# What franchises or chains did you Home Town have **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231 "2022-08-24T15:22:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/21 "2022-08-24T18:17:06Z")
Sears (department store) Montgomery Wards (department store) usually referred to as “Monkey Wards” Ben Franklin’s (5 and dime) Woolworth’s (department store) Ace Hardware (hardware, obviously) Rite Aid (pharmacy) A&P (grocery) Restaurant Chains: Burger Chef Long John Silver’s Ponderosa (steak house) Dairy Queen ---
**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:** [August 24, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/22 "2022-08-24T18:25:34Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Fast food restaurants: we had McDonalds, Burger King, Arby’s, and Taco Bell, plus Hardees (which was more of a regional chain). We also had a couple of Pizza Huts, and a Shakey’s Pizza. A few others, which fellow posters have reminded me of: - We had a Taco John’s or two - We also had several Mars restaurants (a Wisconsin hamburger chain) - And, we had a couple of Big Boy restaurants (which went under the “Marc’s Big Boy” name, the Marcus Corporation being the franchisee in Wisconsin) ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/23 "2022-08-24T19:05:05Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I pretty much grew up in a town with a population of 200. 972 - second largest city in Redwood County. We had two hardware stores - Gamble’s and Hardware Hank, 2.5 grocery stores (Super Value, Fairway and a very small independent that also had a clothing department (mostly work clothes), a Rexall Drug and a locally owned bank. And then a smattering of small businesses on the main street (not Main Street), including at least two places to eat. Now there is just the Super Value, and the local bank was bought by another local bank in the next town over, and I think is still local to the area. There are also two bars which serve food. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/24 "2022-08-24T19:29:58Z")
I grew up in Queens in the '50s and '60s and we didn’t have a McDonalds. The first one I saw was in Boston in about 1970. We did have Woolworths Lamstons (like Woolworths) Radio Shack A&P White Castle Chicken Delight (don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight) Macys, Bloomingdales. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/25 "2022-08-24T20:27:40Z")
I grew up in a small town. The only franchises were gas station (Mobil and Flying A), grocery stores (Bohacks) and one of the banks (North Fork Bank andTrust). Today, it’s got a Mobil, Gulf Oil, and a 7-11. There are also a couple of banks: Bank of America, Capital One, and Dime. The Grocery is an IGA, thought that’s technically not a chain. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/26 "2022-08-24T20:35:25Z")
I grew up in Milpitas California. When I was a child there was one tiny commercial street, called Main Street. No chains, I can still name all five or six concerns, which included a cafe, a general store, and a bar, and my dad’s newspaper office. It has 76,000 people now, so it probably has all the franchises available in the Bay Area. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/27 "2022-08-24T21:12:31Z")
We had a Woolworths (including lunch counter), a Sears Catalog store (mostly used for picking up orders.). Had an A&P, a Radio Shack For “fast food”, we had a Dairy Queen, and Dog 'N Suds. Best damned rootbeer. Period. One of the very few still operating. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/28 "2022-08-24T21:38:10Z")
albertsons smiths safeway a&w kfc mcdonalds burger king dairy queen denny’s checkers auto parts (paul’s) IGA 7-11 stinker gas station buttery’s (groceries) skaggs (general store type, not quite a department store ala walmart but almost) rite aid rexall m&w groceries circle k (gas and convenience) pizza hut blimpies (sandwiches) banking was all local state banks until (some time in the 80s or 90s?) some sort of regulatory change happened I think. chevron exxon philips 66 shell 76 gas stations Hilton Hotel (sold to Red Lion, Hilton has recently returned to Boise) Kmart and Sears JCPenny radio shack Taco Johns couple of (someone’s)Big Boy shakeys pizza roundtable pizza texaco sambos truvalue hardware grover’s paynpac hardware Grand Central dept store(owned by Fred Meyers and long closed) shopko taco bell Winchell’s Donuts several of these have either gone out of business completely or closed shop around here ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/29 "2022-08-24T22:15:06Z")
Topps Fried Chicken GC Murphy’s 5 and 10 Burger Chef People’s Drug Store. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/30 "2022-08-25T04:44:02Z")
From Ufreida - sorry, I forgot to respond until too late. > I grew up in Milpitas California. When I was a child there was one tiny commercial street, called Main Street. No chains, I can still name all five or six concerns, which included a cafe, a general store, and a bar, and my dad’s newspaper office. It has 76,000 people now, so it probably has all the franchises available in the Bay Area I live close to there. It contains a giant mall in the old Ford plant. I don’t go much since the Marie Callendar’s closed apparently without advanced warning to the employees. But it has all the stuff, and also some off 880. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/31 "2022-08-25T11:54:51Z")
I completely forgot one chain that was in my home town before I was . I see several people have mentioned it, as well. We had a Dairy Queen. Not downtown, but down by the town border, on the river. The shop is still there, despite many changes in ownership and several floodings. It hasn’t been a Dairy Queen in decades, but they still sell ice cream, but now it’s home made. On the other side of town, but across the town lone so it was in the next town, was a Carvel’s. It’s still there, too, but hasn’t been a Carvel’s in decades, still pumping out independent ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/32 "2022-08-25T12:11:11Z")
Shainberg’s Otasco Western Auto TG&Y Bonanza (my first indoor job) Dog n Suds (precursor to A&W-\>Sonic, I think) Minute Man Big Boy (Shoney’s) Rexall Walmart Gibsons Woolworth’s Lion Oil gas stations DX gas stations Esso I’m sure more will come to mind later. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/33 "2022-08-25T14:18:11Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Dog n Suds (precursor to A&W-\>Sonic, I think) Dog 'n Suds and A&W started around the same time (I think). Both got a boost in the 70s with the “Happy Days” 50s revival; I think A&W did better with that, although I haven’t seen one in a long time. Hmmm. Looks like we’re both wrong. From Wikipedia: [Dog n Suds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_n_Suds), > [@](#): > > **Dog n Suds** is a [midwestern United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States) chain of [hot dog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog) and [root beer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_beer) [drive-in](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive-in) style eateries.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_n_Suds#cite_note-Alexander_2008-3)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_n_Suds#cite_note-Jakle_Sculle_2002_p._167-4) The chain was started in 1953 and by the 1970s the franchise included over 650 restaurants across 38 states. In 2021, the brand continues to operate at approximately 15 locations[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_n_Suds#cite_note-DeVore_2017-5) and serves hamburgers, french fries and [soft drinks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink).[/url] [A&W](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants) > [@](#): > > **A&W Restaurants** is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its [burgers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger), draft [root beer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_beer) and [root beer floats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_beer_floats).[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants#cite_note-Smith-OCAFD_2007-5)[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants#cite_note-Patton_2017-6) The oldest restaurant chain in America,[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants#cite_note-Oldest_restaurant_chains-7) A&W’s origins date back to 1919 when [Roy W. Allen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_W._Allen) (1882–1968) set up a roadside drink stand to offer a new thick and creamy drink, root beer, at a parade honoring returning [World War I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I) veterans in [Lodi, California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodi,_California).[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants#cite_note-krn-8)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants#cite_note-Smith-OCAFD_2007-5) [Sonic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Drive-In) > [@](#): > > **Sonic Corporation** , founded as **Sonic Drive-In** and more commonly known as **Sonic** (stylized as **SONIC** ), or “The Drive-In,” is an American [drive-in](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive-in) [fast food restaurant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food_restaurant) [chain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_store) owned by [Inspire Brands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspire_Brands), the parent company of [Arby’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arby%27s) and [Buffalo Wild Wings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Wild_Wings).[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Drive-In#cite_note-6) The company, founded by [Troy N. Smith Sr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Smith_(businessman)) (1922–2009), opened its first location in 1953, under the name Top Hat Drive-In.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Drive-In#cite_note-Sonic,_The_History_of_America's_Drive-In-7) So A&W is the original, with Dog n Suds and Sonic having contemporary starts. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/34 "2022-08-25T15:09:18Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > So A&W is the original, with Dog n Suds and Sonic having contemporary starts. Ignorance fought. Founded not long after A&W was Stewart’s, which served hot dogs, fries, and mugs of root beer from bright orange stands. They were founded in 1924, and brought the food out to your car on a tray that mounted on your car window. No roller-skating carhops, because the parking lot was, more often than not, simply sand and stones or maybe gravel. Skaters would’ve come to an undignified sudden skidding stop. I never even _heard_ of such skating waitresses until _American Graffiti_ came out. The mugs were glass, not cheap paper cups. But they were deceptive – being heavy, with a hollow bottom, they gave you the impression of getting more root beer than you really did. We didn’t have one in our town, but the next town over did. > **[Stewart's Restaurants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart%27s_Restaurants)** > > Stewart's Restaurants are classic 1950s style fast-food restaurants located throughout the United States. Restaurants are branded as Stewart's Root Beer or Stewart's Drive-In or similar variations. Started in 1924 in Mansfield, Ohio by Frank Stewart, the chain became a franchise in 1931. > As of 2021, there are 30 locations open in the United States, the majority of which are located in New Jersey with the rest in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. > Stewart's is famous for its St... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/35 "2022-08-25T15:47:30Z")
Grew up in the burbs. In PA our town was a real bedroom community, not much there back then, a 7-11 and a Grand Union grocery store were the only chains I remember when we first moved there, and later a McCrory’s store, similar to K-Mart (later replaced by other stores of that type). There are a couple of more chains there now, a couple of grocery stores, a couple of chain restaurants, nothing else I can recall. But it was the burbs, just about every chain was close by in neighboring towns that were larger and had larger retail zones available. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/36 "2022-08-25T17:56:48Z")
My hometown didn’t allow franchise restaurants, so the only one we had (outside the town limits) was KFC. I didn’t eat at Taco Bell until I was in college. (The bigger nearby town had all the usual fast-food places but my mom didn’t like Taco Bell so we never went there). We did have a few other chain businesses, but not many. The ones I can remember from my childhood/teens were: Rexall Drug Safeway TG&Y (variety store) Coast to Coast Hardware Arco Gas Carrow’s (I think they got a bit more lenient by then) Western Auto Radio Shack (my dad’s best friend owned it, which was why we had a TRS-80 in 1977ish). Circle K Ben Franklin (but I was in college by then) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/37 "2022-08-25T18:06:51Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > My hometown didn’t allow franchise restaurants, so the only one we had (outside the town limits) was KFC. I didn’t eat at Taco Bell until I was in college. I _think_ my hometown had a Taco Bell downtown for like half a year. It occupied one of those “caboose diners” that had just folded. But franchise luck apparently didn’t hold because it too folded pretty soon. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/38 "2022-08-25T18:17:13Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Chicken Delight (don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight) I thought I remembered the Chicken Delight name from upthread, but this old jingle clinches it. But I have a propensity for remembering old jingles. One on TV when I was a kid was for Coast Federal Savings in downtown (9th and Hill on the ground floor), and I can still sing the jingle. There was a trained rabbit putting coins into a bank in the shape of the actual bank building. I was so excited when I found an old model bank with a rabbit figure on it on ebay a while back. But I grew up in one of those small towns (30k pop at the time) that was surrounded by Los Angeles. We had tons of chains. The first McDonald’s I remember was on Sepulveda, and it was built in 1971. We had Winchell’s and a Ship’s Coffee Shop ( a chain much remembered – Shipshape burger anyone?), Curry’s Ice Cream, and more. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/39 "2022-08-25T18:24:07Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > Belle Fourche, SD, 1980s (~4500 population): Hey, I drove thru there a couple of times in the 80s. Were you that guy on the corner wearing jeans and a tee shirt? Thought you seemed familiar. Never lived in anything like a town growing up. Usually, the closest village was a half dozen run down houses, a bar, gas station and a church. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231/40 "2022-08-25T18:26:02Z")
Ha, my _actual_ town I grew up was 76 people; Belle Fourche was just the closest town with “things” in it (and where I went to school). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-franchises-or-chains-did-you-home-town-have/970231.md?page=3)