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.)
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:
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.
I’ve moved this to Cafe Society, as it is about food/culture
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!!
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.
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.
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.
Like most corporate holders, they’re idiots.
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.
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.
You forgot Stuckey’s…
Pecan logs in 15 miles…
Yet Waffle House soldiers on…
Without Waffle House, how would FEMA judge the damage?
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.
Stuckey’s is still around. In fact, after nearly dying out, they seem to be on the upswing.