Which beloved restaurant chain was driven out of business by a deadly hepatitis outbreak?
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Howard Johnson's was once the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. It started out as a small
soda fountain in Quincy, Massachusetts.
In 1925, the restaurant's owner passed away, leaving his 27-year-old son, Howard Johnson,
to take over.
Johnson renamed the shop after himself, amped up promotion and, most importantly, revamped
the shop's ice cream recipe.
It worked, and business boomed.
Johnson opened a few more locations on his own and then, realizing just what a success
he was sitting on, partnered with a local businessman to expand even further, creating
one of the first modern-day restaurant franchises.
It even expanded into the hotel business.
Sadly, that expansion also set the chain up for incredible failure in the mid-1970s, when
the U.S. energy crisis hit.
Gas prices soared and travel plummeted, slashing into the company's profits.
HoJo's couldn't compete with new menus and cheaper prices, like McDonald's.
Today, Howard Johnson hotels are still around, but those iconic orange topped restaurants
are little more than a distant memory, with just one location remaining at the time of
this video.
The popular Red Barn chain of restaurants was founded by a trio of restaurateurs in
Springfield, Ohio in 1961.
Never known for subtlety, Red Barn was a group of country-themed fast food joints that were
shaped like barns and painted bright red.
Despite the rustic exterior, Red Barn was known for being ahead of its time when it
came to the food it served.
Gigantic gourmet burgers known as the "Big Barney" and the "Barnbuster" were similar
to the Big Mac and Whopper of later years.
Red Barn was also the first chain to let customers have salad their way, with a massive self-service
salad bar filled with countless salad fixings and every type of salad imaginable.
At its peak, there were between 300 and 400 Red Barn restaurants dotted across America,
according to Red Barn history site BarnBuster.
But as tastes in the country changed, business slowed and the chain was sold several times.
The chain was never able to fully return to its glory days and all Red Barn operations
ceased in 1988.
Although the name Burger Chef may only sound familiar today to fans of AMC's Mad Men, there
was a time when it was one of the biggest fast food chains in America, with more than
1,200 locations across the country — second only to McDonald's at the time.
Throughout its history, Burger Chef was considered an industry innovator.
It was founded by brothers Frank and Donald Thomas in 1954.
Prior to its launch, the duo had already made burger history: The brothers helped develop
the flame broiler, which enabled Burger Chef to pump out 800 burgers per hour, a higher
rate than that of McDonald's at the time.
Under their leadership, Burger Chef was the first fast food company to market the burger-fries-and-drink
combo meal, dubbed the "Triple Treat," which sold for just 45 cents.
They also introduced the first "Fun Meal" for kids, with mascots like Burger Chef and
Chef Yo-Yo—and even partnered with Star Wars for a historic promotion, offering cardboard
droid "puppets."
McDonald's Happy Meals appeared soon after and Burger Chef sued, forcing McDonald's to
settle out of court for trademark infringement.
Sadly, as big as Burger Chef was, it couldn't withstand emerging competition from upstarts
like Wendy's.
In 1981, Hardee's scooped up Burger Chef for $44 million.
The remaining locations were all converted into Hardee's, and Burger Chef said goodbye
for good.
Considering its affordable all-you-can-eat salad bar; unlimited beer, wine, and sangria;
and massive portions of hamburgers, steaks, ribs and chicken, it's easy to see why Beefsteak
Charlie's was a restaurant lover's dream in the 1970's and 80s.
Born in NYC, the first Beefsteak Charlie's was a popular sports bar that opened way back
in 1910.
After the success of the original restaurant, and realizing the name had never been officially
trademarked, restaurateur Larry Ellman poached the name and legally renamed his "Steak & Brew"
chain Beefsteak Charlie's in 1976.
By 1984, there were more than 60 Beefsteak Charlie's up and down the East Coast, all
of which epitomized the chain's slogan: "I'll feed you like there's no tomorrow."
In a 1982 review of Beefsteak Charlie's, the Washington Post reported that what drew consumers
to the place was its reputation for, quote: "no restraint whatever."
Instead, customers could get massive amounts of food for pennies on the dollar.
Unfortunately, that opportunity for self-indulgence wouldn't last.
In 1987, the chain sold to Bombay Palace Restaurants, which filed for bankruptcy just two years
later.
By the early 2000s, all the Beefsteak Charlie's restaurants that remained had shuttered.
As L.A. landmarks go, few spots can compare with the famed Brown Derby, the large brown
hat-shaped restaurant that opened for business in 1926.
Designed to be iconic, the restaurant and its three additional locations became a playground
for Hollywood royalty, with its wall of celebrity caricatures becoming world famous.
Actors like Groucho Marx, Rita Hayworth, and Clark Gable were all regulars and the restaurant
was featured in movies and TV shows like "I Love Lucy."
"That’s it!
That's where we'll go!"
"Where?"
"The watering hole!
Fellow hunters, we're going to the Brown Derby!"
And the Brown Derby's food was incredible—the Cobb salad was invented there and was named
after owner Robert Howard Cob.
The restaurant also claimed to be the home of the original Shirley Temple drink, and
its namesake seems to agree.
Regrettably, the glitz and glam of the Brown Derby empire faded over time.
In 1980, the first Derby location closed.
Within five years, the remaining locations had closed as well.
Today, people looking to catch a bit of the Brown Derby legacy are left with memorabilia
in museums or the Brown Derby tribute at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando.
But nothing compares to the fabled original chain and its ties to classic Hollywood lore.
It's fairly common for country music stars to expand their brands by branching into new
areas like food and drink.
In 1991, "The Gambler" himself, Kenny Rogers, teamed up with a former KFC CEO to open his
own rotisserie chicken business.
Kenny Rogers Roasters began in Coral Springs, Florida and quickly expanded to include more
than 350 restaurants.
Although it started strong, the chain faced stiff competition from the likes of KFC, Popeyes,
and Boston Chicken.
Kenny Rogers Roasters did get a publicity boost of sorts from an iconic "Seinfeld" episode
mocking the chain, but it wasn't enough.
"Jerry!
I need that chicken!
I gotta have it!
You leave those roasters alone!
Kenny never hurt anybody!"
In 1998, Kenny Roger Roasters filed for bankruptcy and was bought by hot dog giant, Nathan's
Famous Inc. for $1.25 million.
A decade later, they too sold the chain, this time to a franchisee based in Asia.
Although it's vanished from the American fast food scene, the chain is still thriving in
Indonesia, the Philippines, and Dubai.
Crumbs Bake Shop got its start in 2003 as a small mom-and-pop style bakery located in
Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Driven by a booming Sex and the City-inspired cupcake trend at the time, the bakery was
an immediate success and grew to a remarkable 70 stores in 10 states within a decade.
For a time, customers couldn't get enough of the giant, sugary, candy topped cupcakes
that came in decadent flavors such as Milkshake, Peanut Butter Cup, Cotton Candy, and strawberry
pink "Cosmo."
But much has been written about what Crumbs Bake Shop did wrong, and what led to the downfall
of the once beloved chain.
According to the Washington Post, the company expanded far too quickly at a time when profits
within single shops were already starting to decline.
While individual shops were once making more than $1.2 million per location in 2009, by
2013 Crumbs Bake Shop was in the red, losing more than $18 million.
Combine these losses with a cupcake fad that was also losing steam, plus vast competition
from countless other restaurants and chains that also amped up their cupcake production,
the chain was sadly doomed for failure.
In the summer of 2014, all Crumbs Bake Shops were closed and the company filed for bankruptcy.
The chain was sold to TV entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis, who revamped the business and tried
to bring it back, but those efforts failed as well.
In 2017, all remaining Crumbs locations sadly closed for good.
For many, Chi-Chi's was the first place they ever got a taste of a chimichanga.
Chi-Chi's was also the restaurant responsible for putting fried ice cream on the menus of
Mexican restaurants across the U.S.
For a while in the late 1980's and early 1990's, this restaurant giant was the epitome of sit-down
casual Tex-mex dining.
Chi-Chi's was co-founded in Minneapolis in 1977 by former Green Bay Packers star Max
McGee and restaurateur Marno McDermott, whose wife went by the nickname "Chi-Chi."
The marketing worked and by 1986, the chain had exploded to more than 200 different locations
across the U.S.
As with all the most popular brands, competition gradually weakened the Chi-Chi's brand.
By the end of the 90s, just 150 locations remained.
Desperate for financing, the struggling chain filed for bankruptcy in 2002.
And then, just a month after the filing, disaster hit.
Green onions imported from Mexico that were tainted with the hepatitis A virus were served
at a Chi-Chi's near Pittsburgh.
The outbreak, which caused a massive media stir, sickened more than 650 people and killed
four.
Customers left the chain in droves and sales plummeted, causing the remaining restaurants
to eventually close as well.
Chi-Chi's restaurants still exist today in Europe, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
But the only place you'll find Chi-Chi's in America is in the grocery store, where Chi-Chi's-branded
products remain on the shelves.
Horn & Hardart isn't just a restaurant chain that has completely disappeared—it's a restaurant
concept that's almost extinct in the U.S.: the automat.
Developed in Berlin in 1895, an automat is a type of fast food restaurant where all the
foods for sale are served through vending machines with virtually no human contact.
Horn & Hardart was the undisputed king of automat restaurants, expanding to nearly 180
locations by 1950.
Sadly, fast food chains destroyed the automat, and the final Horn & Hardart closed in 1991.
Today you can still buy Horn & Hardart coffee, but that's the only remaining link to the
original American automat.
Restaurant goers who were lucky enough to have sampled the Lum's menu while it was available
often debate over what was better: Lum's famous hot dog, which was steamed in beer and paired
with a sherry-infused sauerkraut, or the OllieBurger, which contained a hamburger patty packed with
a top secret blend of 32 spices.
For the record, both camps are right: The Florida-based fast food chain was home to
some of the most unique food ever served in a casual restaurant setting.
"The secret is they steamed them in beer.
There ain't a better hot dog in America."
Lum's was started by brothers Stuart and Clifford Perlman in Miami Beach in 1956.
By 1961, they'd expanded to four restaurants.
That number had grown to more than 450 locations at the height of Lum's popularity.
Business was so good that in 1969 the brothers were able to purchase Caesars Palace Las Vegas
for $60 million.
Two years later, they sold the chain to John Y. Brown, the former chairman of KFC and then
owner of the NBA's Buffalo Braves.
It was Brown who brought the Ollieburger to Lum's, having bought the secret recipe for
an industry-rattling $1 million!
Lum's is also famous for having TV pioneer Milton Berle as its spokesperson, but even
"Uncle Miltie" couldn't save the chain from filing for bankruptcy and closing most of
its locations in 1983.
The last remaining Lum's, which was in Bellevue, Nebraska, closed in 2017 after 49 years in
the business.
But those who want to try a taste of burger history need not fear: the Ollieburger is
still available at Ollie's Trolley, a Lum's spinoff with two locations left in Cincinnati,
Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky.
In 1969, three fried fish chains all opened for business in the United States: Long John
Silver's, Captain D's, and Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips.
A quintessentially English combination of fried whitefish and French fries, fish & chips
had been an omnipresent fast food in Great Britain for decades.
Arthur Treacher's presentation was decidedly more British than its competitors because
of its heavy use of malt vinegar and the involvement of its namesake, Arthur Treacher, the sidekick
on the popular "The Merv Griffin Show" and a well-known character actor his many roles
as a stuffy English butler.
Arthur Treacher's aggressively expanded in the 1970s, branching out from its Columbus,
Ohio, beginnings to a chain of 826 restaurants by decade's end, According to the Lakeland
Ledger, there were way more Arthur Treacher's than the customer base merited, and parent
company Orange-co sold the chain to frozen fish processor Mrs. Paul's Kitchen in 1979,
which sold it to Lumara Foods three years later.
Following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 1984, the chain shrunk to just 27 outlets
by 2010.
By 2021, there was only a single freestanding Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips left, not far
from where the chain began in Columbus, Ohio.
Plenty of all-you-can-eat, buffet-style restaurants have carved out a niche, like Old Country
Buffet, Golden Corral, and Sizzler, but Souplantation sold something different than endless plates
of rich and hearty comfort food and fast-food favorites like fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
Souplantation, or Sweet Tomatoes as it was known outside of its birthplace of California,
pitched itself as a healthy restaurant, offering a super-sized salad bar with dozens of leafy
greens and appropriate toppings, along with soups and baked goods.
An outgrowth of the California-based health food craze of the 1970s, the first Souplantation
opened in San Diego in 1978 and expanded across the nation in the 1980s and beyond.
In the wake of lockdown measures meant to slow or stop the spread of the coronavirus
in March 2020, Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation closed down.
While many other restaurants moved to a takeout-only operational model, that proved difficult for
a buffet-style business.
What was only supposed to be a temporary shutdown became permanent just two months later.
In May 2020, after losing $1 million a week since closing down, parent company Garden
Fresh shut down all 97 remaining locations of both Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation,
which never opened up again.
For nearly four decades, countless kids growing up on the West Coast of the United States
and Hawaii must have felt pretty special and lucky if they got to have their birthday party
at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour.
Not only did guests receive a free ice cream sundae on their birthday, but the whole place
had a nonstop party vibe, flavored with a turn-of-the-20th century sensibility, with
staff in 1890s stripes and boater hats running around serving banana splits and gigantic
ice cream mountains as a player piano loudly churned out ragtime and old-timey tunes.
After starting out in Portland, Oregon in 1963, there were 130 Farrell's locations in
all by the mid-1970s, shortly after the chain was acquired by the Marriott Corporation.
By the early '80s, Farrell's had been sold to an investor group and by 1990 only a few
were left, as the novelty of an 1890s ice cream parlor wore off, coupled with increased
competition from other ice cream and frozen yogurt chains.
In 2019, the last Farrell's closed down, bringing the long history of the historical chain to
a close, at least for now.
Launched in Dallas in the mid-1960s, Steak and Ale defined mid-century suburban, sit-down
dining.
Appearing on the restaurant scene when steaks were perceived as a rare treat for the rich
and fancy, Steak and Ale brought steakhouse fare and vibes to the masses at affordable
prices in comfortable, old English-inspired dining rooms.
The chain also helped popularize such now-standard restaurant practices as dinner items on sale
at lunch for less money, an all-you-can-eat salad bar, and free soda refills (alongside
its menu of steaks, chicken, and pasta dishes, and a large selection of wine and beer).
As of the mid-1980s, and under the ownership of Pillsbury's restaurant group for several
years, 280 Steak and Ale outlets were the setting for hundreds of thousands of celebrations
and date nights.
Steak and Ale was ultimately crowded out of the casual dining sector it helped popularize.
In 2008, then-owner Metromedia Restaurant Group, filed for bankruptcy, according to
CNN.
Every Steak and Ale immediately and permanently closed down, as did all of Metromedia's company-owned
Bennigan's outlets.
Franchise-operated locations of the latter stayed open, however, and 10 years later,
the remaining ones offered fans of the original Steak and Ale the chance to experience some
of their favorites again.
Three items from Steak and Ale debuted on the Bennigan's menu in 2018: the Kensington
Club (an eight-ounce sirloin topped with a proprietary glaze); cheese, bacon, and wined
mushroom-topped Smothered Chicken; and pineapple-heavy Hawaiian Chicken.
Coffee isn't a nut, so the name of canned ground coffee Chock full o'Nuts is a little
confusing.
However, the company started out in 1926 as a store on Broadway in New York City that
sold nuts.
Six years later, after the Great Depression rendered nuts an expensive indulgence, founder
William Black converted what had grown into a collection of 18 nut stores into some combination
of coffee stand, lunch counter, and low-cost convenience store, dispensing a cup of hot
brewed coffee and a, quote, "nutted cheese" sandwich — which is cream cheese and chopped
nuts on raisin bread — for a grand total of five cents.
Chock full O'Nuts weathered the Depression by offering cheap food and cheap coffee, which
was so popular that Black started to sell it in grocery stores in the early 1950s.
They also garnered goodwill by hiring legendary baseball icon Jackie Robison as vice president.
According to the New York Times, by the time Black died in 1983, the company touted an
annual revenue of $115.8 million, with 80 percent of that coming from grocery store
coffee.
The rest came from 25 Chock full O'Nuts coffee-and-sandwich cafes still extant in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Those all shut down by the end of the 1980s, however.
In 2010, per the New York Times, the Chock full O'Nuts restaurant concept was revived
as a food stand catering to nostalgic New Yorkers.
"The chairman of Chock full o'Nuts asked me to tell you that our coffee is number one
in New York!"
As of 2021, five are open, including one at an upstate New York hospital and one at a
mall in New Jersey.
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