said. I didn’t get it, but it seemed like one of those things I wasn’t going to get for a while either, so I let it go.
Can’t say I miss Pofolks.
[/QUOTE]
We had these in Jacksonville FL when I was a teenager (late 70s). I believe the big investor was country singer Bill Anderson. They also had RC & Nehi drinks in a big metal washtub in the waiting area, and you could get a moonpie for desserts. You could also get a “meat and three sides” there. I remember the food as being pretty good - but agree about the hokey factor.
We also had JoAnne’s Chili Bordello - a string of restaurants where the waitresses dressed like Barbary Coast saloon girls. I _so_ wanted to be one 😃
VCNJ~
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/77 "2006-12-06T11:33:13Z")
Apparently 55 Roy Rogers Restaurants still exist:
> **[Roy Rogers Restaurants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Rogers_Family_Restaurants)**
>
> Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC is a chain of fast food restaurants primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. The chain originated as the rebranding of the RoBee's House of Beef chain of Fort Wayne, Indiana, acquired by the Marriott Corporation in February 1968. However, Marriott first used the Roy Rogers Roast Beef name on conversions of the company's Junior Hot Shoppes in the Washington, D.C. area in April 1968, then the existing RoBee's stores. An aggressive natio...
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/78 "2006-12-06T11:43:26Z")
Ah…Naugles. The third of the initial 3 restaurants in the chain was 200 feet from my high school. Many a lunch hour was spent in their parking lot, necking and chomping on tacos.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/79 "2006-12-06T12:50:28Z")
As noted, **Roy Rogers** still exist (there are some in Massachusetts), **Friendly’s** is still here (plenty in New England, with no signs of going away).
I have to visit one of those remaininh **Howard Johnsons** before they disappear – the ones in Asbury Park and in Times Square, NYC cloased not that long ago, and I understand the one at Lake George is only open in the summer. I remember stopping at them all the time as a kid on vacation. They had neat placemats with games, served “HoJo Cola” instead of Coke or Pepsi, and later on had comic books with Simple Simon and the Pieman (their symbols, atop every restaurant) as heros. At lot of HJs got replaced by **The Ground Round** , which seem to be gone now, as well.
I remember **Gino’s** , as recalled twice above. For years, I thought they were the only venue for Kentucky Fried Chicken – I didn’t see a “free-standing” KFC until years later.
East Brunswick, N.J. was one of only about four places to have a **Wild Bill’s**. The franchise went under before it even officially opened, as shown on an episode of **60 Minutes** , but a few of the franchisees, about four of them, tried to make a go of it on their own. They lasted a few years.
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### Author:  [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/80 "2006-12-06T13:21:25Z")
I know of 1 Friendly’s and 2 Roy Rogers still in the Washington DC Area - I eat that Roy Rogers fried Chicken fairly regularly too - good when I can get an excuse to get to it … if you recall it, it is just as good as you remember.
Roys ate Gino’s and was in turn eaten by Hardees and finally by McDonalds - the ins and outs are on Wendall’s Link
White Castle’s were here in the 50’s and I [can see](http://www.whitecastle.com/_pages/Locate.asp) that they still exist (mainly in the midwest) but they don’t exist in MD, DC, VA, WV, NC anymore (the nearest seem to be in Jersey and nothing South of that) - so for me as a regular place - like my folks rhapsodize over - it is extinct.
I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to know that somewhere on earth Farrell’s still lives – I wonder iof they still do the Big Birthday stuff …
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