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Defunct restaurant chains and retailers

Started by Stephane Dumas, September 05, 2016, 03:33:50 PM

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Brandon

There's also,

Chi-Chi's
Bill Knapp's
Bresser's 33 Flavors (ice cream)
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg


kphoger

Quote from: Brandon on September 27, 2016, 03:50:07 PM
Bill Knapp's

Whoa, that freaked me out.  I'd never heard of the chain before, but my wife's grandfather was named Bill Knapp.  He died a few years ago.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

kphoger

Quote from: Brandon on September 27, 2016, 03:50:07 PM
Chi-Chi's

I have fond memories of eating at Chi-Chi's when I was a kid.  And finding caterpillars outside while waiting for our table.  Apparently, there are still Chi-Chi's restaurants in six countries.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

slorydn1

2 Places I worked as a teen/young adult are consigned to the dustbin of history:

Handy Andy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handy_Andy_Home_Improvement_Center

Dominick's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick%27s

The Handy Andy I worked at in Hanover Park, IL was a big one, we had everything. I started out in the paint department and ended up in the hardware section before that summer was over (1985).

The Dominick's I worked at was originally a Kohl's supermarket so we had that distinctive Kohl's arched roof design. The store was at the corner of Roselle Rd and Weathersfield Way in Schaumburg, Il. It closed and was torn down not long after I left the area, the store, actually the whole strip mall it was in was sinking into the ground.
I still keep in contact with a few people that I worked with there 30 years ago.
Please Note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of any governmental agency, non-governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency or wanna be governmental agency

Counties: Counties Visited

noelbotevera

Bloom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_(store)
They had stores in the Northeast, and I remember going to one in Maryland as part of a bit of shopping. They had mini-tablets meant to help you buy and ID things and was an early experiment at that kind of technology.

roadman65

What ever happened to the original Lums Restaurant?  I remember them as a kid all over Central Florida.  I did hear something that they left one or two in the Boca Raton Area, but it might be a new owner or one trying to resemble the old concept.

Then we have Sambos that resembled today's Dennys.  Of course typical social issues got that restaurant to close.  They were all over Florida and pretty good diner style food as I remember.

Arthur Treachers.  Miami Subs tried to bring them back, but folded.

Bojangles?  I know they closed em all here in Orlando, but I have no idea if the overall chain is still operating stores in other markets.

Wataburger here in Orlando.  I was told by a patron in the Winghouse Bar I hang out in that they only made money operating at one Orlando location so it was not even feasible to keep the only one gold mine open and closed all of this area's location.  That may have merit as Wawa only starting featuring Pretzels until after a certain amount of stores opened in Orlando due to the making verses delivering costs did not warrant it for the first ten stores or so.

The Ground Round in NJ.  They took over some of the former Howard Johnson Restaurants and were big in the mid 80's for a small regional chain.  When I left in 1990 they had only a couple left and I think in 1993, during a visit to NJ, I saw only one then. 

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

1995hoo

As of a few months ago there was a Bojangle's in the Charlottesville area. Don't know whether anything has changed since then.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

roadman65

 There was a regional chain called Chesapeake Bay Seafood House in Northern VA and Southeast PA.  Apparently in 2009 there was only one left in the Potomac Mills shopping center area, and the manager confirmed that they closed em all but kept theirs.

Of course that was 7 years ago, and a lot can happen even in a few weeks. :sombrero:
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

jeffandnicole

Quote from: roadman65 on September 28, 2016, 09:28:24 AM
Arthur Treachers.  Miami Subs tried to bring them back, but folded.
They exist, but just in a dozen or so locations.

Quote
Bojangles?  I know they closed em all here in Orlando, but I have no idea if the overall chain is still operating stores in other markets.

Must not have been the right market for them.  They have over 600 restaurants, and they are accessible from seemingly every other exit on 95 between Florida and Virginia.  (Per their website, there are 4 in Florida)  They also sponsor a NASCAR race in NC as well.

QuoteThe Ground Round in NJ.  They took over some of the former Howard Johnson Restaurants and were big in the mid 80's for a small regional chain.  When I left in 1990 they had only a couple left and I think in 1993, during a visit to NJ, I saw only one then. 

Some former franchisees have brought the chain back to life.  They have locations scattered about from the Northeast to the Central regions of the US.  Not all of these revamped locations have been successful, as some have closed down.

Rothman

The Ground Rounds I've been aware of (in Hadley, MA a long time ago and Schenectady, NY more recently), have all closed.  The one in Schenectady has sat vacant with a for sale sign for years.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

PHLBOS

Gino's hamburger joints; although such was resurrected circa 2010 but only 2 stores in MD (Towson & Glen Burnie) remain.  The King of Prussia, PA location closed on July 9, 2013.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

jwolfer

Quote from: roadman65 on September 28, 2016, 09:28:24 AM
What ever happened to the original Lums Restaurant?  I remember them as a kid all over Central Florida.  I did hear something that they left one or two in the Boca Raton Area, but it might be a new owner or one trying to resemble the old concept.

Then we have Sambos that resembled today's Dennys.  Of course typical social issues got that restaurant to close.  They were all over Florida and pretty good diner style food as I remember.

Arthur Treachers.  Miami Subs tried to bring them back, but folded.

Bojangles?  I know they closed em all here in Orlando, but I have no idea if the overall chain is still operating stores in other markets.

Wataburger here in Orlando.  I was told by a patron in the Winghouse Bar I hang out in that they only made money operating at one Orlando location so it was not even feasible to keep the only one gold mine open and closed all of this area's location.  That may have merit as Wawa only starting featuring Pretzels until after a certain amount of stores opened in Orlando due to the making verses delivering costs did not warrant it for the first ten stores or so.

The Ground Round in NJ.  They took over some of the former Howard Johnson Restaurants and were big in the mid 80's for a small regional chain.  When I left in 1990 they had only a couple left and I think in 1993, during a visit to NJ, I saw only one then.
Bojangles franchisor for Orlando didn't do well from what I understand.. several Jacksonville locations remain.

Fazolis had that happen.. individual locations in Jax did well but the franchisor did not do well with other business ventures and folded

roadman65

Quote from: PHLBOS on September 28, 2016, 01:20:07 PM
Gino's hamburger joints; although such was resurrected circa 2010 but only 2 stores in MD (Towson & Glen Burnie) remain.  The King of Prussia, PA location closed on July 9, 2013.
I always remembered them and their jingle "Gino's gives you freedom of choice, Gino's gives your freedom of choice, come on everybody lets rejoice as Gino's gives you freedom of choice" plus in NJ as well as MD and PA, they were the retailers for KFC back in the 70's as we used to go to the Clark, NJ Ginos for a bucket of chicken my mom would say.

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Brandon

Quote from: Rothman on September 28, 2016, 01:11:32 PM
The Ground Rounds I've been aware of (in Hadley, MA a long time ago and Schenectady, NY more recently), have all closed.  The one in Schenectady has sat vacant with a for sale sign for years.

There's a fair number of open ones, such as Grand Forks, ND.

Ground Round started as a new dining concept by Howard Johnson's, and outlived the parent company.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

PHLBOS

Quote from: roadman65 on September 28, 2016, 01:43:13 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 28, 2016, 01:20:07 PM
Gino's hamburger joints; although such was resurrected circa 2010 but only 2 stores in MD (Towson & Glen Burnie) remain.  The King of Prussia, PA location closed on July 9, 2013.
I always remembered them and their jingle "Gino's gives you freedom of choice, Gino's gives your freedom of choice, come on everybody lets rejoice as Gino's gives you freedom of choice" plus in NJ as well as MD and PA, they were the retailers for KFC back in the 70's as we used to go to the Clark, NJ Ginos for a bucket of chicken my mom would say.
Gino's was in eastern Massachusetts as well during the 70s.  Like Jack-in-the-Box, Gino's disappeared from the Bay State during the mid-70s.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

noelbotevera

DEB. It was a clothing store brand that later closed just last year. I did spot some locations but never found any. They're now an online business.

Kids R Us. One location that I used to visit was the New York location in Times Square. I loved it just because it had a train set. I believe it was still open when I last visited New York, in 2015.

Circuit City. I visited the Hagerstown, Maryland location quite a bit to buy some of the electronics that I have. I think I bought two Nintendo DS' there.

CompUSA. I don't ever recall visiting this, but I believe this is where we got our second desktop in 2003, prior to me being born. I assume they had a store in Fayetteville NC, as we visited Fayetteville quite often.

Blockbuster Video. MAN THAT PLACE I LOVED. We went to our local Blockbuster, which was in Chambersburg. I bought a crap ton of games for the Nintendo DS there, while my dad bought DVDs there. It closed sometime in 2011.

Borders. My dad bought a lot of books there for his large library. I loved it because I could read books and buy food (this was the Hagerstown, MD location - they had a cafe attached to it).

jp the roadgeek

Quote from: Brandon on September 28, 2016, 01:49:09 PM
Quote from: Rothman on September 28, 2016, 01:11:32 PM
The Ground Rounds I've been aware of (in Hadley, MA a long time ago and Schenectady, NY more recently), have all closed.  The one in Schenectady has sat vacant with a for sale sign for years.

There's a fair number of open ones, such as Grand Forks, ND.

Ground Round started as a new dining concept by Howard Johnson's, and outlived the parent company.

The ones in CT are long gone.  The one in Plainville, CT was torn down and a Walgreens built on site.  The one in Rocky Hill is now part of the local chain Wood n Tap.  Looks like Arthur Treacher's only exists on Long Island and in northeast Ohio.  About 12 years ago, it seems Quizno's were popping up all around here.  Now there's 2 left in the state (Hartford and Orange).  Quizno's and Krispy Kreme were failed attempts of companies from outside the region trying to infringe on the home turf of Subway and Dunkin.  And all the Ponderosas, Bonanzas, and Bennigans are gone.  Surprisingly, Golden Corral hasn't  really hasn't made inroads to replace the steakhouse/buffet niche in these parts; their only New England location is in Springfield, MA.
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

noelbotevera

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 28, 2016, 04:25:28 PM
Quote from: Brandon on September 28, 2016, 01:49:09 PM
Quote from: Rothman on September 28, 2016, 01:11:32 PM
The Ground Rounds I've been aware of (in Hadley, MA a long time ago and Schenectady, NY more recently), have all closed.  The one in Schenectady has sat vacant with a for sale sign for years.

There's a fair number of open ones, such as Grand Forks, ND.

Ground Round started as a new dining concept by Howard Johnson's, and outlived the parent company.

The ones in CT are long gone.  The one in Plainville, CT was torn down and a Walgreens built on site.  The one in Rocky Hill is now part of the local chain Wood n Tap.  Looks like Arthur Treacher's only exists on Long Island and in northeast Ohio.  About 12 years ago, it seems Quizno's were popping up all around here.  Now there's 2 left in the state (Hartford and Orange).  Quizno's and Krispy Kreme were failed attempts of companies from outside the region trying to infringe on the home turf of Subway and Dunkin.  And all the Ponderosas, Bonanzas, and Bennigans are gone.  Surprisingly, Golden Corral hasn't  really hasn't made inroads to replace the steakhouse/buffet niche in these parts; their only New England location is in Springfield, MA.
Quizno's failed down here too. The Hagerstown MD locations folded after a short six years, and Golden Corral has one location that I know of, also in Hagerstown. Went to both, both were bad. Quizno's got replaced by a mom and pop pizza shop.

Brandon

Quote from: noelbotevera on September 28, 2016, 03:57:27 PM
Kids R Us. One location that I used to visit was the New York location in Times Square. I loved it just because it had a train set. I believe it was still open when I last visited New York, in 2015.

Kids R Us basically got folded back into Toys R Us and Babies R Us.  Back in the early 1980s, Toys R Us used to have a clothing section for kids and infants.  These were later split off into their own store, Kids R Us.  The concept last quite a while, but the older kids clothing is back at TRU while the successor store for KRU is BRU, but without the older kids' stuff.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

vdeane

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 28, 2016, 04:25:28 PM
Quote from: Brandon on September 28, 2016, 01:49:09 PM
Quote from: Rothman on September 28, 2016, 01:11:32 PM
The Ground Rounds I've been aware of (in Hadley, MA a long time ago and Schenectady, NY more recently), have all closed.  The one in Schenectady has sat vacant with a for sale sign for years.

There's a fair number of open ones, such as Grand Forks, ND.

Ground Round started as a new dining concept by Howard Johnson's, and outlived the parent company.

The ones in CT are long gone.  The one in Plainville, CT was torn down and a Walgreens built on site.  The one in Rocky Hill is now part of the local chain Wood n Tap.  Looks like Arthur Treacher's only exists on Long Island and in northeast Ohio.  About 12 years ago, it seems Quizno's were popping up all around here.  Now there's 2 left in the state (Hartford and Orange).  Quizno's and Krispy Kreme were failed attempts of companies from outside the region trying to infringe on the home turf of Subway and Dunkin.  And all the Ponderosas, Bonanzas, and Bennigans are gone.  Surprisingly, Golden Corral hasn't  really hasn't made inroads to replace the steakhouse/buffet niche in these parts; their only New England location is in Springfield, MA.
I honestly don't get why anyone would prefer Dunkin to Krispy Kreme.  Of course, that might be because I was in elementary school in the height of the Krispy Kreme boom.  I honestly don't remember Dunkin being that popular when I was growing up; nobody in their right mind would have dared brought Dunkin donuts to a kid's birthday party at school, but just about everyone brought Krispy Kreme!
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

noelbotevera

Quote from: Brandon on September 28, 2016, 05:36:18 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on September 28, 2016, 03:57:27 PM
Kids R Us. One location that I used to visit was the New York location in Times Square. I loved it just because it had a train set. I believe it was still open when I last visited New York, in 2015.

Kids R Us basically got folded back into Toys R Us and Babies R Us.  Back in the early 1980s, Toys R Us used to have a clothing section for kids and infants.  These were later split off into their own store, Kids R Us.  The concept last quite a while, but the older kids clothing is back at TRU while the successor store for KRU is BRU, but without the older kids' stuff.
Yes, I believe that after KRU that some former KRU's became TRU and BRU. Case in point: the Hagerstown MD location is a TRU and BRU, but was just a TRU and once a KRU for a brief time until the shift to BRU.

roadman65

Pizza Hut if defunct in Houma, LA.  I was there visiting a friend three times and saw the abandoned buildings (remember Pizza Hut had the same style buildings at first) at various locations througout the city.  Locals there said locals were not into Pizza as much as Cajun food.

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

noelbotevera

Quote from: roadman65 on September 28, 2016, 08:00:29 PM
Pizza Hut if defunct in Houma, LA.  I was there visiting a friend three times and saw the abandoned buildings (remember Pizza Hut had the same style buildings at first) at various locations througout the city.  Locals there said locals were not into Pizza as much as Cajun food.
Pizza Hut is more popular in the Northeast. I have at least two in my town.

andrepoiy


GCrites

One of the last Arthur Treacher's in my area was in Lancaster OH. It was a biker bar-b-q for a while and now is being turned into Chipotle's first location of their expansion into burgers, Tasty Made.



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