Service plazas on turnpikes/thruways/toll roads

[PHLBOS]

Are there service plazas today that have cafeteria-style restaurants?

I believe ones along the NJ Turnpike still have such for certain restaurants within the plaza.

[1995hoo]

The Roy Rogers at the Delaware Turnpike service plaza used the same arrangement briantroutman describes. I have not stopped at that plaza in years, possibly not since 2002, in large part because I seldom use that route north anymore, so I have no idea what's there now.

[briantroutman]

The Roy Rogers at the Delaware Turnpike service plaza used the same arrangement... I have no idea what's there now.

That service plaza, since renamed the "Biden Welcome Center" , was completely razed and rebuilt in the relatively recent past. Unlike several reconstructed plazas on the PA Turnpike, Delaware's Roy Rogers did not survive the transition. But like the new PA plazas, the giant open-air space is ringed by several standard order-at-counter fast food storefronts.

[sbeaver44]

Never knew that Howard Johnson's had cafeteria-style restaurants.

I'd be interested in learning more about the cafeteria setup as it applied to Howard Johnson's toll road locations. From what I've seen in old photos (like this one showing table service at a Pennsylvania Turnpike location circa the early '60s–by my guess), I'm inclined to believe that the cafeteria setup wasn't entirely universal.

Perhaps the company reserved the cafeteria arrangement for either high-volume locations or locations where the local labor pool made it difficult to maintain adequate staffing–or perhaps a combination of the two factors. Or maybe it was something Howard Johnson's primarily rolled out in later years ('70s/'80s) as traveler preferences shifted toward fast food and the company struggled to maintain profitability.

OrangeRoof.org, the Howard Johnson's history website, mentions that Howard Johnson's won a contract for Connecticut's service plazas in 1975. (I wonder what they were prior; amazing to me that a turnpike in Howard Johnson's backyard didn't have a contract with HoJo from day one.) And the company remodeled the service plazas, implementing a cafeteria-type layout. There's a photo of the cafeteria line on the page linked above. But the timing of the cafeteria implementation in Connecticut (1975) leads me to believe it was something that the company resorted to in its declining years.

Are there service plazas today that have cafeteria-style restaurants?

I don't know about today, but the cafeteria scheme was still in place at a few PA Turnpike locations up until about a decade ago.

When I first encountered the Allentown Service Plaza in the 1990s, the Roy Rogers was set up in a cafeteria arrangement where you'd pick up a tray, pass a line of stainless steel chutes with pre-made sandwiches, pass a warming rack with pre-filled fry boxes, and then come to a cashier at the end who would total your order and give you a drink cup. As I recall, the Roy Rogers at Peter J. Camiel (pre-renovation) was virtually identical. Since their renovations, both have been reconfigured with typical fast food counter service (like all standalone Roy's locations–as far as I know).

Oh yeah I do remember that Roy's at Peter J. Camiel.

[vdeane]

Sloatsburg.  On the northbound side, it is the first plaza on the Thruway west of the Hudson River, and is the only plaza I've ever seen with its own parking garage!  This makes sense for two reasons (1) no room to expand due to being hemmed in by mountains, and (2) it's a popular stop, since it's the first plaza encountered after getting out of the New York City metro area, by which time the "we have to go to the bathroom"s begin.  Indeed, that second point actually precedes the construction of the Thruway; the parallel "old route", NY-17, had a popular stop called the "Red Apple Rest" right around the same point.  Last I heard it's still standing, but has been abandoned for a while.

Also worth noting that Sloatsburg serves not one but two corridors - I-87 north and NY 17 west.  They don't split until exit 16.

Do bathroom stops happen disproportionately leaving metro areas?  I've noticed on I-87 that the rest areas favor northbound - in particular, Clifton Park has no southbound counterpart.  Similarly on the Thruway, the Ardsley service area has no southbound counterpart.

[theline]

Never knew that Howard Johnson's had cafeteria-style restaurants.

I'd be interested in learning more about the cafeteria setup as it applied to Howard Johnson's toll road locations. From what I've seen in old photos (like this one showing table service at a Pennsylvania Turnpike location circa the early '60s–by my guess), I'm inclined to believe that the cafeteria setup wasn't entirely universal.

Perhaps the company reserved the cafeteria arrangement for either high-volume locations or locations where the local labor pool made it difficult to maintain adequate staffing–or perhaps a combination of the two factors. Or maybe it was something Howard Johnson's primarily rolled out in later years ('70s/'80s) as traveler preferences shifted toward fast food and the company struggled to maintain profitability.

OrangeRoof.org, the Howard Johnson's history website, mentions that Howard Johnson's won a contract for Connecticut's service plazas in 1975. (I wonder what they were prior; amazing to me that a turnpike in Howard Johnson's backyard didn't have a contract with HoJo from day one.) And the company remodeled the service plazas, implementing a cafeteria-type layout. There's a photo of the cafeteria line on the page linked above. But the timing of the cafeteria implementation in Connecticut (1975) leads me to believe it was something that the company resorted to in its declining years.

Are there service plazas today that have cafeteria-style restaurants?

I don't know about today, but the cafeteria scheme was still in place at a few PA Turnpike locations up until about a decade ago.

When I first encountered the Allentown Service Plaza in the 1990s, the Roy Rogers was set up in a cafeteria arrangement where you'd pick up a tray, pass a line of stainless steel chutes with pre-made sandwiches, pass a warming rack with pre-filled fry boxes, and then come to a cashier at the end who would total your order and give you a drink cup. As I recall, the Roy Rogers at Peter J. Camiel (pre-renovation) was virtually identical. Since their renovations, both have been reconfigured with typical fast food counter service (like all standalone Roy's locations–as far as I know).

I'm quite sure that my encounters with the cafeteria-style HoJos on the Ohio/PA turnpikes was when I was driving in the '70s and early '80s. When I was a young passenger in the '50s and '60s, I think the restaurants has table service. That's foggier in my aging brain though.

I just checked with my wife, who can't recall the Ohio/PA HoJos, but she clearly recalls sit-down HoJos in the Tri-State Tollway oases in the '60s.

[ErmineNotyours]

Do bathroom stops happen disproportionately leaving metro areas?  I've noticed on I-87 that the rest areas favor northbound - in particular, Clifton Park has no southbound counterpart.  Similarly on the Thruway, the Ardsley service area has no southbound counterpart.

I noticed that the rest areas on I-5 around Seattle favor inbound travelers.  There are no corresponding rest areas on the other side for outbound travelers.  I imagine there could be desperate situations where you may be looking for a parking spot and a bathroom, and, yes, information for attractions in the city.  Also, not having outbound rest areas discourages extra-curricular activity there.

[lstone19]

Do bathroom stops happen disproportionately leaving metro areas?  I've noticed on I-87 that the rest areas favor northbound - in particular, Clifton Park has no southbound counterpart.  Similarly on the Thruway, the Ardsley service area has no southbound counterpart.

There used to be a SB area on the Northway near to opposite Clifton Park but it was closed many, many years (in the 70s probably) ago due to illegal hangouts going on there. I really have no recollection where exactly it was.

EDIT: Looking at it Google Earth, I believe it was between Exits 11 and 10. Link in Google Maps is https://www.google.com/maps/place/Clifton+Park,+NY/@42.9150241,-73.7980691,662m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89de134e8818c603:0x4d433646c523c77a!8m2!3d42.844668!4d-73.8183804 but if you look at the same area in Google Earth and then use the historical imagery time slider to go back to 1997, it's much more obvious as a lot of trees have taken back that area in the last 23 years.

[vdeane]

Do bathroom stops happen disproportionately leaving metro areas?  I've noticed on I-87 that the rest areas favor northbound - in particular, Clifton Park has no southbound counterpart.  Similarly on the Thruway, the Ardsley service area has no southbound counterpart.

There used to be a SB area on the Northway near to opposite Clifton Park but it was closed many, many years (in the 70s probably) ago due to illegal hangouts going on there. I really have no recollection where exactly it was.

EDIT: Looking at it Google Earth, I believe it was between Exits 11 and 10. Link in Google Maps is https://www.google.com/maps/place/Clifton+Park,+NY/@42.9150241,-73.7980691,662m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89de134e8818c603:0x4d433646c523c77a!8m2!3d42.844668!4d-73.8183804 but if you look at the same area in Google Earth and then use the historical imagery time slider to go back to 1997, it's much more obvious as a lot of trees have taken back that area in the last 23 years.

Yep, that's where it was.  I found it (or at least the remains of it) on a 1978 aerial image on USGS Earth Explorer.

[D-Dey65]

Historically, I recall most of the Ohio and Pennsylvania plazas once featured Howard Johnson's cafeterias, but we tried to avoid them. You've never lived until you've sampled the Jell-o cubes that have been out on the cafeteria line all day.

And New Jersey Turnpike too. 



Here's what one of the ones at the Joyce Kilmer Service Center was in October 2018.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joyce_Kilmer_Service_Area;_Nathan%27s_and_Hershey%27s.jpg

I don't know if those franchises are still there today.

[RobbieL2415]

The lottery machines at the NJTP plazas don't check for ID before they dispense.  I've always found that odd.

[Brandon]

The lottery machines at the NJTP plazas don't check for ID before they dispense.  I've always found that odd.

I've never seen a lottery machine that does.  The Illinois ones (anywhere) do not either.

[jeffandnicole]

The lottery machines at the NJTP plazas don't check for ID before they dispense.  I've always found that odd.

I've never seen a lottery machine that does.  The Illinois ones (anywhere) do not either.

No NJ Lottery machine checks ID.  Neither do ones I've used in PA, DE, MD, and VA.

[roadman]

The lottery machines at the NJTP plazas don't check for ID before they dispense.  I've always found that odd.

I've never seen a lottery machine that does.  The Illinois ones (anywhere) do not either.

No NJ Lottery machine checks ID.  Neither do ones I've used in PA, DE, MD, and VA.

Add MA to that list.

[hotdogPi]

The lottery machines at the NJTP plazas don't check for ID before they dispense.  I've always found that odd.

I've never seen a lottery machine that does.  The Illinois ones (anywhere) do not either.

No NJ Lottery machine checks ID.  Neither do ones I've used in PA, DE, MD, and VA.

Add MA to that list.

The ones I know of definitely do.

[1995hoo]

I've never heard of a lottery machine that checks ID. How would that even work, given the varied sorts of IDs across the country?

[ilpt4u]

I've never heard of a lottery machine that checks ID. How would that even work, given the varied sorts of IDs across the country?

Airline and Hotel self-service check-in machines read and validate IDs - surely Lotto machines also can

I've never bought a Lotto ticket from a machine, so no data on IL or other states Lotto

I do know the self-service check-in machines @ Caesar's properties in Vegas have never once validated my Illinois license via their ID reader. Always ends up going to the desk to check in the old fashioned way. Airline self-service check-ins have validated my ID, tho

[briantroutman]

I've never heard of a lottery machine that checks ID. How would that even work, given the varied sorts of IDs across the country?

To the best of my knowledge, AAMVA, which is to state DMVs what AASHTO is to state DOTs, maintains certain standards regarding the design and encoding of information on state drivers' licenses to allow for interstate interchange of license data.

[GCrites]

author=theline link=topic=26457.msg2480744#msg2480744 date=1582706282
Historically, I recall most of the Ohio and Pennsylvania plazas once featured Howard Johnson's cafeterias, but we tried to avoid them. You've never lived until you've sampled the Jell-o cubes that have been out on the cafeteria line all day.

Never knew that Howard Johnson's had cafeteria-style restaurants.  As they say, you learn something new every day. 

The Northbound WV Turnpike Howard Johnson's were also like this.

[RobbieL2415]

The lottery machines at the NJTP plazas don't check for ID before they dispense.  I've always found that odd.

I've never seen a lottery machine that does.  The Illinois ones (anywhere) do not either.

Ours in CT do.

[1995hoo]

I've never heard of a lottery machine that checks ID. How would that even work, given the varied sorts of IDs across the country?

To the best of my knowledge, AAMVA, which is to state DMVs what AASHTO is to state DOTs, maintains certain standards regarding the design and encoding of information on state drivers' licenses to allow for interstate interchange of license data.

So what happens to people who don't use driver's licenses as their IDs?

(Regarding the comment above about airline and hotel checkin kiosks, I normally do both of those online and so have not used a machine in years.)

[briantroutman]

So what happens to people who don't use driver's licenses as their IDs?

Assumably, people trying to use a passport, Global Entry card, DoD ID, etc. as a form of ID would be out of luck. But I'd estimate that the percentage of eligible people trying to buy lottery tickets at a service plaza kiosk who do possess a passport or other valid form of ID–but don't also have either a driver's license or state-issued non-driver ID card in their possession–would be exceptionally small.