Roadside chains with at least one foot in the grave

[roadman65]

Ponderosa and Sizzler used to be big, but now are steady.  Only a few of their stores with no new ones.

Racetrac Gas in Orlando is a funny one.  They have built many stores and many of the many changed over to either Shell or Sunoco after six months or around. Then after they transfer the ownership of the station/convenience store they build a brand new facility.   I do not know how they can build at the same time they are closing many stores even in prime locations too.  There was one on John Young Parkway at Old Winter Garden Road that did very well, but he became Sunoco, and now the store sits closed.

What happened to Wags Restaurant?  I saw them first back in 1990, the first time I visited Miami and Key West.  Ate at both the one on US 1 at the entrance to Key West and the one on 36th Street near Miami Airport and had a damn good breakfast.  I found later that they had one in Orlando, but closed to become either an Allies (small stand alone store) or Shoney's. I cannot remember who was there first as it was over 2 decades ago.

Quincy's was one I thought closed, however back in 09 driving on I-95 in Florence I was shocked to see a large billboard advertisement of their approaching I-20.   I thought that someone forgot to remove the sign as FDOT forgot to do on I-4's Exit 80 logo sign for several years after the OBT and Oakridge location closed in Orlando.  However, it was there at the US 52 exit across the RR track.  Now I found out its the only one of two left via an earlier post here. 

Golden Skillet I believe, is like Stuckeys is,  with only a few left nationwide.

Hardees in Orlando closed all their stores despite them and Carls Jr. are very much around.

Krystal used to be Open 24 Hours, but in the Orlando Market cut its hours back to being only open from morning till evening.

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Captain D's Seafood was also all over Central Florida, but now have only three or four of em left here.  The one in Winter Haven closed that I used to eat at a lot when I used to rail fan in nearby Auburndale and had customers for sure.  I cannot say about the markets outside Central Florida for sure.

Chesapeake Bay Seafood House, was all over Northern Virginia and a few stores in the Philadelphia area with the Oxford Valley Store being one my parents and I would eat at when we lived in New Jersey.  We later learned that only one is left and that is the one in Potomac Mills in VA.  I have no idea if that one is still there or not as it was in 09 that we ate there last.

[Brandon]

What happened to Wags Restaurant?  I saw them first back in 1990, the first time I visited Miami and Key West.  Ate at both the one on US 1 at the entrance to Key West and the one on 36th Street near Miami Airport and had a damn good breakfast.  I found later that they had one in Orlando, but closed to become either an Allies (small stand alone store) or Shoney's. I cannot remember who was there first as it was over 2 decades ago.

Wag's, owned by Walgreen's, was sold by Walgreen's to Marriott in 1988, who subsequently sold 30 of them around Chicagoland to Lunan Corporation in 1991.  The rest were just closed and sold piecemeal.  The Chicagoland ones were converted to Shoney's by 1994, and later sold piecemeal.  Some are still around today as IHOPs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wag's

[PurdueBill]

....

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

I believe the Arthur Treacher's in Fairfax has closed. I just drove past there Tuesday morning but I wasn't paying attention to the roadside businesses to be able to confirm for sure. More than one person on another forum I sometimes visit has said it's no longer open.


(Edited to fix mangled quotes. I should know better than to try to edit down long posts using the touchscreen keyboard.)

I was just downloading dashcam videos, so I scanned through the one in which I passed the Arthur Treacher's location in Fairfax. Not only is the franchise closed, the building has been demolished and replaced by something else.

Arthur Treacher's on Waterloo Road in Akron is still going strong....picked up stuff there a couple days ago. 

[busman_49]

....

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

I believe the Arthur Treacher's in Fairfax has closed. I just drove past there Tuesday morning but I wasn't paying attention to the roadside businesses to be able to confirm for sure. More than one person on another forum I sometimes visit has said it's no longer open.


(Edited to fix mangled quotes. I should know better than to try to edit down long posts using the touchscreen keyboard.)

I was just downloading dashcam videos, so I scanned through the one in which I passed the Arthur Treacher's location in Fairfax. Not only is the franchise closed, the building has been demolished and replaced by something else.

Arthur Treacher's on Waterloo Road in Akron is still going strong....picked up stuff there a couple days ago.

I used to go to the one in Barberton a lot.  Now it's a Subway, but they kept the lantern-shaped sign!

[roadman65]

Wow they're still around!  I thought they died in the early 80's until the resurfaced when Miami Subs opened up here in Central Florida.  Then I thought they died again when Miami Subs bit the dust.  Still someplace in the US they still live.  I missed their fish so much.

[cl94]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

[Pete from Boston]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

They were all over the Northeast in their trademark salt box cottage into the 1980s, then vanished for 20 years.  Once they became part of the Yum! family, new locations returned in the early 2000s.  Some of those have already gone.

I've heard speculation that better fish in this area is too abundant for people to eat LJS.  I will still eat it on rare occasions solely out of nostalgia.  It might be the only fast food I have a soft spot for.

[roadman65]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

My aunt who lived in Bridgewater, NJ would drive 35 miles to Wilson, PA to eat at one, and she actually asked why they won't ever open up one in New Jersey.  This was back in the 1990's when they were still big, and her answer from the employees, who often got asked that question was surprising.  It was because the company that owned them did not want to pay high NJ taxes!

I do not know the accuracy of that statement, but given the fact it took Pizza Hut nearly a decade before invading New Jersey's fast food market as PA and NY always had them throughout the 70's, it was not until the mid 1980's when they started popping up (at least in North Jersey) in the Garden State.   

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

Also considering that most resort towns like Wildwood have hardly any chain or brand name motels, as the lodging in that (and other ) NJ resort city is still mom and pop oriented.  Some may say that is a godsend after the Walmart takeover of the retail and small business market.  Some may even say that  because New England is still full of resort towns that also have mom and pop motels over chain denomination hotels and small lodges may be a thing about the seasons where as south of Virginia Beach the Summer beach seasons are longer than north of Hampton Roads.  So this may be apples to oranges, but it makes me think that NJ taxes may be too high that LJS stayed out and never crossed the Hudson or Delaware, or the imaginary line between Montague & Port Jervis and Alpine-Orangetown.

[jeffandnicole]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

There's been a combo Taco Bell/LJS in Mantua, NJ for years.

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

I'm pretty sure they were in NJ in the early 80's at least.  Whenever they actually had a real bell in their old design was the time period it was built.

[roadman65]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

There's been a combo Taco Bell/LJS in Mantua, NJ for years.

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

I'm pretty sure they were in NJ in the early 80's at least.  Whenever they actually had a real bell in their old design was the time period it was built.

I thought so with that last one as I saw one on US 130 in Cinnamson back in 1985.  I ate at that location then because we had none in Union County yet.

[Pete from Boston]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

There's been a combo Taco Bell/LJS in Mantua, NJ for years.

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

I'm pretty sure they were in NJ in the early 80's at least.  Whenever they actually had a real bell in their old design was the time period it was built.

They were all over the place, and the buildings are often still there.  Here's one:

https://goo.gl/maps/KuWicrWaxHx

[renegade]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

There's been a combo Taco Bell/LJS in Mantua, NJ for years.

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

I'm pretty sure they were in NJ in the early 80's at least.  Whenever they actually had a real bell in their old design was the time period it was built.

They were all over the place, and the buildings are often still there.  Here's one:

https://goo.gl/maps/KuWicrWaxHx

Wow.  That looks really small for a Long John Silver's.

We used to have a Taco Bell/KFC in Ann Arbor.  I'm pretty sure it was the nastiest place I ever ate at.  The roaches and the rats had better places to hang out.

[GCrites]

I've heard speculation that better fish in this area is too abundant for people to eat LJS.  I will still eat it on rare occasions solely out of nostalgia.  It might be the only fast food I have a soft spot for.

Oh yeah, the fish close to the coast is way better than what we get out here. I can definitely taste the difference. Oddly, the chicken is better too despite the fact that chicken comes from all over the U.S.

[mgk920]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

There's been a combo Taco Bell/LJS in Mantua, NJ for years.

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

I'm pretty sure they were in NJ in the early 80's at least.  Whenever they actually had a real bell in their old design was the time period it was built.

They were all over the place, and the buildings are often still there.  Here's one:

https://goo.gl/maps/KuWicrWaxHx

Another one (Appleton, WI).  It's now a cell phone store:
https://goo.gl/maps/2jfzZn6tRBq

IIRC, it closed in either the late 1980s or early 1990s after a short run.

BTW, if you go a very short distance to the west of that image there is a defunct Schlotzsky's, now a Starbucks, on the other side of that Arby's.

Mike

[Pete from Boston]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

There's been a combo Taco Bell/LJS in Mantua, NJ for years.

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

I'm pretty sure they were in NJ in the early 80's at least.  Whenever they actually had a real bell in their old design was the time period it was built.

They were all over the place, and the buildings are often still there.  Here's one:

https://goo.gl/maps/KuWicrWaxHx

Wow.  That looks really small for a Long John Silver's.

We used to have a Taco Bell/KFC in Ann Arbor.  I'm pretty sure it was the nastiest place I ever ate at.  The roaches and the rats had better places to hang out.

That's the size they all were.  It had a couple dozen tables or so.

The last one of this old format I have been to is in Latrobe, PA.  Google indicates it is still there.

[roadman65]

The old Taco Bell designs are still in use today, but different businesses occupy them.  The one on Orange Blossom Trail near Florida Mall moved to a modern facility not looking like a bell, but its old building (now some eithnic restaurant now) still has the design.  There is also a Chinese Fast Food joint on US 192 in Kissimmee too, that has been a previous Taco Bell that you can tell by looking at that is was.

I mentioned that out of irony as Jeff did bring up an interesting point.  However, the Taco Bell up the street from my house is just a box building shared with Dunkin Donuts/ Baskin Robbins.  Its like they modernized and then they went plain the second time around.

[jeffandnicole]

The Taco Bell I frequented growing up is now an AT&T phone store.  Another one nearby that closed is becoming...an AT&T phone store. 

Borrrring!!!

[Takumi]

The only Taco Bell I knew of that closed (Petersburg, VA) is now a Little Caesar's. The Taco Bell built a new facility across the street. I've never been to either one.

[noelbotevera]

Long John Silvers was all over, but they scaled back big time at least in Florida.

Most of their Upstate New York locations have closed. They still have locations in Batavia, Glens Falls, Hudson, Newburgh, Oneida and Vestal. All are co-located with Taco Bell, KFC, or A&W. There used to be a bunch near Albany, but only Glens Falls is left.

That means NJ will never get their first store ever!  Oh bummer! Lol!

There's been a combo Taco Bell/LJS in Mantua, NJ for years.

Taco Bell also did not appear in the GS (although they might of been in South Jersey for years before) also till the late 80's.

I'm pretty sure they were in NJ in the early 80's at least.  Whenever they actually had a real bell in their old design was the time period it was built.

They were all over the place, and the buildings are often still there.  Here's one:

https://goo.gl/maps/KuWicrWaxHx

Wow.  That looks really small for a Long John Silver's.

We used to have a Taco Bell/KFC in Ann Arbor.  I'm pretty sure it was the nastiest place I ever ate at.  The roaches and the rats had better places to hang out.

That's the size they all were.  It had a couple dozen tables or so.

The last one of this old format I have been to is in Latrobe, PA.  Google indicates it is still there.

Long John Silver's in my area only has two locations here. One is near I-81 on US 30, and the other is near the JCPenney's in Hagerstown Mall. There seems to be less people going to LJS because a new Primanti Brother's opened up not far from it. That could be a signal that it might close, and I stopped eating there because they took away Lobster Bites (something I enjoyed when I was about five to six years old).

[slorydn1]

The Long John's that I ate at often as a child is still there, I see.


The shopping center that contained a grocery store that sat behind it is apparently gone, though.

[jp the roadgeek]

Long John's and Arthur Treacher's were big around my parts in the late '70's/early '80's.  Most of the Long John's were free standing, while most of the Arthur Treacher's were in malls. I remember the one in my town, and my cousin teases me to this day about knocking over the fire extinguisher and flooding the restaurant (I was 4 or 5). Really can't tell the difference between the two.  Both completely vanished by 1985.  Arthur Treacher's came back when a Miami Subs/Arthur Treacher's/Nathan's, Kenny Rogers' Roasters conglomeration opened in Milford, CT circa 2000, only to leave a couple years later and it's now a TD Bank.  There's only 2 Long John Silver's locations in the whole state, both paired with Taco Bell, in Plainville and Hartford.

[Pete from Boston]

I live a solid 30 minutes from the closest LJS, in Salem, New Hampshire–just enough time to keep me from getting in the car right now, driving up there, and being disappointed.

[thenetwork]

There was a LJS/TB tandem restaurant about 45 minutes east of me.  They dropped the LJS part of the restaurant and is now only a TB. 

The only Long Johns in my region is 60 miles southeast, paired up with an A&W and is the only LJS in Western Colorado.

[Takumi]

There's been an LJS my entire life in Colonial Heights, but it's been a few years since I've eaten there. The Hopewell one is closed. Both were paired with A&Ws but I don't pay enough attention to whether the Colonial Heights one still has the A&W (there's a much better sit-down seafood restaurant literally next door to it). Chester and Petersburg both have Captain D's; the one in Chester is, from what I remember, decent (haven't eaten there in over a decade despite now working two blocks from it) and I never went to the one in Petersburg in the entire eight years I worked there. When I want seafood, I go to the local sit-down place.

[rawmustard]

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?

Just this morning Ovation filed for bankruptcy protection for the third time in eight years. Several more units were also suddenly closed over the weekend (later revealed to be 92).