Roadside chains with at least one foot in the grave

[kkt]

I used to like Friendly's, but haven't been to the east coast in about 7 years to see what they're like now.  I liked that you could get a meal and then a sundae made pretty much any size and any way at the same restaurant.  Around Seattle, places that make a variety of sundaes with different flavors and toppings generally don't serve meals too.

Farrell's was great, but even longer ago.

The A&W locations that are shared with KFC are really poor.  I like the A&W burgers and floats, but I'm finding that I really dislike the smell of chicken frying, and the service seems uniformly poor.  In BC and Alberta there are still lots of standalone A&Ws, that was a treat on our Yellowknife trip three years ago.

[hm insulators]

[/quote]

I know that Culver's has some kind of table service (perhaps like Steak-n-Shake?), but I've always taken my Culver's orders to-go. And so I think of them more as a high-end fast food place–whereas I consider Friendly's to be a sit-down restaurant. Since Culver's has added veggie burgers nearly chain wide, and with their great frozen custard desserts, they can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. I'd like to see Culver's nationwide...and yet part of me would regret losing the magic of making a cross country road trip and looking forward to entering "Culver's territory" .
[/quote]

Your wish might be coming true; several Culver's have opened in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area recently.

[briantroutman]

Whatever happened to Kenny Rogers' Roasters?  Last one I saw was in a food court, part of a 3-in-1 with Arthur Treacher's and Nathan's.

He knew when to fold 'em.

Thanks–there have been few times I've actually laughed as a result of a post.

No, really, he parlayed the profits into the Kenny's Ice Cream Parlor franchise.

[hm insulators]

But does anyone remember Farrell's ice cream?  This was a themed, old-time ice cream parlor.  A signature item was the multi-scoop "Zoo"; they sounded a loud bell and drum whenever someone ordered one. (A New York chain called Jahn's did something similar when you ordered a "Kitchen Sink".)  If you could eat a Zoo yourself, you received a button reading "I made a pig of myself at Farrell's".  Once located here-and-there throughout the country, their website indicates only 3 left, all in Southern California.

There used to be one, and it may still be there, a Farrell's in Santa Clarita. Some years back, my friend's son Andrew had his 14th birthday party there. They had the drum, the bells and the song for when he blew out the candles in his ice cream. The poor kid was so embarrassed!

[spooky]

The A&W locations that are shared with KFC are really poor.  I like the A&W burgers and floats, but I'm finding that I really dislike the smell of chicken frying, and the service seems uniformly poor.  In BC and Alberta there are still lots of standalone A&Ws, that was a treat on our Yellowknife trip three years ago.

I actually liked the A&W/KFC combo locations, because you could get KFC with a real A&W root beer. Unfortunately, the one near my office lasted a year at most.

[corco]

The A&W locations that are shared with KFC are really poor.  I like the A&W burgers and floats, but I'm finding that I really dislike the smell of chicken frying, and the service seems uniformly poor.  In BC and Alberta there are still lots of standalone A&Ws, that was a treat on our Yellowknife trip three years ago.

A&W Canada is a completely separate, unaffiliated company from the company that has restaurants in the USA. Their food is much better.

[OCGuy81]

I've seen Red Lobster mentioned here, but I think another Darden restaurant is in decline even more.  I've seen recently remodeled Red Lobsters, but the same investment doesn't appear to be getting made in Olive Garden, and perhaps for good reason.

I haven't been there in many years, but yesterday my co-workers wanted to go there for lunch. I got the unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. Turns out my limit was about 3 bites of each. Salad was 3 pieces of wilted lettuce, a pound of cheese and 50 croutons. Soup was gnocchi and chicken but it tasted like clam chowder. Breadsticks were basically salt delivery systems. I could have eaten a salt cube from the feed store instead.

[Brian556]

I honestly think the number of fast food restaurants that serve unhealthy food will decline. People are becoming more health-conscious, partially the more intelligent and educated. Theses people do not want typical unhealthy fast food.

I think we will see new chains with healthier fast food pop up, and the traditional places like McDonalds will become less common in higher income areas, and be more relegated to lower income areas.

There is currently a huge demand that is not being filled by the restaurant industry. A lot of people want healthy or remotely healthy fast food, and nobody's doing that.

Cafeterias filled that need in a lot of ways in the past, but unfortunately they died out. They really need to be brought back.

The biggest reason for the excessive consumption of unhealthy foods is that families are no longer together, and women are no longer in the kitchen cooking proper meals for their families.

We need something to replace that. We need restaurants that provide mamma's home cookin' at a reasonable price, and without tipping.
Rather than having a server, I'd rather order and pay at the counter, and have them holler at me when it's done, and get up and pick it up myself.

[jeffandnicole]

I honestly think the number of fast food restaurants that serve unhealthy food will decline. People are becoming more health-conscious, partially the more intelligent and educated. Theses people do not want typical unhealthy fast food.

I think we will see new chains with healthier fast food pop up, and the traditional places like McDonalds will become less common in higher income areas, and be more relegated to lower income areas.

There is currently a huge demand that is not being filled by the restaurant industry. A lot of people want healthy or remotely healthy fast food, and nobody's doing that.

Cafeterias filled that need in a lot of ways in the past, but unfortunately they died out. They really need to be brought back.

The biggest reason for the excessive consumption of unhealthy foods is that families are no longer together, and women are no longer in the kitchen cooking proper meals for their families.

We need something to replace that. We need restaurants that provide mamma's home cookin' at a reasonable price, and without tipping.
Rather than having a server, I'd rather order and pay at the counter, and have them holler at me when it's done, and get up and pick it up myself.

I will add "perceived" to the front of every instance you said Healthy.

People may go to Panera Bread and Chipotle because of their healthy options, but they actually have to order those healthy options.  Condiments, dressings, chips, sides and beverages add up.  Even someone watching calories may be consuming an inordinate amount of fat from those calories, sodium, etc.

For all the people that say they never go to McDonalds, they can serve up relatively healthy options.  Sure, a Big Mac, Large Fry and Large Soda is a big calorie buster, but most people don't order that, or eat everything they order.  Nor do they do it every day.  A lunchmeat sandwich at home with chips and a soda isn't all that far off from what they would've consumed nutrition-wise at a fast food restaurant.

[briantroutman]

I've seen Red Lobster mentioned here, but I think another Darden restaurant is in decline even more...

Red Lobster was sold last year and is no longer part of Darden. I'm not sure what the current situation with gift card redemptions is, but I remember the Darden gift cards were popular with my Middle America relatives–because to them, Red Lobster and Olive Garden were the #1 and #2 names in fine dining.

I could have eaten a salt cube from the feed store instead.

Darden had an activist investor group who had a list of demands for changing Olive Garden:

- Reduce portions so that customers are hungry enough to buy dessert
- Limit the unlimited breadsticks so that customers don't fill up on freebies
- Salt the heck out of everything so that customers buy wine
- Jack up wine prices to eke out a higher profit margin

Sounds like they're doing their job. [roll eyes]

[Big John]

Old Country Buffet/Home Town Buffet has been going through a major contraction as of late.

Ovation Brands (or perhaps its franchisee here) seems to be rather ostensible about bringing in extra revenue. I dined at an OCB last night and found out they now offer a to-go cup for an extra 99 cents. This was in addition to selling the beverage separately, and at least in Battle Creek, the private dining room was made into a game room.

Ovation closed 74 restaurants nationwide today.  http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sacramento/3-hometown-buffet-restaurants-in-sacramento-area-shut-down/37826548?

[Jardine]

AFAIK, there is a Lums left in Bellevue Nebraska

haven't seen a Bishops Buffet in maybe 20 years, or more

Nickerson Farms have any left ??

How about Ponderosa or Bonanza ?

Was Kenny's in Omaha Nebraska a national chain steak place?  Seems like I recall 2 or 3 locations, 72nd/Dodge (was the odd little Verizon building till they moved), and one a ways north on 72nd that is a defunct used car dealer.  Building still recognizable.

A local chain, Grandmothers is down to what, 1 or 2 locations ?

King's Food Host ?

Arthur Treachers ??

[renegade]

Dog 'n Suds in Ft Wayne is now a Diamond Dog.  The ones in Norton Shores and Montague, Michigan are still operating, as is the one in Elyria, Ohio.  When I was a kid, there were over 800 locations in the U.S.

[Life in Paradise]

Nickerson Farms have any left ??

How about Ponderosa or Bonanza ?

I remember the Nickerson Farms from when I was on the road with my family in the late 60s and 70s.  Haven't seen them for decades.  In Southern Indiana, we have at least one Ponderosa left in this area.  All of the others have closed.

Has anyone seen any Frostops?  I know of one seasonal one in Tell City, IN, one in Huntington, WV, some in Louisiana, and one in Idaho.  They sell their root beer (my favorite) in some stores, but their corporate website says nothing about the restaurants (drive-ins) or even franchising.  I'm guessing that the remaining stores are orphans.

[cl94]

I used to like Friendly's, but haven't been to the east coast in about 7 years to see what they're like now.  I liked that you could get a meal and then a sundae made pretty much any size and any way at the same restaurant.

They've been shrinking and aren't as good as they used to be. For the last few years, service has been poor across the board. They pulled out of the Midwest and quite a few locations have closed in areas still served. Buffalo lost at least 2, Glens Falls lost 1, and probably a lot more were lost as well. Quite a shame, as they were once one of my favorite restaurants.

How about Ponderosa or Bonanza ?
...
Arthur Treachers ??

Ponderosa has a few locations left. One is in Niagara Falls.

Arthur Treacher's has locations in Metro New York and Cleveland, plus one location each in Stroudsburg and Fairfax.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Bonanza has a location in St. Cloud, MN. I'm not sure if the Baxter location is still there or not. (It turned out to not be)

Here's your complete list of Bonanzas that remain:

Chambersburg, PA
Des Moines
Eureka, MO
Hazleton, PA
Lebanon, VA
Lincoln, IL
Mandan, NE
New Columbia, PA
Presque Isle, ME
Sanford, ME
St. Cloud, MN
Tupelo, MS
Wise, VA
Yankton, SD

I've eaten at the Presque Isle one on this list too.

[thenetwork]

I've never liked Domino's–the pizza, the advertising, or the company. But I think you'd be hard pressed to say that any chain with more than 10,000 locations has one foot in the grave. Clearly, their niche has always been being cheap and fast–even if their pizza is barely edible. When you're in a business where penny-pinching customers sift through ValPak coupons to decide whether to buy a sub-$10 pizza from you or Little Caesars, product quality is secondary. Domino's is probably safe bashing their past quality standards because most of their customers don't care about quality anyway. They might, however, pick up a few higher end customers who had written off Domino's as cheap junk pizza.

IMHO, Little Caesars is far worse than Dominos.  Back in the days when LC served pizzas in twos and in a long paper bag sleeve, the pizza was quite good.  The only thing I'll get from them now is the deep dish $5 lunch specials because their circular pizzas are terrible.  That being said, I have noticed the Deep Dish quality has gone down since they introduced them a few years ago. 

They also seem to skimp on the seasoning on their crazy bread more and more now.  If only they only slowed down a bit and not make things like it was a race, they would be instantly improving their product.


In other news....

Fazolis has been yo-yoing in and out of extinction as well.  The chain was flourishing in Northern Ohio at the turn of the century, but many of those locations went under.  Where I live now, there is a local franchisee who wanted to put Fazoli "express" stores in some of their gas stations -- So far, they have only one location in operation in 2 years. 

A Subway recently moved out of one of their truck stops to a stand-alone store across from the truck stop. But instead of Fazolis, they put in a Quiznos, which is another chain I thought was shrinking because of how they screwed franchisees a few years ago for overcharging for food and supplies.

[noelbotevera]

Bonaza's and Brother's Pizza is slowly dying out. There's one in Chambersburg and the next closest one to me is in another state. Brother's Pizza has three locations that I know of. Two is in Chambersburg proper, and the other is near the state line (PA/MD state line).

McDonalds is dying out. One location exists in US 30, and it got kicked out of my area, as the next one is in Greencastle. It was then kicked out of Hagerstown due to some burger place. Basically gone from the tri-state area.

[US71]

Nickerson Farms is dead. Stuckey's died and came back.  I don't see McDonald's dying, though. Some locations have shriveled up, but otherwise appear to be live and well (sadly).

Western Sizzlin seems to be wibbly-wobbly: some locations have closed, but others are still active. I've not seen a new one open in years, though.

[jeffandnicole]

Bonaza's and Brother's Pizza is slowly dying out. There's one in Chambersburg and the next closest one to me is in another state. Brother's Pizza has three locations that I know of. Two is in Chambersburg proper, and the other is near the state line (PA/MD state line).

McDonalds is dying out. One location exists in US 30, and it got kicked out of my area, as the next one is in Greencastle. It was then kicked out of Hagerstown due to some burger place. Basically gone from the tri-state area.

They have hundreds of locations in whatever tri-state area you may be referring to.  You're going to see these so-called fast-causal chains come and go long before MickeyD's is ever in really serious trouble (Chipotle...I'm especially referring to you).

[cl94]

Bonaza's and Brother's Pizza is slowly dying out. There's one in Chambersburg and the next closest one to me is in another state. Brother's Pizza has three locations that I know of. Two is in Chambersburg proper, and the other is near the state line (PA/MD state line).

McDonalds is dying out. One location exists in US 30, and it got kicked out of my area, as the next one is in Greencastle. It was then kicked out of Hagerstown due to some burger place. Basically gone from the tri-state area.

They have hundreds of locations in whatever tri-state area you may be referring to.  You're going to see these so-called fast-causal chains come and go long before MickeyD's is ever in really serious trouble (Chipotle...I'm especially referring to you).

Last I knew, McDonald's was still seeing a net increase in their number of locations. I doubt that these stores near your listed location have all closed. Google is pretty quick at updating their listings.

[noelbotevera]

Bonaza's and Brother's Pizza is slowly dying out. There's one in Chambersburg and the next closest one to me is in another state. Brother's Pizza has three locations that I know of. Two is in Chambersburg proper, and the other is near the state line (PA/MD state line).

McDonalds is dying out. One location exists in US 30, and it got kicked out of my area, as the next one is in Greencastle. It was then kicked out of Hagerstown due to some burger place. Basically gone from the tri-state area.

They have hundreds of locations in whatever tri-state area you may be referring to.  You're going to see these so-called fast-causal chains come and go long before MickeyD's is ever in really serious trouble (Chipotle...I'm especially referring to you).

Last I knew, McDonald's was still seeing a net increase in their number of locations. I doubt that these stores near your listed location have all closed. Google is pretty quick at updating their listings.

Just want to clarify, the tri state is the area of Martinsburg WV, Hagerstown MD, and Chambersburg PA.

A couple of the Hagerstown ones are gone - Google overlooked a couple locations.


There's also this chain named "Oops!". They sells books, games, DVDs, and whatnot. The Hagerstown location closed. The next closest location is in Washington DC off of the Beltway, near Alexandria.

[US71]

Just want to clarify, the tri state is the area of Martinsburg WV, Hagerstown MD, and Chambersburg PA.

A couple of the Hagerstown ones are gone - Google overlooked a couple locations.

Gone or relocated? I've noticed they are slowly going to free-standing locations and leaving Wal-Mart. 

[noelbotevera]

Just want to clarify, the tri state is the area of Martinsburg WV, Hagerstown MD, and Chambersburg PA.

A couple of the Hagerstown ones are gone - Google overlooked a couple locations.

Gone or relocated? I've noticed they are slowly going to free-standing locations and leaving Wal-Mart.

The one near Roy Rogers is gone. I believe it was relocated somewhere out of the area.
The one in the Valley Mall area is the food court, and that got replaced by some burger place.
The one near I-81 @ US 30 is losing customers.
The one near I-81 @ PA 16 is also losing customers.
The one near I-81 @ Maugansville Road is losing customers - that one makes sense, as Hagerstown has better food and it's only 4 miles out.
The two near I-81 @ US 40 are gone.
The one near I-70 @ MD 65 is gone, but I think it was relocated somewhere else in the area.

[jp the roadgeek]

We're down to 2 Long John Silver's and 2 Quizno's in CT, and the only Krispy Kreme left is at Mohegan Sun casino.  We had a Checker's, it closed, then the chain said it's coming back.  Blimpie has also dwindled down to a few locations, Nathan's is totally gone, and even D'Angelo's has closed quite a few locations.  Meanwhile, my town has scaled back the number of Dunkin locations from 9 to 8, and Subway from 7 to 6 by closing inside Stop & Shop and Walmart, respectively.