oh i forgot about that with huge names like mcdonald's burger king and kfc is your competition
it takes a lot to stay relevant in the fast food game so let's look back at 15 forgotten
fast food chains howard johnson's so i must make my hotel of dreams like every other howard johnson
howard johnson's chain of restaurants is not one that many people remember but it was once a very
popular roadside stop known at the time for their simple and delicious menu they were the perfect
stop on a road trip whether you were traveling for fun or work in the 1950s and 1960s this chain had
over 1 000 restaurants across the country and each one of them was thriving and serving the
same food across all menus no matter the location while customers thought this was great for a while
people eventually got bored of the same choices and stopped going i am looking forward to watch
howard johnson's would eventually close its doors due to the fact that they did not make the
changes that their customers were craving yogi bears fried chicken is fry fried chickie chick
late in the 1960's yogi bear's honey fried chicken would launch their first franchise restaurant
while the chain would never grow to huge numbers it was a hit nonetheless they licensed the yogi
bear character from hannah barbera and they opened for business the first few restaurants
were very popular and soon enough the hardy's company spent a lot of money and bought out the
franchise this would slowly become the downfall of yogi bear's honey fried chicken as hearties
neglected to really put any attention into the restaurants eventually the outlets would all
close due to this neglect and the fact that business had slowed to nearly a trickle when
the restaurants closed they left large statues of yogi and other cartoon characters around
and one dumping ground for these statues unintentionally became a tourist attraction
people coming from all over the place to see these abandoned statues of the much beloved characters
brown derby welcome to hollywood this chain restaurant dates back to the mid-1920s when their
first and most iconic restaurant opened built to look like a brown colored derby hat the unique
shape was a large draw for a lot of people the chain never really expanded to hundreds
of restaurants but they were extremely popular in their heyday despite that fact they were known as
a popular celebrity hangout with many big names spending time at the restaurant which helped
draw crowds in through the doors geez look at this line this free celebrity advertising
would not last forever though and the brown derby chain would eventually begin closing their doors
the restaurant's downfall was simply that the novelty were off and people stopped showing up
including the celebrities the end of the brown derby was inevitable and soon the name would only
live on with unrelated businesses attempting to use the name for a quick cash grab eat big beef
franchise franchise franchise in the 1960s heap big beef found moderate success by jumping aboard
the franchise train franchising had become the next big craze among those who wanted to work for
themselves and be their own boss heap big beef's fatal flaw was that the business was never really
about the food in fact the restaurant was created just to try and cash in on the franchising craze
money money money money the original founder had tried and failed with several franchises
over his lifetime and not all of them were food related he was simply a man who believed that
anything could be franchised and did not think that experience or a passion for the industry was
needed when it came to running your own franchise yikes that's a recipe for disappointment this
would prove false as heap big beef did not last long against competitors who truly cared about
the food they served all-star cafe hello hollywood all-star cafe was a sports-themed restaurant chain
that was owned by planet hollywood at its peak there were 10 restaurants open and all 10 of them
were extremely busy while their menus were nothing out of the ordinary the theme restaurant craze was
more than enough to drive people through the doors of these overly decorated restaurants and enough
to put a pretty fantastic helping of profits in the pockets of those at planet hollywood
i'm rich i'm rich these restaurants are yet another example of something that was a complete
novelty fad people loved them at first but with no real innovation or change they eventually died out
and all of these restaurants have closed their doors burger chef hamburgers the cornerstone of
any nutritious breakfast burger chef was opened in the mid-1950s and was extremely popular for quite
a few years unsurprisingly they served hamburgers fries and all the classic sides that go along
with burger restaurants known as the first to come up with the idea of giving out a toy with
the purchase of a child-sized meal burger chef found booming success with this gimmick as well
as the fact that the food they served was quite delicious not bad not bad parents love to go for
the juicy hamburgers that were offered and kids love to go for the toys that they would get to
go along with their food unfortunately burger chef just didn't have what it took to continue
to compete in the space and as more and more fast food burger places began to open up burger chef
fell in terms of popularity the last restaurant would close its doors in 1981 marking the end of a
successful past for the company that once had over 1200 restaurants in operation show your support by
hitting that like button we do appreciate it now let's keep going the show goes on
burger queen matter of fact is the best burger i've had in years burger queen may have a name
that sounds like another chain restaurant dairy queen but back in the 1950s burger queen was a
popular stop for many in fact the two restaurants would eventually end up having something to do
with each other since dq came first it's unclear whether the burger queen name was inspired by
dairy queen in any case only one of them would be left standing in the 2000s serving food that
included burgers of course as well as chicken and sides burger queen operated under that name for a
while before eventually changing it to druthers for some unknown reason after the name change
the restaurant chain began to really see a decline and by 1990 most of the restaurants were actually
purchased and taken over by dairy queen and the name burger queen would fade out of existence
it's gone while these restaurants may no longer exist there are people out there who still
hopefully fondly remember burger queen beef steak charlies so then i went over to beefsteak julie's
these take charlie's yes the 20th century saw the popularity of theme restaurants come and go they
would pop up and experience success for a while before the next big theme trend would find its
way into the market at which point the older ones would simply close their doors and move on it is
what it is beefsteak charlie's was just another one of these themed restaurants that enjoyed a
short time of success before their novelty wore off this restaurant's theme was centered around
horse racing not the first thing that come to mind when mentioning theme restaurants and the
restaurant was mostly known for their steak sandwiches these sandwiches however would not
carry them through the decades and after a quick rise to 60 chains they would begin to decline and
in 2009 the final beefsteak charlies would close its doors forever carols come in of course carols
was not one of those themed restaurants that were once so popular instead they were just a regular
home-cooked meal type of establishment that offered a variety of home-style comfort foods that
people loved it was delicious carol's chain of restaurants would all be closed by the 1980s but
the parent company that had owned them continued to see success in fact the company currently owns
the largest franchise collection of burger kings out of any franchise owners so while carols did
not see success in the long run the people behind it had other more long-term success chicken george
chicken george was probably one of the smallest chain style restaurants to see immense popularity
and while they never grew to anywhere near the numbers of some of the other restaurants
on this list they still saw a lot of success in the time they were open camping at a total
of six restaurants the original location remained their most popular for many years
unfortunately like so many other restaurants who tried to make it big they faced plenty of
competition it's too much it's too much the chain just couldn't quite break out into something huge
in 1991 the last chicken george closed its doors and the chain fell out of existence
only existing in the memories of those who had experienced george's chicken casa bonita we
only really serve mexican food a mexican food inspired chain casa bonita was famous for a
few specialty dishes as well as serving all you can eat chicken and beef plates all you can eat
it did really well for quite some time the building's decor and fun atmosphere enticed
people to enjoy their mexican-inspired dishes casa bonita became a great spot for a family dinner out
and the all-you-can-eat options were very reasonably priced for those who had a big appetite
people were charmed by the theme and decor the restaurant had a mexican theme without going over
the top with too many obnoxious decorations covering the walls however their popularity
greatly waned in 1993 when they rebranded and all of the restaurants closed their doors
except one they would never experience the popularity they had once known again but their one
singular restaurant stood tall a small reminder of the once extremely popular restaurant chain
chi cheese oh mexican food chi cheese was another popular mexican themed restaurant though this one
went a little more all out with the paint colors and decorations than casa bonita chichi's also
had a bit of a rough history that caused them to close their doors rather quickly and end their
legacy lingering in scandal their first issue was when they became known as the restaurant that
had the largest outbreak of hepatitis a in the history of the united states oh gross right guys
shortly after that the company had to declare bankruptcy due to a major decline in sales after
the outbreak outback steakhouse bought out the majority of their properties and the restaurant
left the united states all together delights peter it's time for a healthy veggie dinner
delights was one of the original restaurants to offer healthier options when it came to fast food
including things such as lean ground beef and low-fat cheese in their hamburgers
i'm going to use low-fat ingredients game changer they found small ways to make their menu offerings
at least a bit healthier than their competitors in the first two years of opening delights quickly
grew to having over 100 stores under their brand offering their slightly healthier take on fast
food this quick growth came at a price though and only a year later the chain would begin closing
some of those restaurants down by the end of that same year the company had claimed bankruptcy the
remaining restaurants were sold off to hardee's and the name delights would fade out of existence
he's driving that's it and then no end then i i that's that's all i want dee's drive-in was
the epitome of greasy fast food in the 1920s catering largely to local college students
this budget-friendly drive-in restaurant was all the rage when they opened their first location
shut up and take my money while they did find success among young college students in utah their
attempts at expansion did not quite see the same volume of customers while the food and service
appealed to those busy students who had a lot going on as it was it was not quite as appealing
to the general masses who had the time and money to be a little more choosy with where they ate
they did keep afloat for a good 50 or so years but eventually their success would end and the
last d's drive-in was sold off to hardy's a fate that seems to happen to quite a few restaurant
chains that cannot quite make it among the growing competition doggy diner you came to top dog terry
smart move doggy diner sounds like a place you bring your furry friend for a dinner made for
pooches but disappointingly this was not the case doggy diner was in fact a chain of restaurants
that began in the 1950s they specialized in hot dogs and hamburgers and were a popular stop for
those who wanted to enjoy one or the other or even both my hot dog they enjoyed a rather long
history of success keeping their doors open for almost four decades sadly they did not
quite make the 40-year mark and after 38 years of service the last doggie diner closed its doors
to the public leaving only the giant dog head mascot statues for people to remember them by
until even those vanished as new places took over their previous locations i miss them thanks for
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