I remember a chain in Wisconsin (and elsewhere, maybe), in the 70s, that sold pies. And coffee.
It was like Dunkin Donuts, but for pie.
This was real.
BTW–I ain’t goin’ & you can bring your own. 
I remember them. There was one near where we lived when I went to high school (in Maryland), and my parents loved it. I’m not so crazy about southern-style food, though. No idea if it’s still there.
That explains what he was doing when he should have been in the Texas National Guard…
(I know political jokes are frowned upon in serious discussions. But seriously, with a name like that, it’s hard not to resist.)
I can find no trace of it on the web, but I could have sworn there was definitely a late 1970’s burger chain called Judy’s that was a direct ripoff of Wendy’s back when Wendy’s first got huge- they had the same interior design, same square burgers, same plastic beaded curtains, everything except I think the main color was light blue.
Spread out in Ontario (Canada) in the 1970s and the 1980s was a chain called Mother’s Pizza Parlour. Mother’s Pizza was the place to go for birthday parties. They were about on par with restaurants like Ponderosa Steakhouse. Nicer than a Big Boy, but not as nice as Olive Garden.
I think they got bought out by Pizza Hut. And I vaguely recall some kind of trademark fight between Mother’s Pizza Parlour and Mama’s Pizza.
Poppin’ Fresh, probably.
Ironically, Taco Bell is having e. coli problems related to green onions right now.
There’s a defunct Victoria Station north of here that got converted into an antique mall. Trying to remember their ad jingle - was it “Victoria Station - It’s a cut above” or “Victoria Station - Just a cut above”?
Gino’s!
Had one of those bad boys in Cinnaminson (Sin-City), NJ.
But, the Heroburger, fuggedaboudit…Gino Giant, fries and a Black & White Shake all the way!
We had a darn good Sambos there too.
Never eaten there, but there’s a Straw Hat 1/2 mile from where I work in Visalia, CA.
Joe
Yep. Poppin’ Fresh morphed into Bakers Square which can still be found in the Upper Midwest and California. I guess they stilll concentrate on pies, as they’ve registered “The Best Pie in America” as their trademark.
There’s both an Arthur Treacher’s and a Roy Roger’s in one of the rest stops along I-95 between Baltimore and Philly. There’s two large rest stops; I can’t remember which one they’re in.
I remember Farrell’s. It was the place to have your birthday party when I was in elementary school.
Popeye’s Chicken is still around here, as are a couple of Friendly’s.
I used to beg my parents to take me to **Dog -n- Suds ** in Fox Lake, IL. Miss that place…kinda like an A&W, drive-up only.
We have a Houlihan’s here in Schaumburg, IL…sucky.
I think the Bennigan’s off-brand **Steak and Ale ** is dead around here, not sure about other areas.
Just want to confirm that Popeye’s, A&W, and Baker’s Square still exist around Chicagoland!
-Cem
There’s a Steak & Ale still here in Baltimore.
I stayed in one in Lawrenceville, NJ on my interview trip out of grad school.
As for the restaurants, they were the toast of the highways - hamburger with smothered onions - yum. Pierre Franey, the famous chef, developed dishes for them for quite some time, working out of New York.
Popeyes is still growing - they opened a new one near me recently.
Is Friendly’s still around in the East?
There’s a couple in Maryland.
Lum’s is alive and well in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We used to lunch there a few years back: flat soda but decent stick to your ribs grub.
I particularly miss Bojangles, which was thriving down here when I was a kid. It was a chicken and biscuits chain with amazing sausage biscuits! And there was Wuv’s, a burger and fries chain that’s long extinct. And how come I can’t find a Steak n’ Shake east of Sawgrass? I love SnS.
Post #56. According to Wikipedia, there’s about 30 left. The one in my old neighborhood is gone, though.
This won’t mean much to the American dopers, but I have fond memories of the Happy Eater chain. I spent many a pre-pubescent birthday party eating junk and playing in the numerous playground attractions there.
It was a simpler time. We didn’t expect much. The round, red, faux-Pacman logo (in all its eighties artistic glory) was enough to ease our minds with thoughts of hamburgers and big metal slides.
I ate at one several years ago in Sandusky, OH.
There’s a Steak & Ale here in Fort Myers, about 1/2 a mile from my apartment. I hate it.
(Tangent that only a few - if any - will get: oddly, there are no good pictures of the batwing hamberger snatcher on line. Closest I can get is the featured items link here. Maybe I should drop a line to O’Neill.)