Restaurant Chains that closed some markets and are much alive in others

[jdb1234]

One former restaurant chain that has yet to be mentioned is the Red Barn, albeit I'm 99.99% sure they are gone.

There was a Red Barn here in Wyandotte, MI, on M-85 next to a large strip mall. The barn shape is still there today, though Red Barn closed many years ago and then many other independent restaurants came and went over the years, most recently a pizza restaurant that closed back in January, the building still sits vacant today.

There used to be a lot of Ponderosa Steakhouses here in the Northeast. Most, if not, all are gone.

We also had a Ponderosa, that was between the Red Barn and the strip mall, that outlived Red Barn by many years, but it also closed in January.

Ponderosa too is leaving the St. Louis area. Ponderosa, Country/Old Country/Hometown and other traditional American buffets used to be big in St. Louis.

Interesting, the only time I've ever eaten at Ponderosa was at the one near Six Flags St Louis back in 2004.

[ctsignguy]

Swiss Chalet (or Chalet Suisse) disappeared from Québec after they agreed with St-Hubert not to compete with each other. This is why St-Hubert is hard so to find outside of the province; although there are locations in Ottawa, Cornwall, Kingston, Rockland, Bathurst, Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John, and formerly Fort Lauderdale.

Oh, i remember Swiss Chalet.....whenever i went to Canada to visit my pill-pusher ex-, i would always got there 2-3 times...excellent food

Harvey's was also a favorite stop of mine up there too.

As for the Yanks...

Remember Red Barn....they used to be all over Dayton, and were one of the first with a salad bar.  They all went poofies during the 80s, but many of the old barns are still standing, as something else.

[thenetwork]

Oh, i remember Swiss Chalet.....whenever i went to Canada to visit my pill-pusher ex-, i would always got there 2-3 times...excellent food

Harvey's was also a favorite stop of mine up there too.

Speaking of Canada, eh, I remember eating at a great pizza place in Windsor, ON.  I want to say the chain was called Mother's.  Had eaten there a few times before they went under.

Speaking of buffets in the states, how about Sweden Haus (House). 

[cpzilliacus]

Speaking of buffets in the states, how about Sweden Haus (House). 

Never been there, though the name sounds phony, because in Swedish, the word for house is hus.

[hbelkins]

Another Ponderosa location bites the dust.  The one in Hazard, Ky., which by all indications was doing extremely well, announced Friday that it will not be reopening. This restaurant got some notoriety because they posted on their marquee "Closed Due To Governor" when the governor ordered dine-in restaurants closed back in mid-March.

[US71]

Western Sizzlin is still here, but seems to be hurting. 6 months ago, they closed one of two locations in town. Right now, they are doing carry-out to try to stay alive, but I won't miss them much if they fail.

[nexus73]

El Pollo Loco tried to do a nationwide expansion from their base market, which appeared to be CA, AZ and NV in the western USA.  The story I read was that quality control became an issue so all those places closed down.  Oregon lost two El Pollo Locos in PDX. 

Rick

[RobbieL2415]

El Pollo Loco tried to do a nationwide expansion from their base market, which appeared to be CA, AZ and NV in the western USA.  The story I read was that quality control became an issue so all those places closed down.  Oregon lost two El Pollo Locos in PDX. 

Rick

Bonefish Grill closed all their CT locations but are still operating elsewhere.
Friendly's closed all their locations on Cape Cod in the mid-2000s but kept operating elsewhere on the East Coast.
Bickfords pulled out of everywhere that wasnt Massachusetts.
Bennigans pulled of New England in the mid-2000s. 33 restaurants remain elsewhere.  The one in Vernon, CT is now a Cumberland Farms.
Ruby Tuesday pulled out of (at least) CT as of the last decade, due to declining sales and competition in the upscale-casual restaurant segment.  There's just too many chain restaurants here.

[dlsterner]

In Maryland, there used to be a bunch of Fuddruckers, but they all closed down recently, although still alive elsewhere.  I would now have to go to SE Pennsylvania (Lancaster or York) to get my Fuddruckers fix.

Also in Maryland, all the locations (at least four) of The Tilted Kilt have closed; the nearest one now is in Petersburg VA.

[nexus73]

In Maryland, there used to be a bunch of Fuddruckers, but they all closed down recently, although still alive elsewhere.  I would now have to go to SE Pennsylvania (Lancaster or York) to get my Fuddruckers fix.

Also in Maryland, all the locations (at least four) of The Tilted Kilt have closed; the nearest one now is in Petersburg VA.

Speaking of Fuddruckers, the only one I ever saw in Oregon was located in Hermiston.  Hard to believe that isn't it?  Now they are colored gone. 

The "Idiocracy" movie version was better!

Rick

[ftballfan]

Another Ponderosa location bites the dust.  The one in Hazard, Ky., which by all indications was doing extremely well, announced Friday that it will not be reopening. This restaurant got some notoriety because they posted on their marquee "Closed Due To Governor" when the governor ordered dine-in restaurants closed back in mid-March.

Several Ponderosas in northern Michigan have closed over the last few years, but this might be the last straw for the Ludington location (which was still doing take-out in mid-March but shut that down toward the end of that month).

Speaking of other chains, Big Boy (Elias Brothers originally) has really scaled back its locations in Michigan over the last 15-20 years. There is still a decent presence in parts of Metro Detroit and northern lower Michigan, but not to the extent of what they used to have.

On the topic of grocery stores, Kroger pulled out of northern and western Michigan many years ago, but is still dominant in metro Detroit.

[1995hoo]

The news that Don Shula died this morning prompts me to note that Shula's Steakhouse pulled out of various markets, including closing the one at Tysons Corner, but is still active in Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Hardly a surprise they'd still exist in Florida, of course!

[ibthebigd]

Frisch's Big Boy left Indianapolis but have several in Cincinnati

SM-G950U

[Rothman]

Frisch's Big Boy left Indianapolis but have several in Cincinnati

SM-G950U

There's one in Winchester, KY.

[ibthebigd]

Frisch's Big Boy left Indianapolis but have several in Cincinnati

SM-G950U

There's one in Winchester, KY.

I live in Georgetown Ky and that's why I thought of Frisch's because I remember when they left Indianapolis.

They just put a 2nd one in Lexington.

SM-G950U

[jeffandnicole]

In Maryland, there used to be a bunch of Fuddruckers, but they all closed down recently, although still alive elsewhere.  I would now have to go to SE Pennsylvania (Lancaster or York) to get my Fuddruckers fix.

Also in Maryland, all the locations (at least four) of The Tilted Kilt have closed; the nearest one now is in Petersburg VA.

The Tilted Kilt is a restaurant with a bad vision. They would do fine in touristy areas or cities where there's plenty of single men. Instead they open up in suburban locations where a lot of families live. Many of their locations have closed, and the ones that remain open are busy at the bar but not in the seating area.

[Rothman]

In Maryland, there used to be a bunch of Fuddruckers, but they all closed down recently, although still alive elsewhere.  I would now have to go to SE Pennsylvania (Lancaster or York) to get my Fuddruckers fix.

Also in Maryland, all the locations (at least four) of The Tilted Kilt have closed; the nearest one now is in Petersburg VA.

The Tilted Kilt is a restaurant with a bad vision. They would do fine in touristy areas or cities where there's plenty of single men. Instead they open up in suburban locations where a lot of families live. Many of their locations have closed, and the ones that remain open are busy at the bar but not in the seating area.

You can say that again.  People in Schenectady, NY were not happy when it popped up in a suburban area and it only lasted a year or two before it closed.

[SEWIGuy]

In Maryland, there used to be a bunch of Fuddruckers, but they all closed down recently, although still alive elsewhere.  I would now have to go to SE Pennsylvania (Lancaster or York) to get my Fuddruckers fix.

Also in Maryland, all the locations (at least four) of The Tilted Kilt have closed; the nearest one now is in Petersburg VA.

The Tilted Kilt is a restaurant with a bad vision. They would do fine in touristy areas or cities where there's plenty of single men. Instead they open up in suburban locations where a lot of families live. Many of their locations have closed, and the ones that remain open are busy at the bar but not in the seating area.

They went with the Hooters model, but even they are closing restaurants as well.  I just don't think the "breastaurant" model has much long-term hope.  The younger generation is largely ignoring it.

[Rothman]

In Maryland, there used to be a bunch of Fuddruckers, but they all closed down recently, although still alive elsewhere.  I would now have to go to SE Pennsylvania (Lancaster or York) to get my Fuddruckers fix.

Also in Maryland, all the locations (at least four) of The Tilted Kilt have closed; the nearest one now is in Petersburg VA.

The Tilted Kilt is a restaurant with a bad vision. They would do fine in touristy areas or cities where there's plenty of single men. Instead they open up in suburban locations where a lot of families live. Many of their locations have closed, and the ones that remain open are busy at the bar but not in the seating area.

They went with the Hooters model, but even they are closing restaurants as well.  I just don't think the "breastaurant" model has much long-term hope.  The younger generation is largely ignoring it.

I don't know.  A co-worker went to a regional office of ours and a bunch of them went out to lunch (mixed company).  It was him and a bunch of younger workers.  I forget which chain it was, but it seemed to my co-worker that the younger generation was oblivious or apathetic towards the fact that it was a "breastaurant."

[cl94]

The "breastaurant" genre, if you can call it that, is a weird one. I've never been into them and neither are my closer friends, but I knew quite a few people who were regulars at Brick House. Definitely a concept that works best in tourist destinations and college towns, given who they're targeting. Hooters is somewhere I go exactly once a year for their "all you can eat" wing deal when it is offered. Never been to Tilted Kilt or any of the others not named Brick House (which I was at once with a group).

[Sctvhound]

Krystal basically pulled out of all of South Carolina around 1995 or so. They have a couple locations in Gaffney and in Aiken/North Augusta, but they used to have locations all over the place, including around Charleston and Columbia.

Carey Hilliard's is a very popular local chain around Savannah (southern-style food, barbecue with Brunswick stew, seafood). They had 2 locations in the Charleston area for many years (West Ashley and North Charleston) but closed them about 10 years ago.

[hbelkins]

Frisch's Big Boy left Indianapolis but have several in Cincinnati

SM-G950U

There's one in Winchester, KY.

Yes, and it's fairly recent.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The "breastaurant" genre, if you can call it that, is a weird one. I've never been into them and neither are my closer friends, but I knew quite a few people who were regulars at Brick House. Definitely a concept that works best in tourist destinations and college towns, given who they're targeting. Hooters is somewhere I go exactly once a year for their "all you can eat" wing deal when it is offered. Never been to Tilted Kilt or any of the others not named Brick House (which I was at once with a group).

I ate at a Hooters in Novi, Michigan around 10 years ago. The food was among the worst I'd ever come across, not "off-night"  quality bad, just pure low-quality crap. That included sampling quite a bit of what they had to offer as well. It all sucked.

[jp the roadgeek]

The Tilted Kilt location(s) in CT are long gone.  I know there was one in Wethersfield in what was formerly a Bennigan's.  The nearest one now is in Sicklerville, NJ.  Our Big Boy franchise (Abdow's), has been gone for at least 20 years.  Hooters still is around, and the only Fuddruckers we have ever had is in Foxwoods Casino.  Hooters lives on with 3 locations within 30 miles of me.  However, there are plenty of local wing places that are a thousand times better.

[catch22]

The "breastaurant" genre, if you can call it that, is a weird one. I've never been into them and neither are my closer friends, but I knew quite a few people who were regulars at Brick House. Definitely a concept that works best in tourist destinations and college towns, given who they're targeting. Hooters is somewhere I go exactly once a year for their "all you can eat" wing deal when it is offered. Never been to Tilted Kilt or any of the others not named Brick House (which I was at once with a group).

I ate at a Hooters in Novi, Michigan around 10 years ago. The food was among the worst I'd ever come across, not "off-night"  quality bad, just pure low-quality crap. That included sampling quite a bit of what they had to offer as well. It all sucked.

About 20 years ago, the company I worked for then had one of their training centers in Largo, Florida just south of Clearwater.   At my first class there, one of the handouts  detailed all the local restaurants, one of which was the original Hooters on Gulf to Bay Boulevard just east of US-19.  Our instructor raved about this place and insisted we go there for lunch our first day.  I was less than impressed with the food and service and haven't been in one since.