# The Last Howard Johnson's has closed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [June 2, 2022, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565 "2022-06-02T12:43:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/21 "2022-06-02T17:14:15Z")
When I was a kid in the 1970s and 1980s, we would go to the local Howard Johnson’s to get pistachio ice cream, mostly for my father, as this was a big favorite of his. They’d hand pack the pints from the big five-gallon tubs at the counter. And less often, we’d have a meal there. (This local Howard Johnson’s was also the pickup/drop off point for Connecticut Limousine, a coach bus service to the NYC airports, so we might be in their parking lot to pick up or drop off someone going on a trip.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/22 "2022-06-02T17:23:09Z")
When I was a kid, in the '70s, Howard Johnson’s had the contract to operate the food-service business at the series of “Oasis” rest areas on the Illinois Tollway; originally, they were built on overpasses above the tollway: [![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f81f9e1dc10b3fa136321fa2b457c1be/tumblr_or9f3xByeM1qbyf2jo1_1280.jpg) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f81f9e1dc10b3fa136321fa2b457c1be/tumblr_or9f3xByeM1qbyf2jo1_1280.jpg) My sister and I always begged our parents to stop at one when we were on the Tollway during vacation roadtrips; they finally caved in at some point. What I recall is that it was a cafeteria, rather than a table-service restaurant, and that the food – even to my kid tastes – wasn’t very good. HoJo also operated a hotel-and-restaurant on I-94, just over the state line in Wisconsin, near Kenosha; my friends and I stayed there a couple of times when we went to GenCon, a gaming convention, when it was located at UW-Parkside in the '80s. I don’t think we ever ate in the restaurant, however. That hotel changed hands several times in the years that followed, and was finally torn down a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/23 "2022-06-02T17:47:10Z")
I’ve moved this to Cafe Society, as it is about food/culture ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/24 "2022-06-02T18:08:51Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Amazingly, I wasn’t aware that Howard Johnson’s was a restaurant chain until I read this thread. If they were ever in Oregon I never saw them, and clearly never availed myself to one when I went on road trips. I was vaguely aware that there were restaurants back in the 1960s and 70s, just from watching old movies and period shows like _Mad Men_. But I had assumed they’d been defunct for decades, like Burger Chef (which I only know about from Mad Men). I hadn’t realized that until recently there were actually still some around until I saw this thread. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/25 "2022-06-02T18:15:08Z")
I went to a HoJo’s a couple of years ago, shortly before the pandemic began. Based on this thread, I assume it’s closed now, and that makes me sad. Not because it was a great restaurant (it was terrible in lots of ways) but it had room for a lot of us to all go there after an event, and I will miss it. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/26 "2022-06-02T18:15:23Z")
I remember stopping at these on family vacations in the late 60s, but my stronger memories of the chain relate to my grandfather, he became a big fan of the chain when it got big in the 60s, and there was one that was a bit out of the way from where we lived, but not a crazy drive. He used to take me and my siblings there periodically. He passed away when I was 18, and by the 1980s the local HoJo was gone and I was living elsewhere that the chain wasn’t common, I remember deliberately visiting them a couple times in the 1990s when I’d randomly see one on a trip–entirely out of nostalgia for those early life trips with my grandfather. I can’t remember most of the food ever being amazing, even with the palate of a teenager, but that sort of restaurant nostalgia can be pretty powerful. While I haven’t seen one in over 20 years and I knew the chain was on its last legs, it’s still sad to see it go. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/27 "2022-06-02T19:09:36Z")
The only time I ate at a Howard Johnson’s was in Columbus Ohio in the early 60s. We were visiting my mom’s family, and cousins from Michigan came down and stayed at the Howard Johnson’s. We got to swim in the pool! And eat at the restaurant! When you’re 10-11 yos, it’s a treat. I barely remember the food. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/28 "2022-06-02T21:02:15Z")
The Howard Johnson’s episode, where Don hijacked Megan from work to drive to Howard Johnson’s (and made her eat orange sherbet!) was one of the most memorable ‘Mad Men’ episodes! I remember HoJo’s vaguely, my first taste of fried clams 😋 and Indian Pudding 😋. I’ve made Indian Pudding (a spiced milk and cornmeal baked pudding) every winter, perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/29 "2022-06-02T21:37:22Z")
My Mom was kind of a Hippie, so Ho-Jos on the way to visit relatives in Boston (from Maine, a 3 1/2 hour drive, which was a major expedition for Mom (OK, Volvo 245)) was a major treat. White bread! Meat! Salt! No bulgar wheat!!! ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/30 "2022-06-02T21:53:19Z")
I lived in a Howard Johnson’s for a month when I was nine. For one of those “things you believed as a kid threads,” I should put in something about thinking popcorn shrimp was a much more popular dish than it actually was. Good thing I liked it, because I probably had it three times a week. My family moved cross country, and due to a trucker strike all of our stuff left the old house, but took a month to arrive at the new house. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/31 "2022-06-02T21:58:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Oddly, the Howard Johnson I’ve eaten the most at was the one by the airport in San Jose, 400 miles from home. It was convenient to all the hotels, and I was regularly in town on business. It wasn’t great, but it was reliable and _not_ fast food. That was the one on North 1st Street off of I-880 (formerly Highway 17) right? When my family lived in the Bay Area, we went there at least once. Usually, however, we went to the one on Stevens Creek Boulevard. The last time I went to a Howard Johnson to eat, it was the summer of 1985 at the one in Fairfield, CA off of I-80. I had several scoops of differently-flavored ice cream which was the best thing on the menu. I could never figure out why HoJo’s succeeding corporate holders were so quick to jettison the ice cream since it was the item that built the franchise in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/32 "2022-06-02T22:05:21Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Amazingly, I wasn’t aware that Howard Johnson’s was a restaurant chain until I read this thread. If they were ever in Oregon I never saw them, and clearly never availed myself to one when I went on road trips. I don’t think there were any Howard Johnson restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. The furthest north they got on the West Coast was the SF Bay Area. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/33 "2022-06-02T22:16:22Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I could never figure out why HoJo’s succeeding corporate holders were so quick to jettison the ice cream since it was the item that built the franchise in the first place. - Like most corporate holders, they’re idiots. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/34 "2022-06-02T22:31:49Z")
Those from the Washington, D.C. area will remember the Hot Shoppes as one of their competitors. I don’t think they had the fried clams though. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/35 "2022-06-02T22:32:44Z")
As a kid in the 60’s II always thought of it as a motel. If I ate there I would have thought it secondary to the lodgings. It was considered a notch up from Holiday Inn. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/36 "2022-06-02T22:53:49Z")
You forgot Stuckey’s… Pecan logs in 15 miles… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/37 "2022-06-02T22:59:59Z")
Yet Waffle House soldiers on… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/38 "2022-06-02T23:34:34Z")
Without Waffle House, how would FEMA judge the damage? > **[Waffle House Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The Waffle House Index is an informal metric named after the ubiquitous Southern US restaurant chain Waffle House known for its 24-hour, 365-day service. This restaurant's drive to always remain open has given rise to an informal but useful metric to determine the severity of a storm and the likely scale of assistance required for disaster recovery. It was coined by former administrator Craig Fugate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (F... ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/39 "2022-06-03T00:06:53Z")
As a kid in California in the 1960s, HoJos were common. By the 70s they’d gotten pretty passe / low rent. By the time I left SoCal in the early 1980s after college they were vestigial at best. Better than Denny’s, but not by a lot. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565/40 "2022-06-03T00:07:36Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > You forgot Stuckey’s… > > Pecan logs in 15 miles… Stuckey’s is still around. In fact, after nearly dying out, they seem to be on the upswing. > **[Stuckey’s Corporation | World Famous Pecans and Candy](https://stuckeys.com/)** > > Shop Stuckey’s online to find our world-famous pecan log rolls, old-fashioned candies, Georgia grown pecans, corporate gifts, and more! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-howard-johnsons-has-closed/965565.md?page=3)