# 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:** 6
### Author:  [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/101 "2006-12-06T16:39:14Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn]
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.
[/QUOTE]
There’s another one near me near Sunset and Hyperion. Is it any good?
Does **Green Burrito** still exist? I remember their commercials from about 10 years ago, “Green Burrito is neat-o / Green Burrito smell my feet-o”. Serious.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/102 "2006-12-06T16:39:16Z")
Seeing as we have lots of Upstate NY’ers here, some might remember Your Host restaurants. Not that they are totally gone or anything, but the one in my hometown of Fredonia NY is long-closed.
They had the best toast of all varieties and individual juke boxes at each table! (That’s all I remember, though, since I was last in one when I was around 8: the closest I can come to describing it is Friendly’s, except darker, and better-smelling (why do friendly’s always smell like Chlorine?])
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### Author:  [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/103 "2006-12-06T16:52:10Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus]
There’s another one near me near Sunset and Hyperion. Is it any good?
Does **Green Burrito** still exist? I remember their commercials from about 10 years ago, “Green Burrito is neat-o / Green Burrito smell my feet-o”. Serious.
[/QUOTE]
They are often teamed with **Carl’s Jr.** by CKE restaurants, who own both brands, as well as \*\*Hardee’\*\*s and **La Salsa**.
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### Author:  [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/104 "2006-12-06T16:53:29Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn]
They are often teamed with **Carl’s Jr.** by CKE restaurants, who own both brands, as well as \*\*Hardee’\*\*s and **La Salsa**.
[/QUOTE]
Yikes, there are 17 such dual-branded restaurants within ten miles of me!
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### Author:  [@stanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stanger)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/105 "2006-12-06T17:00:02Z")
Back in the late 70’s to early 80’s was a hamburger place called **GW Jr’s** that had the best bacon-cheese burger I ever ate. They were bought up later by Churches Chicken and shortly disappeared.
A regional burger place here in Texas was Whopper Burger. They had large diameter, flat style burgers that were actually pretty good. Because they owned the name Whopper at the time, Burger King couldn’t move into the area since they sold a Whopper hamburger. Sometime in the mid 80’s, Burger King bought out Whopper Burger and the little corner stores vanished.
There also used to be a store in some of the local malls called Dunderbachs or Mr. Dunderbachs. They sold lots of gift deli-meat and cheese baskets, but also had a deli inside where you could order a wide selection of sandwiches. I last saw one of these around the late 80’s. They had an incredible pastrami on rye.
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### Author:  [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/106 "2006-12-06T17:01:01Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou]
I remember Wag’s from my childhood as well! They had a raccoon mascot/spokesman, children’s menus that came with crayons, and a sunken dining room (it was a few steps lower, so I can only imagine a lot of people tripped and a lot of servers spilled stuff). Yes, very Denny’s/IHOP-inspired, but I never knew the Walgreen’s connection.
[/QUOTE]
I WISH I could say I remember them from my childhood…more from my young-adulthood! 🙂 As I recall, they came and went pretty fast…in maybe a 5-10 year span. The one I remember was at Town & Country Mall in Arlington Heights, IL…don’t remember any others. I used to have a stuffed Wag’s Raccoon…wish I still had it!
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### Author:  [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/107 "2006-12-06T17:05:36Z")
Before Long John Silver’s and Cap’n D’s, there was a fish and chips chain called \*\*H. Salt, Ltd. \*\*. Anyone remember that?
Also here in Atlanta, we had several locations of **Bavarian Alpine Inn**. I don’t know if other cities had those,or if it was a local phenomenon. They were A-frame structures, notable (at least to me) for their willingness to serve beer to a bunch of 19 year olds!
I think they had food as well, but I was only there for the beer!
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### Author:  [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/108 "2006-12-06T17:18:13Z")
There are still several Houlihan’s here in Atlanta; I ate at one last week in fact.
And the Po Folks around here have all changed their names to just “Folks” but there are still several of them around. Unfortunately the last time or two I ate at one the food wasn’t very good and I haven’t been back in a while.
We had another chain of “southern” style restaurants around here called “Black-Eyed Peas” that seem to have gone away. Does anyone remember them or know if there are any still around somewhere? As I recall they weren’t great but were at least a step up from Folks.
Also, we used to have a restaurant chain here that had all of their buildings designed to look like railroad boxcars. They were called (something) Station, I think. Anyone remember those?
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/109 "2006-12-06T17:25:37Z")
[QUOTE=tanstaafl]
We had another chain of “southern” style restaurants around here called “Black-Eyed Peas” that seem to have gone away. Does anyone remember them or know if there are any still around somewhere? As I recall they weren’t great but were at least a step up from Folks.
[/QUOTE]
They are still around but only in Texas and Colorado - about 50 locations total.
Do any Calgary Dopers remember Bob’s? There is a hamburger place in Calgary called Pete’s that is a local institution, but they only have one location. Bob’s tried to replicate the menu and franchise the concept, but they only lasted maybe 5 or 10 years.
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### Author:  [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/110 "2006-12-06T17:28:00Z")
[QUOTE=tanstaafl]
. . .Also, we used to have a restaurant chain here that had all of their buildings designed to look like railroad boxcars. They were called (something) Station, I think. Anyone remember those?
[/QUOTE]
I’d remembered the name “Victoria Station” but no details. There’s a book - **[Prime Rib & Box Cars: Whatever Happened to Victoria Station?](http://www.vicsta.com/toc.html)**
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/111 "2006-12-06T17:36:19Z")
Reviewing this thread – is it any wonder America has an obesity epidemic? 😉
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/112 "2006-12-06T17:41:01Z")
I recently read a quote in _The Worst Places in America_ that Syracuse, New York is where rastaurant chains go to die. From what Central New Yorkers tell me, it’s true or the most part; that chains like Ground Round, Lums, and others lived on in Syracuse long after the majority of other locations in the US closed.
Arthur Treacher’s is still in the Cleveland area.
Is it my imagination, or does it seems like old Red Barn buildings all seem to get recycled as florist shops?
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### Author:  [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/113 "2006-12-06T17:44:22Z")
[QUOTE=Labdad]
Before Long John Silver’s and Cap’n D’s, there was a fish and chips chain called \*\*H. Salt, Ltd. \*\*. Anyone remember that?
Also here in Atlanta, we had several locations of **Bavarian Alpine Inn**. I don’t know if other cities had those,or if it was a local phenomenon. They were A-frame structures, notable (at least to me) for their willingness to serve beer to a bunch of 19 year olds!
I think they had food as well, but I was only there for the beer!
[/QUOTE]
There are several H. Salts near me. We just got food from there a couple of weeks ago.
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### Author:  [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/114 "2006-12-06T17:47:59Z")
[QUOTE=Rodgers01]
Popeye’s is still going strong – 1800 stores in 40 states and 20 countries, according to Wikipedia.
I was convinced that Little Caesar’s was dead and gone – I hadn’t seen one of their commercials since probably the late '80s, and I don’t think I’d seen one of their stores since at least that long. So I was shocked when I went to Las Vegas to see one right on the Strip, and even more shocked when I looked it up online later and found out that they’re still the fourth largest pizza chain in the US!!
[/QUOTE]
But Littl;e Ceasar’s isn;t a traditional pizza chain anymore. Most of the stores just pre-make 3 kinds of pizza and the crazy bread and you just pop in and buy one for $5. It’s sort of like a big pizza vending machine.
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/115 "2006-12-06T17:53:03Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic]
Seeing as we have lots of Upstate NY’ers here, some might remember Your Host restaurants. Not that they are totally gone or anything, but the one in my hometown of Fredonia NY is long-closed.
[/QUOTE]
We used to call them “Your Lost”, because the lowercase script “h” [in the logo](http://cgi.ebay.com/YOUR-HOST-FAMILY-RESTAURANTS-CREAM-JAR-6-OZ_W0QQitemZ120005279709QQcategoryZ39495QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWINQ3aPOST0Q3aRECOQ3aBINQQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting) looked like an uppercase “L”.
As recently as a few years ago, there was a Greek restaurant – most diners in Buffalo are Greek – operating out of the former Your Host location on Delaware Avenue south of Sheridan Drive, with the original sign still on the building. Google Maps reveals that there’s still one location in Cheektowaga, although the information is probably wrong. [This document](http://www.nlrb.gov/nlrb/shared_files/decisions/315/315-40.txt) describes the fate of the Your Host chain.
Another long-lost chain that older Buffalonians get quite weepy about is _Deco_.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/116 "2006-12-06T17:55:47Z")
I do remember Shakey’s Pizza as a family-night thing, we went several times to one in suburban Maryland when I was a kid in the '70s – they even had a big singalong, where they projected old-timey song lyrics on a screen and everybody sang! It’s where I was first to songs like “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leafed Clover” and “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” Is there anything like that any more?! (Apart from karaoke bars, I mean.)
I ate at a Shakey’s in LA a couple of years ago but there was no sing-along or anything; there were plenty of game machines, etc.
I used to love Taco Viva – there was one in a local shopping mall – there were squeeze-bottles of six different sauces ranging from mild to superhot.
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### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/117 "2006-12-06T17:56:57Z")
We had a franchise chicken outlet near us almost 30 years ago that made the best fried chicken. It was called Tom Sawyer’s Fried Chicken and it was wonderful. Place lasted about a 2 years and went belly up.
I never saw another one.
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/118 "2006-12-06T17:59:48Z")
[QUOTE=Papermache Prince]
I’d remembered the name “Victoria Station” but no details. There’s a book - **[Prime Rib & Box Cars: Whatever Happened to Victoria Station?](http://www.vicsta.com/toc.html)**
[/QUOTE]
The “ **Victoria Station** ” in Gaithersburg was a family favorite for us. It was a serious prime-rib joint and was considered a “Special” place to eat out.
I believe that the **Horn and Hardart Automat** followed the trend of their competition and changed their name to **Hardees**.
\*\*Shakeys \*\* was what I came on to post because we ate there on Tuesdays which were the live Dixieland jazz nights. I was very sad when the Shakeys on Rockville Pike switched to some new chain called “Hooters.”
I believe that the **Little Tavern Hamburgers** has indeed gone belly up. There was a fight to preserve the last one in Bethesda-Chevy Chase, but it was demolished. I don’t remember one in White Flint, but then I never got out that way much except to Whte Flint Mall.
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### Author:  [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/119 "2006-12-06T18:08:42Z")
[QUOTE=Taters]
I just remembered another one.
Farrells. I used to love that place as a kid. It more of an old-timey ice cream parlour, but they served burgers and sandwiches (hot and cold) too.
[/QUOTE]
I remember Farrells!
My parents used to take me to one when I was a kid and I thought it was cool because they had a barber shop quartet singing.
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defunct-restaurant-chains/383004/120 "2006-12-06T18:12:54Z")
[QUOTE=Papermache Prince]
I’d remembered the name “Victoria Station” but no details. There’s a book - **[Prime Rib & Box Cars: Whatever Happened to Victoria Station?](http://www.vicsta.com/toc.html)**
[/QUOTE]
Ooooh…Victoria Station! That was my first “nice restaurant date with a boy” place.
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