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Defunct restaurant chains and retailers

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

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abefroman329

Quote from: ftballfan on February 06, 2018, 12:07:21 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 06, 2018, 09:32:15 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on February 05, 2018, 02:27:32 PM
Speaking of buffet restaurants I tried out the new Golden Corral in Saginaw yesterday and it was just as I expected, the food selection was pretty good but the food was average at best and that was the review of another Golden Corral I ate at several years ago in Sterling Heights.

There was a relatively new one in Holland that has already closed.
Looks like it closed very recently as it's still on Google. It only lasted about a year and the reviews were mostly awful

It was very recent, probably within the last week or two.


Rothman

Golden Corral here is horrible.  I have no idea why the one in Colonie, NY is so popular (besides the fact tour buses force feed seniors there).

Oh wait, yes I do:  There is a hefty population here that will choose chains over better and equally-priced local places because they know what they are getting and are scared of taking the risk to go elsewhere.  Fools.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

cl94

Quote from: Rothman on February 06, 2018, 02:23:55 PM
Oh wait, yes I do:  There is a hefty population here that will choose chains over better and equally-priced local places because they know what they are getting and are scared of taking the risk to go elsewhere.  Fools.

Is there a certain "freeway" you're referencing here?   :-D

I try and eat local whenever possible. That's what Yelp and TripAdvisor are for.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

abefroman329

Quote from: Rothman on February 06, 2018, 02:23:55 PM
Golden Corral here is horrible.  I have no idea why the one in Colonie, NY is so popular (besides the fact tour buses force feed seniors there).

Oh wait, yes I do:  There is a hefty population here that will choose chains over better and equally-priced local places because they know what they are getting and are scared of taking the risk to go elsewhere.  Fools.

There is the "you always know what you're gonna get" factor, but buffets are popular with families and large groups because a) they cater to a group whose tastes are diverse and b) it's possible to eat a sit-down meal faster than it is in a restaurant.

Flint1979

Quote from: ftballfan on February 06, 2018, 12:07:21 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on February 06, 2018, 09:32:15 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on February 05, 2018, 02:27:32 PM
Speaking of buffet restaurants I tried out the new Golden Corral in Saginaw yesterday and it was just as I expected, the food selection was pretty good but the food was average at best and that was the review of another Golden Corral I ate at several years ago in Sterling Heights.

There was a relatively new one in Holland that has already closed.
Looks like it closed very recently as it's still on Google. It only lasted about a year and the reviews were mostly awful
It closed January 23rd but will be reopening. Golden Corral is looking for a new owner to take it over. It opened in December 2016.

Flint1979

I try to eat local as much as possible and I think it's easy to tell if a place is good or not. This is why I choose to dine at Starlite Coney Island in Burton, Michigan. It's a classic 1960's American Diner open 24 hours a day and serves some of the best food in the state of Michigan and I have been all over the state and Starlite is tops. I actually prefer Flint style coneys over Detroit style coneys.

Life in Paradise

Quote from: abefroman329 on February 06, 2018, 03:16:47 PM
Quote from: Rothman on February 06, 2018, 02:23:55 PM
Golden Corral here is horrible.  I have no idea why the one in Colonie, NY is so popular (besides the fact tour buses force feed seniors there).

Oh wait, yes I do:  There is a hefty population here that will choose chains over better and equally-priced local places because they know what they are getting and are scared of taking the risk to go elsewhere.  Fools.

There is the "you always know what you're gonna get" factor, but buffets are popular with families and large groups because a) they cater to a group whose tastes are diverse and b) it's possible to eat a sit-down meal faster than it is in a restaurant.
When my kids were small we went to buffets, just because it was instant gratification for the kids, and the parents could eat with some resemblance of decency.  Since that time, I rarely go into one with the exception of The Fresh Tomato, of which the closest outlet is now about 400 miles away from me.

US71

Quote from: Rothman on February 06, 2018, 02:23:55 PM
Golden Corral here is horrible.  I have no idea why the one in Colonie, NY is so popular (besides the fact tour buses force feed seniors there).

Oh wait, yes I do:  There is a hefty population here that will choose chains over better and equally-priced local places because they know what they are getting and are scared of taking the risk to go elsewhere.  Fools.


GC is better than Furr's or Western Sizzlin, at least around here.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

roadman65

Phar More and Drug Emporium both were great stores to shop in for sundries here in Orlando.  Now both long gone.

Then Uptons who took over another department store called J Byrons later just plain Byrons (they made a big advertising campaign to remove the J for some sill reason) were mid priced clothing stores that were good.

Add Gayfers and Mason Blanche to the list as they were two top department stores in Florida.   

Oh, yes Burdines who are now part of Macy's.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

inkyatari

Quote from: US71 on February 23, 2018, 11:37:34 AM
Quote from: Rothman on February 06, 2018, 02:23:55 PM
Golden Corral here is horrible.  I have no idea why the one in Colonie, NY is so popular (besides the fact tour buses force feed seniors there).

Oh wait, yes I do:  There is a hefty population here that will choose chains over better and equally-priced local places because they know what they are getting and are scared of taking the risk to go elsewhere.  Fools.


GC is better than Furr's or Western Sizzlin, at least around here.

Western Sizzlin' is still around? We used to have one in my area, and I loved the place.

This is of course like 30 years ago
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

roadman65

Valles Steakhouse in VA and CT/MA. I miss their restaurants as my folks use to take us there a lot as kids when we visited Washington, DC or passed through New Haven, CT.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

jasonh300

Quote from: roadman65 on February 23, 2018, 12:11:42 PM
Add Gayfers and Mason Blanche to the list as they were two top department stores in Florida. 

Maison Blanche only existed in Florida for 9 years.

Maison Blanche was one of several unique New Orleans department stores that had its only location downtown on Canal Street from 1897 to the 1960s. As malls opened in the suburbs, they opened a few locations in the malls.

In the late 80s the stores were sold to a Baton Rouge based chain and they opened a couple of locations in Florida. They then bought out a Florida chain (Robinson's?) and branded them as Maison Blanche, giving them 12 stores throughout Florida.

Eventually the oil recession in Louisiana put the hurt on the company, and Dillard's bought them out in the early 90s (along with D.H. Holmes, another local dept store with a similar story) rebranding all of the Holmes locations as Dillard's, and keeping Maison Blanche. The mall locations in the New Orleans area were typically anchored by Maison Blanche, Sears, JC Penney, and DH Holmes (which all became Dillard's), so they had two anchor stores in each mall that were owned by Dillard's. By 1998, they shut down the Maison Blanche locations. I believe they pulled the plug or rebranded the Florida locations when they shut down the New Orleans stores.




iPhone

hbelkins

Saw today that the parent company of IHOP and Applebee's is closing a number of locations of both brands.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Brandon

Quote from: jasonh300 on February 24, 2018, 05:09:05 PM
In the late 80s the stores were sold to a Baton Rouge based chain and they opened a couple of locations in Florida. They then bought out a Florida chain (Robinson's?) and branded them as Maison Blanche, giving them 12 stores throughout Florida.

The Baton Rouge chain was Goudchaux's.  Goudchaux's had two locations (that I know of) in Baton Rouge, one downtown, a very long store at that, and one at Cortana (which later became Dillard's - the original Dillard's was sold & became a Foley's).
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

ftballfan

Quote from: hbelkins on February 24, 2018, 08:50:16 PM
Saw today that the parent company of IHOP and Applebee's is closing a number of locations of both brands.
The chains are still doing well overall. More like closing the bottom of the barrel locations while possibly opening in growing markets.

jasonh300

Quote from: Brandon on February 24, 2018, 09:20:10 PM
Quote from: jasonh300 on February 24, 2018, 05:09:05 PM
In the late 80s the stores were sold to a Baton Rouge based chain and they opened a couple of locations in Florida. They then bought out a Florida chain (Robinson's?) and branded them as Maison Blanche, giving them 12 stores throughout Florida.

The Baton Rouge chain was Goudchaux's.  Goudchaux's had two locations (that I know of) in Baton Rouge, one downtown, a very long store at that, and one at Cortana (which later became Dillard's - the original Dillard's was sold & became a Foley's).

I remember reading about that.  It created a lot of confusion with a very old New Orleans department store called Godchaux's, which was not related to Goudchaux's of Baton Rouge.

roadman65

Orbachs and Sterns I remember.  Woodbridge Center in NJ had those two along with A & S as the original anchors before the mall doubled in size in 1981.

Sadly all three are belly up, although Sterns became part of Macy's and am surprised that Macy's has two stores so close to each other as Menlo Park Mall is less than three miles away on US 1.  That is why JC Penney closed in Menlo Park Mall when Woodbridge Center expanded and included JC Penney in the expansion as they just moved from one mall to the other to avoid to stores in the same locality.

Woodbridge Center currently has only one original tenant anchor and that being JC Penney.  All the others were renamed or have a new store in it.

Fortunoff, Hahnes, and S. Klein were big in the NYC market that closed.

Is Huffman Koos furniture still in business?  I know the Rahway store was leveled in the late 90's, but I think the one on US 22 in Somerville remained.  Plus the warehouse store in Linden on Lower Road still remained selling damaged furniture for cut prices for a while after as well.

Oh and Levitz is another furniture store and Seamens Furniture where big with the former being even in Tampa at the Lee Roy Selmon's west terminus on US 92.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

JKRhodes

K-mart is going through yet another round of closures. We've spent about $1000 at the store located at 750 W Deuce of Clubs in Show Low, AZ. It's scheduled to close April 8.

bing101

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wayne-huizenga-dead-builder-blockbuster-video-chain-dies-at-80-1096903

Update the former leader of the company formerly known as Blockbuster has died. Note Blockbuster is currently a Division of Dish Network on demand.

http://www.blockbuster.com/

abefroman329

Quote from: bing101 on March 23, 2018, 05:43:41 PM
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wayne-huizenga-dead-builder-blockbuster-video-chain-dies-at-80-1096903

Update the former leader of the company formerly known as Blockbuster has died. Note Blockbuster is currently a Division of Dish Network on demand.

http://www.blockbuster.com/


I went to college in a town that could only support a Blockbuster, and with their insistence on only stocking multiple copies of mainstream fare, Netflix (which, I'll remind our younger forum members, got its start in renting DVDs by mail) couldn't come soon enough.

formulanone

Quote from: bing101 on March 23, 2018, 05:43:41 PM
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wayne-huizenga-dead-builder-blockbuster-video-chain-dies-at-80-1096903

Update the former leader of the company formerly known as Blockbuster has died. Note Blockbuster is currently a Division of Dish Network on demand.

http://www.blockbuster.com/


He was a bit of a mixed legend in South Florida, by virtue of garbage hauling, and later, massive acquisitions of auto dealerships. His dismantling of the 1997 Florida Marlins was also famous for the wrong reasons (though ran like any other big business, when it's all said and done).

roadman65

The Record Shops in TSS in the NY Metro area.  I used to like their commercials with their Jingle "We have your kind of music (then echoed) Music and More, the Record World and Record Shops at TSS" followed by a guitar echo.

Of course they joined Sam Goody, as internet killed the need to buy music.

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

Sheryl Crowe

jp the roadgeek

Bertucci's is in trouble, filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, and closing some locations immediately, including the one in my town.  Reports say winding down business may happen.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/bertuccis-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-pizza-chain-may-close-restaurants/ar-AAvWakP?OCID=ansmsnnews11
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)

roadman65

Years ago some business in Pendell, PA along US 1 Business had an airplane out in front.  I do not know if its still there (I looked on Google Satellite and saw nothing) or not, but if its not then its a defunct business.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

RobbieL2415

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on April 16, 2018, 11:30:35 PM
Bertucci's is in trouble, filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, and closing some locations immediately, including the one in my town.  Reports say winding down business may happen.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/bertuccis-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-pizza-chain-may-close-restaurants/ar-AAvWakP?OCID=ansmsnnews11
The classic "capital firm sees no light at the end of the tunnel so it dumps the brand's assets to a private company".  Kinda like what Bain Capital did to Burger King in the late 90s.  BK doesn't exist as a physical company, more like a heavily controlled set of intellectual properties owned by by people with lots of money.  Bk is now owned by Restaurant Brands, International with also owns Tim Hortons.  The brand itself is not directly owned by the public but the holding company is.



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