Other National Chains That Are Shells Of Their Former Selfs.

Started by thenetwork, August 09, 2022, 07:47:17 PM

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SD Mapman

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 10, 2022, 12:01:28 PM
Quote from: kirbykart on September 10, 2022, 11:23:10 AM
Perkins is so much smaller than it used to be. The location in Foster Brook, PA closed recently, and that felt like one of the last ones near me. I'm doubtful even the Olean, NY location is still open today.

Still has a sizable presence in the Midwest, although they have not been invincible here either. Many were retreating from their 24/7 presence before COVID, which finished that job.
All the ones in SD/WY I've been to are still thriving; we would eat there on high school trips because they took meal vouchers and I can still go in and order the same thing and sit at the same table as when I was traveling for cross/track meets.
The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see. - G.K. Chesterton


elsmere241

We used to stop at a Perkins in Butte, MT when our cross-country trips involved I-90.  (There wasn't really another place to stop.)  Last time we were there (in 2016) we were grossed out.

There's still one in Newark, DE.

Speaking of places that seem to be going downhill - Newark, DE no longer has a Friendly's.  I worked at the one on Elkton Road from 1988-90 (I refuse to call it South Main) and at the time, Hershey had just sold Friendly's to what was then the majority owner of Perkins.  We all wondered if a merger was in the works, but it never happened.

thenetwork

Not a business on it's own, but here's a significant company that is becoming harder to find -- NTN/Buzztime Trivia.

A live trivia game that used to be plentiful in many bars and restaurants where you could play live vs. The rest of North America. NTN/Buzztime and Buffalo Wild Wings (one of NTN's largest customers) recently dissolved their relationship after nearly 30 years and seems to have lost a lot of other independent and chain establishments as well.

TheStranger

Quote from: JayhawkCO on August 11, 2022, 12:35:33 PM
Quote from: Big John on August 11, 2022, 12:31:24 PM
Shakey's pizza.  Once national but now only in California and some international locations.

Two in Washington too.

The one place where Shakey's is super prevalent is the Philippines where they are pretty common in most sizeable cities.

There are some other US chains that have more Philippines presence now than out here - Italianni's (one location left in Texas), the Hawaiian-originated Magoos Pizza, Kenny Rogers Roasters which no longer has a single US location.

---

In San Francisco, the original Swensen's ice cream parlor has operated continuously for decades; however, the national chain that sprung up from it is gone (while there are some locations franchised out in Asia).
Chris Sampang

bing101

Quote from: TheStranger on September 10, 2022, 10:02:38 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on August 11, 2022, 12:35:33 PM
Quote from: Big John on August 11, 2022, 12:31:24 PM
Shakey's pizza.  Once national but now only in California and some international locations.

Two in Washington too.

The one place where Shakey's is super prevalent is the Philippines where they are pretty common in most sizeable cities.

There are some other US chains that have more Philippines presence now than out here - Italianni's (one location left in Texas), the Hawaiian-originated Magoos Pizza, Kenny Rogers Roasters which no longer has a single US location.

---

In San Francisco, the original Swensen's ice cream parlor has operated continuously for decades; however, the national chain that sprung up from it is gone (while there are some locations franchised out in Asia).
Shakey's that pizza chain was born in Sacramento, CA originally meant for a different crowd. It was originally meant to be a hangout place for the Downtown and Sac State crowds. But the first time I went to Shakey oddly enough was inside one of the malls in the Philippines. It is a major pizza chain in Philippine malls.  Shakey's original location in Sacramento became something else.

https://web.archive.org/web/20091126002459/http://www.shakeyspizza.ph/about_us.asp

Robinsons mall was originally from Los Angeles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._W._Robinson%27s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons-May

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons_Malls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_%26_Co.

https://asyadesign.com.ph/projects/robinsons-galleria-xiamen/

But the Robinsons name have taken on a legendary status in the Philippines, Thailand and China.
The Robinsons that was born in Los Angeles and was a part of Southland Malls became rebranded as Macy's.








Rothman

Makes me wonder how recipes have changed in the lingering Asian franchises.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

TheStranger

Quote from: bing101 on September 10, 2022, 10:31:51 PM

Robinsons mall was originally from Los Angeles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._W._Robinson%27s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons-May

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons_Malls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_%26_Co.

https://asyadesign.com.ph/projects/robinsons-galleria-xiamen/

But the Robinsons name have taken on a legendary status in the Philippines, Thailand and China.
The Robinsons that was born in Los Angeles and was a part of Southland Malls became rebranded as Macy's.




The Robinsons that was founded in Asia has nothing to do at all with the California Robinsons-May.  It is a name variant of parent company Universal Robina Corporation-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Robina

Quote from: Rothman on September 11, 2022, 12:08:41 AM
Makes me wonder how recipes have changed in the lingering Asian franchises.

With Shakey's, the Mojo Potato wedges are pretty much the same as the ones here.  I think the spaghetti they serve in the Philippines location is catering to the sweet-sauce Filipino pasta style (similar to that of Jollibee).

As for the two Magoo's Pizza entities (the revived Hawaii one and the older spinoff in PH) - here's their websites to compare.

https://www.originalmagoospizza.com/

https://magoos.com/

---

Another brand with US roots that has become entirely defunct in America yet prevalent in the Philippines: the originally-from-Oakland paint company Boysen.

In that same vein, the popular Asian convenience store chain Lawson originally started out as an Ohio-based chain, before becoming more entrenched in Japan with some Philippines outposts (i.e. in Makati and Manila).  I think Lawson does have a US location in Hawaii in more recent years.
Chris Sampang

Takumi

Wimpy has been gone from the US for decades, but is still around in the UK and, primarily, South Africa.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

bing101

Quote from: TheStranger on September 11, 2022, 01:57:31 AM
Quote from: bing101 on September 10, 2022, 10:31:51 PM

Robinsons mall was originally from Los Angeles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._W._Robinson%27s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons-May

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinsons_Malls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_%26_Co.

https://asyadesign.com.ph/projects/robinsons-galleria-xiamen/

But the Robinsons name have taken on a legendary status in the Philippines, Thailand and China.
The Robinsons that was born in Los Angeles and was a part of Southland Malls became rebranded as Macy's.




The Robinsons that was founded in Asia has nothing to do at all with the California Robinsons-May.  It is a name variant of parent company Universal Robina Corporation-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Robina

Quote from: Rothman on September 11, 2022, 12:08:41 AM
Makes me wonder how recipes have changed in the lingering Asian franchises.

With Shakey's, the Mojo Potato wedges are pretty much the same as the ones here.  I think the spaghetti they serve in the Philippines location is catering to the sweet-sauce Filipino pasta style (similar to that of Jollibee).

As for the two Magoo's Pizza entities (the revived Hawaii one and the older spinoff in PH) - here's their websites to compare.

https://www.originalmagoospizza.com/

https://magoos.com/

---

Another brand with US roots that has become entirely defunct in America yet prevalent in the Philippines: the originally-from-Oakland paint company Boysen.

In that same vein, the popular Asian convenience store chain Lawson originally started out as an Ohio-based chain, before becoming more entrenched in Japan with some Philippines outposts (i.e. in Makati and Manila).  I think Lawson does have a US location in Hawaii in more recent years.
I'm shocked that Shakey's US management never thought about placing their pizza chain in known Filipino neighborhoods in California like South San Francisco/Daly City area, Vallejo, and yes it's birthplace Sacramento area. I mean Jollibee taking, or Seafood City getting the franchise rights to Shakey's in the USA. Also I never thought that Universal Robina is the parent name for Robinsons malls.
It would be interesting of Robinsons Malls came to California but that's not possible given how Amazon, Walmart, Target and eBay are big here in the USA.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JG_Summit_Holdings
Turns out that Robinsons Mall is owned by an investment company called JG Summit Holdings.

Companies like San Miguel, Ayala, SM Corporation and JG Summit are viewed in the Philippines as the biggest conglomerates and are considered as pillars of the Philippine economy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_Investments




bing101

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kmart_Australia
Kmart it used to exist in the USA but that store name has taken on legendary status in Australia. However here in the USA Kmart has been labeled as stale and outdated before they went bankrupt in the USA because of Sears Management.
Note Kmart is managed by an investment group in Australia called Wesfarmers inc.

https://www.kmart.com.au/
https://www.kmart.co.nz/
https://wesfarmers.com.au/our-businesses/kmart-group

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesfarmers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway
Wesfarmers is the Australian version of Berkshire Hathaway.



TheStranger

Quote from: bing101 on September 11, 2022, 10:01:56 AM

I'm shocked that Shakey's US management never thought about placing their pizza chain in known Filipino neighborhoods in California like South San Francisco/Daly City area, Vallejo, and yes it's birthplace Sacramento area. I mean Jollibee taking, or Seafood City getting the franchise rights to Shakey's in the USA.

Shakey's still exists in California (as a skeleton of what it was pre-2000), the only Northern California location left is in Oroville near Chico.  They did have a location in Daly City at Junipero Serra and 87th, in what is now an IHOP - I went to it during its Shakey's era in 2001, then a couple of times after that in its IHOP iteration.

Quote from: bing101 on September 11, 2022, 10:01:56 AM


It would be interesting of Robinsons Malls came to California but that's not possible given how Amazon, Walmart, Target and eBay are big here in the USA.

The climate difference between the Philippines (hot/humid or stormy) vs. most of the USA (only hot in summers) partially explains why indoor malls have way more staying power in PH than here.

There are a few PH malls that have been demolished (Uniwide Coastal Mart in Paranaque, A.venue Mall in Makate, Harrison Plaza in Manila) but of the three I just listed, two of them (Uniwide and Harrison) are slated to be replaced with new commercial developments in the near future.  Compare to the Bay Area where the Vallco mall has literally been cut down to just Benihana and a bowling alley, the Fashion Island mall was entirely replaced with big box development, and the Macarthur-Broadway mall in Oakland was demolished to make way for a Kaiser hospital.  (Hilltop is on its last legs and Tanforan's future is likely a full scale replacement with a business park).
Chris Sampang

webny99

Quote from: Rothman on September 10, 2022, 07:10:13 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 10, 2022, 04:56:42 PM
Quote from: webny99 on September 10, 2022, 03:07:50 PM
There's also still a Perkins in Mansfield, PA. That along with Olean (still open, according to Google) and Cortland are the only ones I know of around here.

The one in Newburgh (and the closest one to me in CT) looks like it's still open.
Isn't there one in Wappingers Falls?

Looks like there is one there, and one in Matamoras, PA (right near the NY line at Port Jervis).

iowahighways

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 10, 2022, 12:01:28 PM
Still has a sizable presence in the Midwest, although they have not been invincible here either. Many were retreating from their 24/7 presence before COVID, which finished that job.

Village Inn has also downsized, as they've dropped from six Des Moines-area locations to just two within the past half-decade.
The Iowa Highways Page: Now exclusively at www.iowahighways.org
The Iowa Highways Photo Gallery: www.flickr.com/photos/iowahighways/

Pink Jazz

A dish that is becoming harder to find recently is veal parmigiana. Animal cruelty issues as well as COVID-19 are leading to the dish's demise, making it hard for Italian restaurants to keep it on their menus. It's mainly the more upscale, non-chain Italian restaurants that still have it on their menus.

nexus73

A&W is a hard one to find in the original drive-in format.  In my region only two of that style remain. One is in Florence OR and the other is in Myrtle Point OR. 

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

US71

There was a small hamburger chain called Ku-Ku Drive-In, which only has one location left,
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bing101

Quote from: TheStranger on September 11, 2022, 12:27:50 PM
Quote from: bing101 on September 11, 2022, 10:01:56 AM

I'm shocked that Shakey's US management never thought about placing their pizza chain in known Filipino neighborhoods in California like South San Francisco/Daly City area, Vallejo, and yes it's birthplace Sacramento area. I mean Jollibee taking, or Seafood City getting the franchise rights to Shakey's in the USA.

Shakey's still exists in California (as a skeleton of what it was pre-2000), the only Northern California location left is in Oroville near Chico.  They did have a location in Daly City at Junipero Serra and 87th, in what is now an IHOP - I went to it during its Shakey's era in 2001, then a couple of times after that in its IHOP iteration.

Quote from: bing101 on September 11, 2022, 10:01:56 AM


It would be interesting of Robinsons Malls came to California but that's not possible given how Amazon, Walmart, Target and eBay are big here in the USA.

The climate difference between the Philippines (hot/humid or stormy) vs. most of the USA (only hot in summers) partially explains why indoor malls have way more staying power in PH than here.

There are a few PH malls that have been demolished (Uniwide Coastal Mart in Paranaque, A.venue Mall in Makate, Harrison Plaza in Manila) but of the three I just listed, two of them (Uniwide and Harrison) are slated to be replaced with new commercial developments in the near future.  Compare to the Bay Area where the Vallco mall has literally been cut down to just Benihana and a bowling alley, the Fashion Island mall was entirely replaced with big box development, and the Macarthur-Broadway mall in Oakland was demolished to make way for a Kaiser hospital.  (Hilltop is on its last legs and Tanforan's future is likely a full scale replacement with a business park).
https://abc7news.com/the-shops-at-tanforan-mall-closing-news-san-bruno/11554272/
There's another one Tanforan mall in San Bruno, CA is going to be converted into an industrial park.
There was a similar one in Sacramento where the Downtown mall was demolished to make way for the now known Golden 1 Arena for the Sacramento Kings as a ploy to keep the Kings in the Valley and to keep certain lobbyists and SuperPac staff members interested in staying in Downtown Sacramento.

TheStranger

Quote from: bing101 on September 12, 2022, 12:56:21 PM

There's another one Tanforan mall in San Bruno, CA is going to be converted into an industrial park.

I already referred to that in my post.  No closure date for the mall has been announced yet, nor has there been word of if any of the existing tenants will get to stay.

Quote from: bing101 on September 12, 2022, 12:56:21 PM

There was a similar one in Sacramento where the Downtown mall was demolished to make way for the now known Golden 1 Arena for the Sacramento Kings as a ploy to keep the Kings in the Valley and to keep certain lobbyists and SuperPac staff members interested in staying in Downtown Sacramento.


Half of that shopping complex was retained even after the arena was built, and renamed Downtown Commons.

A much better example of an indoor mall being completely removed in the Sacramento area is Florin Mall, which started to lose shops in the 90s and finally was converted to the big-box Florin Town Center ca. 2009.
Chris Sampang

TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: iowahighways on September 11, 2022, 10:50:11 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 10, 2022, 12:01:28 PM
Still has a sizable presence in the Midwest, although they have not been invincible here either. Many were retreating from their 24/7 presence before COVID, which finished that job.

Village Inn has also downsized, as they've dropped from six Des Moines-area locations to just two within the past half-decade.

I could see a future where many of these greasy spoon chain diners become 6-3 type places, severely reducing or even entirely dropping the dinner menu that likely doesn't make a lot of sales compared to the breakfast and lunch offerings. IHOP has infamously tried for decades to sell themselves as more than just an all-day breakfast hub, but that's just what people want when they go to places like that.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Rothman

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 12, 2022, 01:58:32 PM
Quote from: iowahighways on September 11, 2022, 10:50:11 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 10, 2022, 12:01:28 PM
Still has a sizable presence in the Midwest, although they have not been invincible here either. Many were retreating from their 24/7 presence before COVID, which finished that job.

Village Inn has also downsized, as they've dropped from six Des Moines-area locations to just two within the past half-decade.

I could see a future where many of these greasy spoon chain diners become 6-3 type places, severely reducing or even entirely dropping the dinner menu that likely doesn't make a lot of sales compared to the breakfast and lunch offerings. IHOP has infamously tried for decades to sell themselves as more than just an all-day breakfast hub, but that's just what people want when they go to places like that.
Pie.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

abefroman329

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 12, 2022, 01:58:32 PM
Quote from: iowahighways on September 11, 2022, 10:50:11 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 10, 2022, 12:01:28 PM
Still has a sizable presence in the Midwest, although they have not been invincible here either. Many were retreating from their 24/7 presence before COVID, which finished that job.

Village Inn has also downsized, as they've dropped from six Des Moines-area locations to just two within the past half-decade.

I could see a future where many of these greasy spoon chain diners become 6-3 type places, severely reducing or even entirely dropping the dinner menu that likely doesn't make a lot of sales compared to the breakfast and lunch offerings. IHOP has infamously tried for decades to sell themselves as more than just an all-day breakfast hub, but that's just what people want when they go to places like that.
You mean IHOB?

TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: Rothman on September 12, 2022, 02:59:16 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 12, 2022, 01:58:32 PM
Quote from: iowahighways on September 11, 2022, 10:50:11 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 10, 2022, 12:01:28 PM
Still has a sizable presence in the Midwest, although they have not been invincible here either. Many were retreating from their 24/7 presence before COVID, which finished that job.

Village Inn has also downsized, as they've dropped from six Des Moines-area locations to just two within the past half-decade.

I could see a future where many of these greasy spoon chain diners become 6-3 type places, severely reducing or even entirely dropping the dinner menu that likely doesn't make a lot of sales compared to the breakfast and lunch offerings. IHOP has infamously tried for decades to sell themselves as more than just an all-day breakfast hub, but that's just what people want when they go to places like that.
Pie.

What about it? You can get it any time of day, not just after 3 PM. Or take it home and eat it later. Pie on its own won't keep the lights on at night.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Rothman

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 12, 2022, 05:20:44 PM
Quote from: Rothman on September 12, 2022, 02:59:16 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 12, 2022, 01:58:32 PM
Quote from: iowahighways on September 11, 2022, 10:50:11 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on September 10, 2022, 12:01:28 PM
Still has a sizable presence in the Midwest, although they have not been invincible here either. Many were retreating from their 24/7 presence before COVID, which finished that job.

Village Inn has also downsized, as they've dropped from six Des Moines-area locations to just two within the past half-decade.

I could see a future where many of these greasy spoon chain diners become 6-3 type places, severely reducing or even entirely dropping the dinner menu that likely doesn't make a lot of sales compared to the breakfast and lunch offerings. IHOP has infamously tried for decades to sell themselves as more than just an all-day breakfast hub, but that's just what people want when they go to places like that.
Pie.

What about it? You can get it any time of day, not just after 3 PM. Or take it home and eat it later. Pie on its own won't keep the lights on at night.
Nope.  Pie keeps Village Inn alive.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

webny99

Quote from: nexus73 on September 12, 2022, 10:24:39 AM
A&W is a hard one to find in the original drive-in format.  In my region only two of that style remain. One is in Florence OR and the other is in Myrtle Point OR. 

Cortland, NY, which came up earlier in regards to Perkins, also still has an old style drive-in A&W.

TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: webny99 on September 12, 2022, 10:27:31 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on September 12, 2022, 10:24:39 AM
A&W is a hard one to find in the original drive-in format.  In my region only two of that style remain. One is in Florence OR and the other is in Myrtle Point OR. 

Cortland, NY, which came up earlier in regards to Perkins, also still has an old style drive-in A&W.

MN has a few drive-in operations still remaining, including two I've personally used in Faribault and Pine City.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running



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