So, whatever happened to Taco Bell and Pizza Hut? No, not the restaurant chains. How about the iconic buildings that used to house these restaurants?
Used to be a Pizza Hut (http://markholtz.info/io)
Taco Bell Makeover (http://markholtz.info/6x)
The old Pizza Hut at 12th Avenue East and Alameda in Norman, OK now houses a rather good Asian fusion restaurant.
The old Pizza Hut in Colonial Heights, VA is now a Mexican restaurant called Don Jose. The old Taco Bell in Petersburg, VA is now a Little Caesar's with a drive-thru. Symmetry.
Former Taco Bell. I-35E at Witlock. Carrollton, TX:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=32.968605,-96.919141&spn=0.000018,0.012456&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=32.968605,-96.919141&panoid=PKvUvhvQ0OsJiF8DGkH8UA&cbp=12,18.34,,0,0 (https://maps.google.com/?ll=32.968605,-96.919141&spn=0.000018,0.012456&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=32.968605,-96.919141&panoid=PKvUvhvQ0OsJiF8DGkH8UA&cbp=12,18.34,,0,0)
A couple of old Taco Bells in South Florida became part of La Granja, a Peruvian food local-chain restaurant that's a really good bang for your buck. They've finally started opening their own new locations, based on their success in the past decade.
Here's an old Taco Bell on Peoria in Brookside:
http://goo.gl/maps/U1PTG
There is a very distinctive old Pizza Hut that has housed the Latham Biryani restaurant (Indian cuisine) for many years in Latham, New York.
http://www.lathambiryani.com/gallery.html (http://www.lathambiryani.com/gallery.html)
Is this a former Pizza Hut?
http://goo.gl/maps/ZIJAg
Quote from: bugo on January 01, 2014, 01:55:20 PM
Is this a former Pizza Hut?
http://goo.gl/maps/ZIJAg
Likely an old Ken's Pizza
What happened to all the old Chicken Delights ??
What really is interesting is all of the old Pizza Huts in Houma, LA closed. There are a couple of em on both sides of towns that are still up, but with closed doors and no signs. I guess the Cajun folks do not like Pizza Hut that much, as I was told when I was there.
Popeyes and such are almost everywhere.
Fort Smith, AR
http://goo.gl/maps/ijJKO
Fayetteville
http://goo.gl/maps/UL7lQ
Springdale
http://goo.gl/maps/22FgQ
http://goo.gl/maps/zpa3Y
(most recently a BBQ restaurant)
A converted Taco Bell that seems to still be going strong after more than 10 years, though I've never eaten there:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cackleandoink.com%2Fpics%2FIMG_1499w500crp.jpg&hash=0ad98e837d28264fb64d3b11c38be36f658130a9)
Willard, OH
http://goo.gl/maps/fRHEe
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Belle+Isle,+FL&hl=en&ll=28.453301,-81.364242&spn=0.001204,0.001368&sll=27.698638,-83.804601&sspn=7.019056,11.206055&oq=belle+&t=h&hnear=Belle+Isle,+Orange,+Florida&z=19&layer=c&cbll=28.453301,-81.364242&panoid=TpG163NCglLO4hqLqZSg2Q&cbp=12,128.08,,0,-0.12 Former Pizza Hut near Belle Isle, FL.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Winter+Park,+FL&hl=en&ll=28.605865,-81.40316&spn=0.006801,0.010943&sll=28.466478,-81.396638&sspn=0.002434,0.002736&oq=wi&t=h&hnear=Winter+Park,+Orange,+Florida&z=16&layer=c&cbll=28.605865,-81.40316&panoid=7OLQhDtfOpLLFrT8CQm1tQ&cbp=12,338.18,,1,4.85
A former Taco Bell that moved to another brand new building up the road on Lee Road near Orlando, FL.
The former Pizza Hut on I-55 in north Jackson was recently renovated and now houses a cosmetology school. There is a Pizza Hut on the other side of the interstate, but it's in a strip mall and is only for carryout.
Over here a Taco Bell became a local Mexican restaurant (actually quite good!) and the Pizza Hut got torn down along with a burned out former pizza place to make room for a Walgreen's. We also saw three 7-Elevens close up. Half of one became a Domino's while the other half is empty. The second one became an electronics repair shop. The third has bene through various tenants over the years. We still have three 7-Elevens open in the area.
Rick
In Riverside county, there were at least 3 or 4 former taco bells. In Indio, CA we had 2 of them close down in the mid 2000s and one of them was bulldozed for extra parking for the nearby Burger King. Authentic Mexican restaurants killed Taco Bell (LOL, if you get my drift). A number of Pizza huts and KFC outlets closed down in the Inland Empire region. PepsiCo, a division of YUM! Food Brands makes those decisions to trim back on not-so-successful sales franchises, esp. during the Great Recession and the "Mild" recession in the early 2000s.
A number of the Pizza Huts around here still have the distinctive roofline and windows (some of them with the roofs redone in a color other than red).
The Taco Bell nearest to our house is in a strip mall as a combined Taco Bell/KFC location. The drive-thru line often has 10+ vehicles waiting, so if I want to get food there, I park and go inside and I'm back out in my car and on my way well before the car that would have been in front of me at the drive-thru has gotten anywhere close to the pick-up window. It's like something out of a Jay Leno monologue when he talked about how fat and lazy some people are getting. (The same people who idle for 15 minutes at the drive-thru are no doubt the same ones who grouse about the high price of gasoline.)
We have 3 Hill-bert's burgers in the old taco bells here.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pStN_VSRnMAiEyJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIyYTJ2MGVjBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM3NjRhMmZjODRjNWUyMjVhNjU1ZWE0ZmQwMzRjZDU4MgRncG9zAzIEaXQDYmluZw--?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dhill-berts%26fr%3Dyfp-t-671%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D2&w=393&h=400&imgurl=s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com%2Fbphoto%2FvNq97cyIUMDQOjP0H0s0sg%2Fl.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2Fbiz%2Fhill-berts-burgers-austin-3&size=35.0KB&name=%3Cb%3EHill%3C%2Fb%3E-%3Cb%3EBerts+%3C%2Fb%3EBurgers+-+Allandale+-+Austin%2C+TX&p=hill-berts&oid=764a2fc84c5e225a655ea4fd034cd582&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-671&tt=%3Cb%3EHill%3C%2Fb%3E-%3Cb%3EBerts+%3C%2Fb%3EBurgers+-+Allandale+-+Austin%2C+TX&b=0&ni=216&no=2&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11jet0tsg&sigb=1346d071l&sigi=11s1oj77k&.crumb=tVzjDIPhjwY&fr=yfp-t-671
Old Taco Bell that's now Subway, Lafayette, LA (https://maps.google.com/?ll=30.240307,-92.012056&spn=0.002884,0.00331&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=30.240307,-92.012056&panoid=mwfi6FvUjip8TKK_ounI6w&cbp=12,115.21,,0,10.94)
Old Taco Bell that's now a check cashing outlet, Lafayette, LA (https://maps.google.com/?ll=30.197929,-92.056223&spn=0.005796,0.00662&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=30.197929,-92.056223&panoid=_-yI43hR0vGilHT151i-yQ&cbp=12,88.88,,0,-0.88)
Some years ago, there was a blog called "Not Fooling Anybody" full of examples like these. It has a Facebook page, but I'm not sure that it's still current.
This ex-Pizza Hut is now a car lot (they even use part of the old Pizza Hut sign frame) http://goo.gl/maps/aNzdM ... but the Hut that was there didn't close, it just moved next door (in an ex-Burger King).
Here's an ex-Taco Bell: http://goo.gl/maps/CHfFw ... the Bell that was here also moved, down the street to a corner lot that was an Exxon station.
This one's different, might not count? http://goo.gl/maps/DPSVg ... It's a Bell/KFC now, but originally when it opened years ago, it was the combo meal of Bell/KFC/Hut. It was my first time seeing all 3 in one location. Not sure why they whittled it to 2 other than 3 is probably too much to juggle if all are at the same counter/kitchen. This location was the last one where I would see the previous Pizza Hut logo (before the current scratched-up scribbled one).
A former Pizza Hut on Nicholson Drive just south of LSU in BR is now an outlet for Rotolo's Pizza (their oldest extant outlet and second overall in the chain, IIRC).
Another former Pizza Hut on Jefferson Highway in BR opposite Towne Center is now a restaurant called Dempsey's (one of two locations overall). Best po-boys and gumbo ever (that can be found outside of New Orleans)!
Another restaurant on Nicholson north of LSU, Atcha Bakery, is suspected to be a former Pizza Hut, though it is missing the telltale roof.
Old Taco Bell now a poboy shop (https://maps.google.com/?ll=32.909658,-96.85828&spn=0.005981,0.010074&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=32.909662,-96.858409&panoid=g7F5ZHz0MYo0oYHeaBKRog&cbp=12,44.77,,1,-3.95), Baton Rouge, LA.
Quote from: Urban Prairie Schooner on February 07, 2014, 07:12:49 PM
Another restaurant on Nicholson north of LSU, Atcha Bakery, is suspected to be a former Pizza Hut, though it is missing the telltale roof.
It is. Doesn't have the roof but it does have the signature angular windows. Looks like they did some work on the bricks under those windows.
That purple and yellow building next to Atcha Bakery looks like it used to be a Church's Chicken.
The structure in this GSV image (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=washington+district+of+columbia&ll=38.917216,-76.973278&spn=0.002041,0.003964&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&hnear=Washington,+District+of+Columbia&gl=us&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.917212,-76.973453&panoid=aQI4Ou9aZzm2y-BHnFZQww&cbp=12,206.76,,1,0.18) was once a Taco Bell.
It stands on the eastbound side of U.S. 50 (New York Avenue, N.E.) near (mostly unsigned) U.S. 1 Alternate (Bladensburg Road, N.E.) in Washington, D.C.
Next door (but I believe on the same parcel of land) is a fairly new KFC/Taco Bell combined on the corner of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=washington+district+of+columbia&ll=38.917216,-76.973278&spn=0.002041,0.003964&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&channel=np&hnear=Washington,+District+of+Columbia&gl=us&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.917218,-76.973048&panoid=rhLdY1YpYlb90SNAfx-d3w&cbp=12,204,,0,12.2). The KFC outlet has some notoriety in Washington's crime history. The old KFC, since torn down and replaced by the combined KFC and Taco Bell, was where convicted serial arsonist and murderer Thomas Sweatt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sweatt) once worked as a cook by day, arsonist and killer by night.
A few former Pizza Huts, Taco Bells, and KFCs I know of:
KFC, now Baba's: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.523179,-88.105073&spn=0.003277,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=41.523179,-88.105073&panoid=RdyOCKZu8_f0yiwPze_ivw&cbp=12,3.11,,0,0.91
KFC, now Mr. Submarine: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.522834,-88.117695&spn=0.0033,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=41.522834,-88.117695&panoid=DnQt8Dm4C2AvbfPB-SUekQ&cbp=12,359.55,,0,-1.19
Taco Bell, now vacant: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.522738,-88.120766&spn=0.0033,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=41.522738,-88.120766&panoid=anWmxXXCdNf9b1fqK30YCw&cbp=12,182.06,,0,7.22
Pizza Hut, now AJ's Hot Dogs: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.552336,-88.100263&spn=0.003299,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=41.552336,-88.100263&panoid=qA_6RgaLbUqYCZTFsipgug&cbp=12,328.03,,0,2.35
KFC, now Five Guys: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.575437,-88.156078&spn=0.009326,0.021136&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.575506,-88.15617&panoid=ZurZPncRoBwcnjkBEDgpTg&cbp=12,185.82,,1,-0.32
Pizza Hut, now Nick's Barbeque: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.653307,-88.080525&spn=0.004658,0.010568&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.65326,-88.0807&panoid=Acuangnowohw-3pvzBpIwA&cbp=12,114.3,,1,4.48
Pizza Hut, now La Casa Jalisco: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.118976,-88.834484&spn=0.004664,0.010568&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.119362,-88.83545&panoid=S3nMRuRP4BKRz5PNmtvB2g&cbp=12,146.82,,0,-2.65
This (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=30.217023,-92.018679&spn=0.005159,0.004485&sll=30.217264,-92.018615&layer=c&cid=4462208037671661698&cbp=13,15.52,,0,-0.03&cbll=30.217023,-92.018679&t=h&z=18&panoid=zjFIIaSVuDo0HUbM0Vt5KQ) Domino's used to be a KFC, though you can't tell now. Bonus: It had a buffet for a few years, which is why it needed a dining area. That dining area is now closed off and used for training.
Hope it's OK to resurrect this old topic. I drove by this a couple days ago in Hartwick, New York, and immediately thought "old Pizza Hut", though I can't be sure if it really was one.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teresco.org%2Fpics%2Fcny-20150604%2FDSCF0120-800.jpg&hash=e8cccfc08efb4c7b591abce94df4c948c937d24b)
This was a Pizza Hut when I first moved here in 1991. They closed it in the mid 90's when they opened their delivery unit over on South Glenburnie Rd in the mid 90's.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.117374,-77.076193,3a,75y,206.33h,89.66t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sL48c_NUXQObw2d2oTsWV2A!2e0?hl=en (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.117374,-77.076193,3a,75y,206.33h,89.66t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sL48c_NUXQObw2d2oTsWV2A!2e0?hl=en)
This "new style" Taco Bell was once an old style Taco Bell:
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.111086,-77.064884,3a,75y,266.92h,87.57t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sE11vWZ5YSQo_uI6-mDU6eg!2e0?hl=en (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.111086,-77.064884,3a,75y,266.92h,87.57t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sE11vWZ5YSQo_uI6-mDU6eg!2e0?hl=en)
They suddenly closed the old building, tore it down, and built this one in less than 2 months about 10 years ago. The old building actually had more room for customers inside. The current building optimized the footprint for drive-thru service-it was extremely difficult to get through the drive-thru of the old one without scuffing a wheel (which my wife can certainly attest to).
The Pizza Hut in Titusville on US 1 was converted to a Mexican restaurant called La Marimba (which stays crowded)...
In Omaha, on L Street, the former Taco Bell I used to get lunch at all the time in my previous job ended up a State Farm office.
In Council Bluffs, on West Broadway, I believe there is a former Pizza Hut which became a 24 hour Mexican restaurant. It's better than what happened to the local Papillion, Ne Pizza Hut, which became additional parking for a parking lot of a shopping center I rarely see traffic at.
Anyone know if the old/original Taco Bell signs still remain in the San Diego area (the one with the man napping under the sombrero)? When I was there in the 80s and 90's, it was the only place I ever saw the signs.
His used to be a Pizza Hut: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Outback+Steakhouse/@41.639336,-72.873947,3a,75y,92h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1smaQcI9E1Vq2rzJU2T_ddGg!2e0!5s20121001T000000!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26output%3Dthumbnail%26thumb%3D2%26panoid%3DmaQcI9E1Vq2rzJU2T_ddGg%26w%3D223%26h%3D75%26yaw%3D92%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D120%26ll%3D41.639336,-72.873947!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0xc2d3bf97a04ba6a8!6m1!1e1 (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Outback+Steakhouse/@41.639336,-72.873947,3a,75y,92h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1smaQcI9E1Vq2rzJU2T_ddGg!2e0!5s20121001T000000!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26output%3Dthumbnail%26thumb%3D2%26panoid%3DmaQcI9E1Vq2rzJU2T_ddGg%26w%3D223%26h%3D75%26yaw%3D92%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D120%26ll%3D41.639336,-72.873947!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0xc2d3bf97a04ba6a8!6m1!1e1)
Former Taco Bell, with a former Burger King on the left: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.665656,-72.799885,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1srxd2_-LNEZrTpsAaHXVjKw!2e0!5s20110601T000000!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.665656,-72.799885,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1srxd2_-LNEZrTpsAaHXVjKw!2e0!5s20110601T000000!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1)