I’ve certainly never thought of them as anything but primarily a burger joint which makes occasional forays into other offerings, and I’m in CA, where they’re on every other street corner. Sometime in the 80s and early 90s they made an attempt to go upscale a notch - hung potted plants and so on. That didn’t stick.
What surprises me is that I thought they had expanded enough to be one of the fast food chains with national presence. Apparently, they still haven’t gone that far east, except for a few states.
By 1970, there was on downtown at 117 E. Chicago av. across from the Water Tower. Cheeseburger, 79 cens. Milkshake…34 cents. Onion rings 35 cents. Apple turnover 26 cents.
Jack in the Box units east of the Mississippi (232 of them) were sold off beginning in 1979.
Hardee’s is particularly curious because for a decade or more they actually had a Loop location, hidden away in the basement food court at 69 W. Washington. The nearest ones now are Montgomery and Portage, Indiana.
As an aside, Eric Schlosser claimed in Fast Food Nation that after the E-coli disaster Jack in the Box implemented industry-leading safety measures and decried the fact that others haven’t followed suit. (The safest fast-food restaurant might be akin to the fastest fat man, but there you go nonetheless…)
There WAS a Jack In The Box, in the Logan Square area, Fullerton & Kimball or thereabouts, when I lived in the 'hood 1974-45-ish. I would often stop there after doing my late-night radio show. Or stop at White Castle.
We had a Brit staying with us, who always wanted to “Say hello to Jack!” Drive-thrus were quite the novelty to him.
Alas, we have neither chain in Alaska. Why can’t somebody bring up a Sonic for US?
Did that turn into the “Duck’s” joint that was there in the 80s and early 90s? I loved Duck’s burgers. Especially after being, ahem, overserved.
I vaguely remember a Jack in the Box in the near western burbs, maybe around Mannheim and Butterfied? I was too young to drive at the time, so not sure of the exact location.
Yes they did - and I liked them under certain inebriated conditions. When you ordered them (I always had mine five at a time) they took the pancake-thin product out of a freezer, placed them in a fry basket, and dropped 'em in the fryer for a few minutes. I never really thought about them as “tacos” but rather some sort of interesting snack food that seemed to hit the spot about one in the morning.
Indeed it did. It wasn’t a huge step up from the Jack-in-the-Box which was always privately owned and changed owners about as often as I change shirts. Each one was a bigger disappointment than his predecessor. Finally, the city brought the property, plowed the building under and made it an extension of Senn Park. Today there is a bronze statue of young Abraham Lincoln in the approximate location of the talking clown head. Whenever I walk by, I never fail to ask Honest Abe if I could have five tacos and a large root beer.
Whew! I just saw the Hardee’s question, and my immediate reaction was, “What? The Hardees in Montgomery is gone?!” Nice to know it’s still hanging around … I knew that Hardees’ were pretty thin on the ground in Chicagoland, but I didn’t realize how thin.
Maybe I’ll visit when I’m back up in Oswego in August. Turnaround on my dad for him always wanting to eat at Jack in the Box when he visits down here.
