Defunct restaurant chains and retailers

[roadman65]

Valles Steakhouse was a chain in two markets.  I was in CT and MA as well as Richmond/ Northern VA.

York was a spread out with sparse locations as I remember. NJ had one in East Brunswick and on I Drive in Orlando was two of them.

Then in both Lake George, NY and Orlando, FL had the Red Coach Grill had only two stores.  The one in NY was on US 9 near the current Six Flags park, and the other is now the TGI Fridays across from Universal on Kirkman Road.

China Coast was a failed attempt by Darden that tried to be a chain Chinese restaurant outlet, but failed within two years of conception.  Its first store was on I Drive in Orlando as was the first Olive Garden that now moved up the street. 

Olive Garden Breakfast's are defunct as Darden tried it out in four FL Stores and pulled the plug on them before expanding to all locations.

[cpzilliacus]

I felt the same way about Roy Rogers when their only locations were on Turnpikes.  Just about any burger patty can be slapped on any roll.

There were always some non-turnpike Roy Rogers in Maryland and Virginia, even after most had been sold to McDonald's and converted to same.

[thenetwork]

There were several Lum's in the Detroit area, along with at least one Farrell's.

I recall there being at least one Lum's in Toledo, but there may have been more.
There was a Farrell's in one of the malls.

The Farrell's in Detroit I'm familiar with was the one on Telegraph Road at Schoolcraft Road (Before I-96 was completed).  And it was right in the shadows of the 'futuristic-looking" Topps Department Store with the giant arch over it's entrance.

In the Toy Sore Department:  Children's Palace & Lionel Kiddie City.

In Restaurants: The Red Barn.  Many of the old Red Barn restaurants which were made to look like a big, red barn are still standing in NE Ohio, converted into other restaurants -- Chinese, Rib Shacks, etc -- and 2 around Akron were converted into drive-thru car washes!!!

[thenetwork]

Hasting's is going out of business now. Not sure when they're gonna close, but right now they're clearing out their stores and everything is 60-80% off.

Last I heard was the end of October,

The one in my area closed yesterday. 

[jp the roadgeek]

Valles Steakhouse was a chain in two markets.  I was in CT and MA as well as Richmond/ Northern VA.

Then in both Lake George, NY and Orlando, FL had the Red Coach Grill had only two stores.  The one in NY was on US 9 near the current Six Flags park, and the other is now the TGI Fridays across from Universal on Kirkman Road.

I remember the Valles in Hartford, CT.  It is now part of a local chain called the USS Chowder Pot

I also seem to recall eating at a Red Coach Grill in Wethersfield, CT when I was young.  It became the location for another Boston area chain that has since become defunct: Piccadilly Pub.

Another one that is all but defunct now is Bickford's.  They took over a few HoJo's in my area, then all but disappeared when they moved away from a Denny's/IHOP type concept to a grill restaurant (looks like there's 4 left in the Boston suburbs).

[1995hoo]

I felt the same way about Roy Rogers when their only locations were on Turnpikes.  Just about any burger patty can be slapped on any roll.

There were always some non-turnpike Roy Rogers in Maryland and Virginia, even after most had been sold to McDonald's and converted to same.

I believe you've misattributed the quotes, as I would never have made the comment about turnpikes (seeing as how one of the Roy's locations is just over a mile from my house).

[jeffandnicole]

I felt the same way about Roy Rogers when their only locations were on Turnpikes.  Just about any burger patty can be slapped on any roll.

There were always some non-turnpike Roy Rogers in Maryland and Virginia, even after most had been sold to McDonald's and converted to same.

I believe you've misattributed the quotes, as I would never have made the comment about turnpikes (seeing as how one of the Roy's locations is just over a mile from my house).

Yep - I'm the one that made that comment originally.

[capt.ron]

Stuckeys... may not be totally defunct but not as widespread as they used to be. On a trip to / from California, they were a dime a dozen all along I-40 beginning in Oklahoma heading west. I went west to Cali along I-40 / US 66 and didn't remember seeing one.
Bob's Big Boy
TG&Y
Gemco
Alco
May Company (I remembered the department store in Buena Park Mall back in the day (1980 ))
Fed-Mart (Food / variety store popular on the west coast, extending into the high plains)
Andy's restaurant (not to be confused with Andy's Frozen Custard)... used to see these quite often now they are few and far between. Several in Arkansas are still in operation.
Minute man

[roadman]

Valles Steakhouse was a chain in two markets.  I was in CT and MA as well as Richmond/ Northern VA.
York was a spread out with sparse locations as I remember. NJ had one in East Brunswick and on I Drive in Orlando was two of them.

There's a restaurant at the I-93/River Road interchange in Andover (MA) that's been there since the mid-1960s.  At one point, it was a Valles, at another point it was a York Steak House (my parents and I used to eat there often on trips back from Manchester when it was both).  After several years as a comedy club, it is now an independent restaurant part of a local chain called the Chateau.

[spooky]

Valles Steakhouse was a chain in two markets.  I was in CT and MA as well as Richmond/ Northern VA.
York was a spread out with sparse locations as I remember. NJ had one in East Brunswick and on I Drive in Orlando was two of them.

There's a restaurant at the I-93/River Road interchange in Andover (MA) that's been there since the mid-1960s.  At one point, it was a Valles, at another point it was a York Steak House (my parents and I used to eat there often on trips back from Manchester when it was both).  After several years as a comedy club, it is now an independent restaurant called the Chateau.

The Chateau is a local chain.

[cpzilliacus]

Valles Steakhouse was a chain in two markets.  I was in CT and MA as well as Richmond/ Northern VA.

There was also a Valles along I-270 in Montgomery County, Maryland.

[Rothman]

Stuckeys... may not be totally defunct but not as widespread as they used to be. On a trip to / from California, they were a dime a dozen all along I-40 beginning in Oklahoma heading west.

When I was a kid (late 1970s, early 1980s), it seemed like there was one at every interstate exit in the South.  My grandmother loved their pecan rolls and had us stop at them frequently.  It was sad to see them close, almost en masse.  I believe their last ditch effort to stay alive was to co-locate with Dairy Queens.

There was one that was part of a gas station in Breezewood.  Got my parents a pecan roll once on the way through.  They picked at it for a while for the memory and then threw the disgusting thing away.

[roadman]

Stuckeys... may not be totally defunct but not as widespread as they used to be. On a trip to / from California, they were a dime a dozen all along I-40 beginning in Oklahoma heading west.

When I was a kid (late 1970s, early 1980s), it seemed like there was one at every interstate exit in the South.  My grandmother loved their pecan rolls and had us stop at them frequently.  It was sad to see them close, almost en masse.  I believe their last ditch effort to stay alive was to co-locate with Dairy Queens.

There was one that was part of a gas station in Breezewood.  Got my parents a pecan roll once on the way through.  They picked at it for a while for the memory and then threw the disgusting thing away.

Reminds me of the one and only time (1971) my parents stopped at a Stuckey's in Virginia.  They needed gas, and were enticed by both the per-gallon price and the "Free Box of Pecan Rolls with 10 Gallon Purchase" signs.  I still remember my parents commenting how the pecan rolls were truly awful.  I also remember how the car's performance suffered until the Stuckey's gas was eventually flushed out of the system by subsequent fill-ups with good gasoline.

[cjk374]

TG&Y: kinda like a mini Wal-Mart.

Murphy's: mini Wal-Mart with a cafe' inside.

OTASCO (Oklahoma Tire & Service Co.)

K&B Drugs: ours became Rite-Aid

A & P Grocery Stores: at least here in the South

Western Auto: at least 1 store in downtown Minden, LA still has the iconic sign and is open.

[cl94]

Alright...

- Carvel (mentioned by a few) still exists, mainly in the NYC metro area
- I remember when the Red Coach in Queensbury (NOT Lake George, thank you very much) closed. Bought by Six Flags and turned into a Johnny Rockets.
- Ground Round still exists, mainly in smaller New England-area cities. Binghamton, Plattsburgh and Bangor have locations, among several others.
- Howard Johnson's, as of last month, has only the Lake George location. Bangor closed around Labor Day.
- Hardee's pulled out of the NE a decade or two ago, but they're making a comeback. One semi-recently opened in Kingston, NY.
- Ames. Anyone else remember Ames? Discount store similar to Kmart in the northeast.
- Grand Union Supermarkets. These were ubiquitous in small towns of eastern Upstate and Vermont. Most became Tops locations, larger ones in more-developed areas often became Hannafords.
- Super Kmart. Queensbury had one of the last ones. It was like the Walmart Supercenters.
- Big Boy still exists, at least out west and in parts of the Midwest. The PA franchise became Eat N Park and the SE franchise became Shoney's.
- Big Bear supermarkets. They closed shortly after I moved to Columbus for a couple of years.
- Caldor - discount department store in the Northeast.
- Filene's - department store
- Lauriat's - regional bookstore chain based in Boston. My father was a regional manager when it went under in the late 90s.

[gilpdawg]

Hasting's is going out of business now. Not sure when they're gonna close, but right now they're clearing out their stores and everything is 60-80% off.

Last I heard was the end of October,

My local store closed yesterday.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Happy Chef (family dining chain in MN and IA). There was one location left on the north side of Mankato, MN, but that one's future was uncertain as its owners were trying to sell ahead of a lengthy total shutdown of US 169 for reconstruction.

[wanderer2575]

Steak and Ale and Bennigans. 

Its a shame that no one tried to take them over as both used to be good.  Pillsbury, the original owner did a great job with them, but the company they sold them too ran them into the ground.

The S&A location near me sat empty for some years, then someone bought it, partially revamped the outdoor sign that had been left, and reopened it as Steak & Tavern.  My wife and I ate there a couple times.  The food was good but they never seemed to have their act together operationally.  One visit they couldn't figure out how to make us side salads so they told us to go help ourselves to the salad bar, gratis.  Another time I stopped in to buy gift cards and it took three of the staff 20 minutes to figure out how to handle that transaction.  Not surprisingly, they didn't last more than a couple years and the building again has been sitting empty for years.

[TravelingBethelite]

For where I am, I can think of 4:

Bennigan's (as mentioned above)

Loew's Theaters anyone? (got bought out by AMC, converted to AMC sometime in 2006/7/8)

A & P Supermarket (closest one to me closed 4+ years ago)

Texaco (the one in my town was closed and turned into a Shell ~10 years ago)

[Takumi]

Speaking of theaters, is Cineplex Odeon still around? We had one when Southpark Mall first opened, but it became a Regal by the mid 90s.

[74/171FAN]

Speaking of theaters, is Cineplex Odeon still around? We had one when Southpark Mall first opened, but it became a Regal by the mid 90s.

I am definitely too young to remember that one.  My parents at times though mention taking me to a place called Chi Chi's.  (I am unsure that is spelled right.)

[1995hoo]

Cineplex Odeon facilities are now branded as AMC, at least in the USA.

Regarding Steak and Ale, we had a couple of those around here. Once upon a time they were called the Jolly Ox due to a Virginia law prohibiting using the name of an alcoholic beverage in the business's name. Supposedly the location on Maple Avenue in Vienna was the place where a then-unknown Bruce Hornsby was playing when Huey Lewis came in for dinner, enjoyed the music, and put him in touch with an agent.

[Takumi]

Speaking of theaters, is Cineplex Odeon still around? We had one when Southpark Mall first opened, but it became a Regal by the mid 90s.

I am definitely too young to remember that one.  My parents at times though mention taking me to a place called Chi Chi's.  (I am unsure that is spelled right.)

It is. It was where the now-shuttered Lone Star is on Temple.

[golden eagle]

As far as retail goes, I'm surprised no one mentioned Montgomery Ward's, Woolworth's and Woolco. Other defunct retailers I recall:

Service Merchandise
Gateway Country
HQ
B. Dalton (bought out by Barnes & Noble)
Zayre's (jewelry store, not to be confused with Zales)
Chess King
Sam Goody/Musicland
Discovery Zone
Gayfer's
D.H. Holmes
McRae's (bought by Belk)


Restaurants:

Shoney's (maybe not completely dead)
Morrison's Cafeteria (also may not be completely dead)

That's all I can think of about restaurants.

Is Delchamp's still around? It was primarily a Gulf Coast regional supermarket.

[roadman]

Zayre's was also a department store chain in Massachusetts.