The HoJo I remember was a hotel-restaurant combo that lasted into the 80s in Sarasota Florida. I wonder if it opened even before I-75 came to the area because it was on US41 which was the one of the only north-south highways in that area before I-75 and was 4 miles from it. With Florida tourism I can see how both the restaurant and hotel survived, but not together: since it was far from the interstate and close to a lot of other restaurants, people who needed a dependable place to stay and eat on their travels no longer needed to pick that HoJos.
I went to Ponderosa when I was dating my wife. I was out of work at the time, but we could get a good dinner for a price I could afford.
Good one! Going to HoJos was the highlight of our trips along the then fairly new Pennsylvania Turnpike. I was only mildly interested in their ice cream, but I loved their hamburgers with smothered onions, and I make smothered onions to go with my burgers to this day.
Also interesting about HoJos was that famous chefs Jacques Pépin and Pierre Franey worked for them as chefs. Story here. Sorry, probably behind NY Times paywall.
I think I still have the 2001 HoJo menu, a tie in from Hojo’s cameo role in the movie.
It looks like that thing that was a thing in the '70s nudged their menu away from that bit of cuteness.
I remember going to Brendle’s too! I used to think it was so fancy because they had the jewelry display right at the front. Very high-class to a five-year-old. Imagine my shock when I found out (in my thirties, long after they closed down) that it was a discount store.
And there was a diamond right there in the store’s logo, too!
Ever go to Poo Bah’s in Pasadena? They’re apparently on Colorado Blvd now, but they used to be in a rundown old Craftsman on a side street. It was always an experience to go there.
On edit: Aaron’s Records (across from Fairfax High was where I always went in high school and college. They used to be exactly $3.00 for an LP (Aaron calculated the tax so the full payment would be an even dollar amount), except for the bargain bin. I got The United States of America there – with the plain brown “wrapper.”
When they changed all the Sav-on’s to Osco, they ended up changing the names back in California – at least in Southern California – because “osco” is pronounced “asco” in Spanish. Variously translated as disgust, nausea, repulsion.
They’re now all CVS.
Clancy Muldoon’s is one a really miss here. It wasn’t a chain, although it had two locations. One of which was on the same block as the hospital my sister worked at back in the day. The nurses used to send her out for ice cream runs. My order was usually the hot fudge sundae with the cappucino ice cream when I’d go. Sublime.
Tastee-Freez started in 1950, and had nearly 1800 outlets by 1957. Only nine locations remain. The chain was mentioned by John Cougar (as he was then known) in the song Jack & Diane – “Suckin’ on chili dogs outside the Tastee-Freez”.
Norms and Big Boy. A couple of both still exist but they were everywhere in CA and we ate at them all the time.
Torontonians will remember Fran’s. A small chain, in Toronto only, and a welcome place after a night of boozing. A little more than a diner, but a far cry from fine dining.
Much like Denny’s, Fran’s ran 24 hours, and did an all-day breakfast. Heck, Fran’s did everything, all day. Want a breakfast of bacon and eggs and toast and coffee at 5:00 PM? Fran’s could do that. Want a burger and fries at 6:00 AM? Fran’s could do that. Fran’s was a little higher-class and more expensive than Denny’s, but we were never turned away, no matter how we were dressed or how drunk we were, at any hour. Fran’s still exists, but with far fewer locations than they once had.
actually tastee freeze survives in california there owned by the garaidi that owns the hot dog/burger chain Weinerschnitzel
erm they’re owned or franchised by the above mentioned chain
this was the hungry bear cafe that was downtown…I loved going there as a kid because they didn’t blink when i ordered pulled pork/beef with coleslaw and chilli cheese fries at 8 am (much to the chargrin of the family who considered me to have the eating habits of a junkyard dog)
Found it! It was Uncle John’s Pancake House.
In thinking about this thread, I realized that other than the government employment I’ve had for the past 24 years, every other employer is no longer in business: Tom Thumb Store, B. Dalton, Fanny Farmer, The Cutlery, and both the jewelry manufacturer and ophthalmic lab. All defunct.
Well the one in our town could never stay open. It would go out of business and a little while later someone else would try to run it. This happened several times. Once it was dormant for 5 years when someone opened it, stayed open for about a year,
Probably because it was in a terrible location. Don’t know why someone didn’t move it. It was off the side of a busy 4 lane non-divided highway. It was hard to slow down and get off at that spot, and when you did there was little parking. Really dumb.
A few Howard Johnson’s menus from the past:
Children’s menu, 60s
1964 fried tendersweet clams
Late supper, '64
Thanksgiving, 60s
Shakey’s Pizza
1970
1974
1980s Phillipines
Edit: Tastee-Freeze, 1963
We never really had A&Ws here in Jersey. But I liked them when I’ve been to them.
We have Stewarts which is basically the same kind of place. Better root beer, but the food is inconsistent. Stewarts still serves root beer in a frosty mug.
Omg, this brings back memories!