why is the restaurant closed some restaurant chains are more beloved than others and some
fade away without much fanfare so let's dig into the 15 worst failed chain restaurants
that no one misses it's official and welcome to the cafe 80s where it's always morning in America
the awkwardly named the official All-Star Cafe was one of those bright and shiny themed
restaurant chains that had their Glory Days in the 1990s this chain was actually owned by the
people who owned Planet Hollywood King of the theme restaurant at the time the
official All-Star Cafe had a whole team of big name athlete investors including Joe Montana
Wayne Gretzky Shaquille O'Neal and Monica selles the athletic chain opened its first location in
1995 but by 1999 the chain was shut down this restaurant chain was a casualty of the demise
of its parent chain Planet Hollywood which was forced to file for bankruptcy bankruptcy
hey Sports alcohol and burgers seem like a winning recipe but it couldn't save the
official All-Star Cafe from being eliminated from contention stake through the heart
mistake and Ale restaurant chain had been around since the 1960s and was doing all right as an
independent chain in Texas then in the 1980s Pillsbury bought the chain and decided to take
it national the little chain quickly expanded to 280 locations and was successful for a while
however as competition among these kinds of chain restaurants grew stiffer Steak and Ale
started to flounder its menu did not keep up with The Changing Times as people turned more
to fast foods like burgers pizza and Tacos in 2008 all of the Steak and Ale locations closed
their doors for good the chain ran a popular promotion in the early evenings and included
a free drink and dessert but even this could not save Steak and Ale from becoming one of the worst
failed chain restaurants that no one misses when it rains it pours respect the rainforest
it's a relaxing lunch with friends just isn't enough then maybe animatronic animals lightning
and a colorful aquarium sounds more like it this might sound a lot like an attraction at
Disneyland but it actually describes a chain of restaurants called Rainforest Cafe a jungle
themed exterior lured you inside where you were treated to faux fauna and Flora as you munch
on not so exotic dishes such as beef lava nachos and jungle steak and shrimp you could finish your
meal with a decadent slice of tribal cheesecake but the food usually received fairly low marks
from diners how's everything going over here terrible go away this restaurant chain had its
Heyday in the 1990s but since then most of their locations have closed down even though there is
still a precious few still operating somewhere in the wilderness Rainforest Cafe definitely
feels like it's Fading Into the distance you're hopeless Charlie Brown what happened to the stakes
that were in there when they closed the first Charlie Brown steakhouse was opened in 1966
chain became successful enough to expand into New York and Pennsylvania although
Charlie Brown's enjoyed several profitable decades it eventually fell out of favor with
customers as the competition among casual dining establishments exploded a worthy
competitor emerges by 2010 the parent company of the chain filed for bankruptcy and as part of the
proceedings most of the Charlie Brown's locations were closed the old Steakhouse lives on in spirit
though because two locations remain open in New Jersey under the name Charlie Brown's Fresh Grill
Mighty Casey's at the bun I'm just getting a hot dog we're all getting hot dogs Mighty Casey's has
struck out and become another failed chain that lives on in memory only this hot dog chain started
in the Atlanta area in the 1980s and developed a loyal following of customers who were looking for
a hot dog instead of the usual hamburger the chili dog was one of the Chain's best sellers but the
small fast food chain also sold hamburgers it's a hamburger made out of meat on a bun with nothing
unfortunately a decent hot dog is pretty easy to make at home even so mighty Casey's was doing well
enough by the early 1990s that a competing chain called Crystal bought them out in 1994. so most
of the mighty cases were converted into Crystal locations say it ain't sambos I'm sorry if that
sounds racist unfortunately the most memorable thing about this fast food chain is that some
people complained about the name some critics felt that sambos was a nod to the little boy in
the story of Little Black [ __ ] written by Helen Bannerman at the end of the 19th century the name
of the restaurant chain was actually a combination of the two Founders names Sam batistone and Newell
bonan that this didn't stop people from continuing to criticize the Chain's name the founders did
make it easy for critics because they decided to adopt the image of a black child as its mascot
and used him in its advertising the change should have been known for its pancakes but it couldn't
shake its association with racial stereotypes the mascot was eventually Changed by the early 70s to
an Indian boy wearing a turban with a pet tiger was that any better at the height of the Chain's
popularity in 1979 sambos boasted more than 1 000 locations across 47 States but it quickly declined
after this peak until only the original location and Santa Barbara California remained Minneapolis
Mexican we went to Chichi's and danced The Night Away the room completely disappeared when
you think of Minneapolis Minnesota you probably don't immediately think of great Mexican food but
former Green Bay Packers star Max McGee and marno McDermott did think of it the men opened the first
Chichi's restaurant in 1975. this Mexican food restaurant chain was many Americans introduction
to this kind of Cuisine over the next couple of decades the chain expanded and enjoyed a decent
level of success however all of this changed when a Chichi's location suffered a hepatitis outbreak
hepatitis C jokes on you I already got it this type of unfortunate occurrence can be the end for
any restaurant chain and indeed it was for chichis after three customers died the Mexican food chain
was forced to declare bankruptcy in the United States but never say die because the chain lived
on in other countries Howard's and like every other Howard Johnson with a bright orange roof
the restaurant chains orange and blue color scheme made Howard Johnson's locations recognizable but
ultimately couldn't save it from an unhappy end Howard Johnson's was not able to change
its stilted ways and paid a heavy price and their Heyday Howard Johnson's restaurants were often a
convenient Choice located right off of Highways where families could get a decent sit-down
meal before hitting the road again most of the highways yep Howard Johnson's host of the highways
these convenient locations for travelers probably kept the chain afloat longer than it otherwise
would have however a dated Diner style menu and plenty of competition from fast food chains
eventually turned Howard Johnson's into just another orange roofed failed chain restaurant
Sorry Charlie so then I went over to beef steak Julie's you stick Charlie's yes the
original beef steak Charlie's opened in New York in 1914 and was a successful restaurant for many
years in 1976 beef steak Charlie started a chain and eventually opened up more than 60
locations around the New York area the chain was well known for its Stakes of course but it
also Drew in customers with unlimited shrimp and salad even with aggressive promotions the
success of beef steak Charlie's was short-lived with most locations closing their doors by 1987.
the company had a file for bankruptcy in 1989 and more restaurants closed compliments to the chef
I failed Sarge this is my second Burger fast food hamburger chains have never had a shortage of
competition and this competition has only grown fiercer over the years it's no wonder that many
of these chains fail even if they serve up decent food Burger Chef is one of those relatively small
chains that had to go head to head with the likes of McDonald's and Burger King and didn't live
to tell about it no dead men tell no Tales the first Burger Chef opened in 1954 and expansion
soon followed in 1982 the parent company of the burger chain started selling off Burger
Chef locations to one of its main competitors Hardee's Notorious Big Boy just a big boy in
1994 the abdow corporation decided to end its affiliation with the big boy brand they owned
this led to the closing of 18 abdo's Big Boy restaurants in Connecticut and Massachusetts
the corporation cited changes in customers tastes away from its usual fare of fried fatty foods and
toured broiled food and other healthier options this explanation seems a bit weak given the
popularity of other fast food chains abdows also offered an extensive breakfast buffet
but it was too easy to opt for a quick breakfast from the drive-through window of a fast food chain
hey look hey fellas you guys gonna have to order from the drive-through menu fortunately for lovers
of the Big Boy Burger and hot fudge cake a few Big Boy locations still exist such as the Bob's
Big Boy and Burbank California that continues to serve hungry tourists and locals alike
left the station the train leaves at exactly 11 o'clock we've missed it
Victoria Station was an old school restaurant chain that serves Specialties like prime rib the
best thing about it was that the restaurants were set up inside vintage railroad cars this seems
like a fun adventure without the rattling smoke and inconvenience that comes with actually taking
a train ride somewhere vintage train cars don't come cheap so even though the chain brought in a
fair number of customers Victoria Station faced more than its share of financial troubles The
Chain Saw its greatest success in the 1970s when it had more than a hundred train car locations
across America stakes and trains is an interesting combination that generated a loyal following
however because of the high operating expenses it wasn't enough to keep the trains running
towering imitation there used to be a White Castle right here in this location where is it the White
Tower chain restaurants attempt to go up against White Castle did not end well for The Pretender to
the mini hamburger Throne White Castle is well known today for its mini hamburger sliders the
slider chain sued White Tower in Michigan in 1929 arguing unfair competition White Tower
countersuit and pointed out that it was the first mini hamburger restaurant in Michigan White Castle
won the case and got control of slogans building designs and names the Victorious restaurant was
also awarded 82 thousand dollars which was a lot of money back then oh my God you're rich maybe
there was room for two competing mini hamburger chains but White Tower felt too much like a ripoff
of White Castle so it became one of the worst failed chain restaurants that no one misses
planet of the Hollywood what's the closest planet to Earth Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood had an ace up its sleeve connections to Hollywood celebrities like
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger who were investors and were slated to show up
at grand openings and drop in occasionally to Great diners Planet Hollywood locations
were stuffed with movie memorabilia that likely compelled people to visit the restaurant more
than the actual menu did the first few years of operation saw considerable success with its
stock reaching a respectable 32 dollars a share however Planet Hollywood's problems quickly
spiraled out of orbit leaving investors with nearly worthless stock valued at just 75 cents
only three years after the franchise's peak we're broke the owners tried to expand their way out of
financial trouble by opening new locations around the world which only ended up making things worse
this isn't going to be good for anyone Kenny Rogers Roasters finally open
there's an episode of the hit sitcom Seinfeld where a Kenny Rogers Roasters opens across the
street from Jerry's apartment Mayhem quickly ensues with several characters evaluating the
proceedings with the line it's not going to be good for anybody Kenny Rogers was an iconic
country music star he was the gambler but it turned out he wasn't really a restaurateur
Kenny Rogers Roasters opened its doors in 1991 and the concept of roasted chicken and sides
seemed like a winning concept it also sounds like the new chicken Chain's major competitor called
Boston chicken this competing chain expanded its menu and changed its name to Boston Market in
1995 and never looked back when you add in the long-running Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchise
to Kenny Rogers Roasters troubles you have a recipe for failure the flangeline chicken chain
served decent food that was very similar to its competition so it's not surprising that Kenny's
chicken outfit became one of the worst failed chains that no one misses looking for more Babble
top videos well we've got them so stay right here and check out one more just tap or click