Businesses You're Amazed Are Still Around

[corco]

Beer

Your 'people who got it right' made 'beers' that, at best, taste of nothing (and normally taste of rancid rat piss - there's a reason the Americans have been pushing ice cold beers - cold hides the taste). Not only is the Lite beer movement about faux-beer for the people who don't like the taste of beer, but is a snobby move to pretend to be drinking beer, a mass market but traditionally artisan (rather than industrial) drink back across the Atlantic, to hide the truth that they are drinking something that tastes horrible just because it has alcohol in it. The irony is that it's a crappy alcohol delivery system, with low alcohol content.

Craft beer 'snobs' just want beer to taste like beer does elsewhere in the world. While they wouldn't call Sam Adams a craft beer, they don't care that Sam Adams is mass produced in Cincinatti, they care that it actually beer.

The McDonalds issue is indeed similar - neither, however, are snobbish reactions to low-brow cheap produce, but against stuff that isn't food/beer in a meaningful sense. McDonalds isn't nutrious, and Lite beer runs from the flavouring agent of beer - hops.

For me, I enjoy McDonald's and Budweiser just as I enjoy a "fancy" burger and an IPA. I don't really compare the two in my mind- if you drink a Budweiser looking for an IPA, you will be disappointed and vice versa. That's how I am able to enjoy both- I don't expect Budweiser to taste like strong beer, which makes it nice to drink after, say, mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. At the same time, when I'm sitting down and want to drink with friends, I tend to like something a little stronger, and for that a Budweiser isn't ideal. That being said, it's hilarious for somebody to essentially say "you're a pussy for drinking IPA," which is basically what SP is saying, when a good 7.5% IPA has a lot more alcohol in it than a 4.2% Budweiser.

I don't know what beer prices in other parts of the country are, but I can get a 6-pack of 9% Hops Juice IPA http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11972/64364/ for about $9 at a grocery store. A 6-pack of 5% Budweiser is about $6. With both having 12 ounce bottles, I get about .6 fl oz of alcohol per bottle of Budweiser and 1.08 fl oz of alcohol per bottle of Hops Juice. If it takes me 4.32 fl oz of alcohol to get to where I want to be, that's 4 bottles of Hops Juice, which costs $6 or 7 bottles of Budweiser, which costs $7. Given beer prices here, it's actually quite a bit CHEAPER to get drunk on strong microbrews. Add in that I'm supporting a Montana business instead of a Belgian multi-national and it's an easy call, even ignoring the fact that it generally tastes better. Now, Budweiser is perhaps meant to be bought by the 30-pack, in which case it's cheaper, but then I've got 30 beers hogging my kitchen.

Same deal with McDonald's- if I just want some food quickly, McDonald's will leave me satisfied. If I want to go out to dinner, McDonald's won't leave me all that satisfied. I don't compare a Big Mac with a fancier burger- doing that is bound to lead to disappointment. They're essentially two different foods to me.

[thenetwork]

Have the 2-3 (varies from year to year) Howard Johnson Restaurants been mentioned yet?

Interesting how the Howard Johnson's restaurants are near extinction, but there are still quite a bit of Howard Johnson Hotels/Lodges/Inns that are still around.  However, most of the 60's & 70's-style HoJo hotel styled buildings I have seen that are still standing are not HoJos anymore.

Someone mentioned Friendly's earlier.  A good chunk of those that remained in Ohio closed abruptly within the last few months.

[thenetwork]

Beer

Your 'people who got it right' made 'beers' that, at best, taste of nothing (and normally taste of rancid rat piss - there's a reason the Americans have been pushing ice cold beers - cold hides the taste). Not only is the Lite beer movement about faux-beer for the people who don't like the taste of beer, but is a snobby move to pretend to be drinking beer, a mass market but traditionally artisan (rather than industrial) drink back across the Atlantic, to hide the truth that they are drinking something that tastes horrible just because it has alcohol in it. The irony is that it's a crappy alcohol delivery system, with low alcohol content.

Craft beer 'snobs' just want beer to taste like beer does elsewhere in the world. While they wouldn't call Sam Adams a craft beer, they don't care that Sam Adams is mass produced in Cincinatti, they care that it actually beer.

The McDonalds issue is indeed similar - neither, however, are snobbish reactions to low-brow cheap produce, but against stuff that isn't food/beer in a meaningful sense. McDonalds isn't nutrious, and Lite beer runs from the flavouring agent of beer - hops.

For me, I enjoy McDonald's and Budweiser just as I enjoy a "fancy" burger and an IPA. I don't really compare the two in my mind- if you drink a Budweiser looking for an IPA, you will be disappointed and vice versa. That's how I am able to enjoy both- I don't expect Budweiser to taste like strong beer, which makes it nice to drink after, say, mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. At the same time, when I'm sitting down and want to drink with friends, I tend to like something a little stronger, and for that a Budweiser isn't ideal. That being said, it's hilarious for somebody to essentially say "you're a pussy for drinking IPA," which is basically what SP is saying, when a good 7.5% IPA has a lot more alcohol in it than a 4.2% Budweiser.

I don't know what beer prices in other parts of the country are, but I can get a 6-pack of 9% Hops Juice IPA http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11972/64364/ for about $9 at a grocery store. A 6-pack of 5% Budweiser is about $6. With both having 12 ounce bottles, I get about .6 fl oz of alcohol per bottle of Budweiser and 1.08 fl oz of alcohol per bottle of Hops Juice. If it takes me 4.32 fl oz of alcohol to get to where I want to be, that's 4 bottles of Hops Juice, which costs $6 or 7 bottles of Budweiser, which costs $7. Given beer prices here, it's actually quite a bit CHEAPER to get drunk on strong microbrews. Add in that I'm supporting a Montana business instead of a Belgian multi-national and it's an easy call, even ignoring the fact that it generally tastes better. Now, Budweiser is perhaps meant to be bought by the 30-pack, in which case it's cheaper, but then I've got 30 beers hogging my kitchen.

Same deal with McDonald's- if I just want some food quickly, McDonald's will leave me satisfied. If I want to go out to dinner, McDonald's won't leave me all that satisfied. I don't compare a Big Mac with a fancier burger- doing that is bound to lead to disappointment. They're essentially two different foods to me.

Re: McDonalds, or nearly any of the Clown's competitors:  If I grab any of their food for lunch or to tide me over until a real meal, I stay with their Value Meal items, which are usually under $1.50 each.   I can get a McDouble Cheeseburger and a Coke for $2.59.  Why spend $3-4 more for the Big Mac Combo, or $3.50 for the sandwich alone?  They just upped their Sausage Biscuits here to $1.29 from $1.00, and now the sausage they use tastes different -- more bland than before.  I used to like getting breakfasts at the McDs in Canada, their sausage had more of a kick to it.

Re: Beer:  One of the big regional "budget beers" around the eastern Great Lakes area is Genesee -- which comes from upper New York State.  About 2 years ago, it started showing up on shelves in Colorado.  It is actually some of the cheapest beer in the state ($3.49-3.99 for a 6 pack) and actually costs less than a 6-pack of Coke or Pepsi.  Some of the people I have talked to around here have tried it and said it's not too bad for the price.  May not be as good as Coors or Coors Light, but palatable.

[Pete from Boston]

Have the 2-3 (varies from year to year) Howard Johnson Restaurants been mentioned yet?

Interesting how the Howard Johnson's restaurants are near extinction, but there are still quite a bit of Howard Johnson Hotels/Lodges/Inns that are still around.  However, most of the 60's & 70's-style HoJo hotel styled buildings I have seen that are still standing are not HoJos anymore.

Complicated corporate history, easier to suggest a google than try to explain.  But you can see a lot of Hojo hotels with the distinctive restaurant building housing another restaurant.

Someone mentioned Friendly's earlier.  A good chunk of those that remained in Ohio closed abruptly within the last few months.

They just closed all Ohio locations, from what I heard.  Fate should have killed Friendly's long ago, but I think some deity owes Prestley Blake a favor.

[roadman65]

Radio Shack cannot be said about this anymore.

[1995hoo]

Have the 2-3 (varies from year to year) Howard Johnson Restaurants been mentioned yet?

Interesting how the Howard Johnson's restaurants are near extinction, but there are still quite a bit of Howard Johnson Hotels/Lodges/Inns that are still around.  However, most of the 60's & 70's-style HoJo hotel styled buildings I have seen that are still standing are not HoJos anymore.

Someone mentioned Friendly's earlier.  A good chunk of those that remained in Ohio closed abruptly within the last few months.

The only Friendly's I know of near us (the one on Burke Centre Parkway) closed sometime between Thanksgiving and the Saturday after New Year's. Don't know what's going into the space. We ate there last year one day when we were out shopping. Struck me as the ideal place to take a kids' soccer team after a game, EXCEPT the restaurant didn't have electronic gewgaws so today's kids would probably complain.

[jeffandnicole]

Radio Shack cannot be said about this anymore.

They are still open.

[formulanone]

Have the 2-3 (varies from year to year) Howard Johnson Restaurants been mentioned yet?

Along those lines, it was a shock to me to find out that Ground Round franchisee locations still exist, somewhere.

I ate a Ground Round in Bangor, Maine two years ago. They confirmed that there was some big scale-back years ago. Food was good, service was prompt and friendly...moderately busy on a Monday night. 

Last time I ate at one (1982? 1984?), they gave all the kids a token for a random plastic-bubble toy.

[jeffandnicole]

Add in that I'm supporting a Montana business instead of a Belgian multi-national and it's an easy call, even ignoring the fact that it generally tastes better.

To a point.  But even foreign businesses, unless they are delivering their product direct from their foreign warehouse to a store owned by foreigners, still employs many Americans.  Bud is still brewed in a dozen or so plants around the country.  Trains and trucks deliver those Buds to Distributors.  Distributors deliver it to liquor stores/restaurants/retailers.  Advertisers advertise.  There's water, quality control, Grain growers...and the list goes on.

There's still a lot of Americans involved with the resale of Bud, even if the actual entity is foreign owned.

[jeffandnicole]

Have the 2-3 (varies from year to year) Howard Johnson Restaurants been mentioned yet?

Along those lines, it was a shock to me to find out that Ground Round franchisee locations still exist, somewhere.

I ate a Ground Round in Bangor, Maine two years ago. They confirmed that there was some big scale-back years ago. Food was good and service was prompt and friendly.

Last time I ate at one (1982? 1984?), they gave all the kids a token for a random plastic-bubble toy.

Ground Round closed around 20 years ago.  Former Franchisees bought the rights to the name and have opened some locations.  Basically the same restaurant from many years ago, albeit more up to date.  And the popcorn is still free.

[OCGuy81]

Have the 2-3 (varies from year to year) Howard Johnson Restaurants been mentioned yet?

Along those lines, it was a shock to me to find out that Ground Round franchisee locations still exist, somewhere.

I ate a Ground Round in Bangor, Maine two years ago. They confirmed that there was some big scale-back years ago. Food was good and service was prompt and friendly.

Last time I ate at one (1982? 1984?), they gave all the kids a token for a random plastic-bubble toy.

Ground Round closed around 20 years ago.  Former Franchisees bought the rights to the name and have opened some locations.  Basically the same restaurant from many years ago, albeit more up to date.  And the popcorn is still free.

On that note, are Sizzler locations still around?  Feels like a good decade or more since I last saw one of those.

[jeffandnicole]

Have the 2-3 (varies from year to year) Howard Johnson Restaurants been mentioned yet?

Along those lines, it was a shock to me to find out that Ground Round franchisee locations still exist, somewhere.

I ate a Ground Round in Bangor, Maine two years ago. They confirmed that there was some big scale-back years ago. Food was good and service was prompt and friendly.

Last time I ate at one (1982? 1984?), they gave all the kids a token for a random plastic-bubble toy.

Ground Round closed around 20 years ago.  Former Franchisees bought the rights to the name and have opened some locations.  Basically the same restaurant from many years ago, albeit more up to date.  And the popcorn is still free.

On that note, are Sizzler locations still around?  Feels like a good decade or more since I last saw one of those.

According to their website, they are around, and they are mostly out your way in the west.

When the majority of them closed in the east, 1 of the few that remained was down the road from where I went to college in Delaware.  They eventually closed as well, but they hung on for quite some time.

[hbelkins]

No Friendly's anywhere near my area. The times I have been in an area with a Friendly's, I wanted very badly to try them. However, every location I visited was too crowded. The parking lots were full. The one time I actually did park and get out and go in, there was a line practically out the door. I don't have the patience for that, so I went elsewhere.

[kkt]

There were never any Friendly's around here.  But I enjoyed them when I was on the east coast.  Sorry I won't have that to look forward to on future trips.

[TheStranger]

I've driven past and gone to one former Friendly's location in Dixon (later a Valero, now an independent gas station) though I don't have any memory of it as one.

[Pete from Boston]

There were never any Friendly's around here.  But I enjoyed them when I was on the east coast.  Sorry I won't have that to look forward to on future trips.

There are plenty of them here.  Not as many as in years past, but plenty.

People complain about them a lot, yet they are often packed as mentioned.  I guess they just don't handle that volume well. 

[JakeFromNewEngland]

There were never any Friendly's around here.  But I enjoyed them when I was on the east coast.  Sorry I won't have that to look forward to on future trips.

There are plenty of them here.  Not as many as in years past, but plenty.

People complain about them a lot, yet they are often packed as mentioned.  I guess they just don't handle that volume well.

Recently a lot of Friendly's closed down in Connecticut. There is still one in Milford that seems to be doing well. I never understood why it was so popular. Their food is "okay" and one time we waited almost 2 hours for our food when some machine broke and they didn't tell us.

[kkt]

I can't think of anyplace around here where you can get a meal and ice cream sundaes made with a wide choice of ice cream and toppings in the same place.  Many ice cream places, but they don't serve meals too.

[Pete from Boston]

There were never any Friendly's around here.  But I enjoyed them when I was on the east coast.  Sorry I won't have that to look forward to on future trips.

There are plenty of them here.  Not as many as in years past, but plenty.

People complain about them a lot, yet they are often packed as mentioned.  I guess they just don't handle that volume well.

Recently a lot of Friendly's closed down in Connecticut. There is still one in Milford that seems to be doing well. I never understood why it was so popular. Their food is "okay" and one time we waited almost 2 hours for our food when some machine broke and they didn't tell us.

Why would you have stayed that long?  Make me wait an hour for my food, shame on you, make me wait two...

In 2011 or 12 a bunch closed in bankruptcy reorganization.

I always thought the problem was not so much having too many stores as it is just figuring out things like when you have kids and ice cream everything ends up sticky and you have to wipe things down. They have not been great in getting little details through to their staff.

And, as you say, don't keep secrets from your customers.

[Zeffy]

I used to love Friendlys. I say used to because the one in Montgomery closed down (closest to me) so we never went out of our way to one, and this was before I become lactose-intolerant. Their ice cream was so good. Their normal food tasted perfectly fine to me as well.

[JakeFromNewEngland]

There were never any Friendly's around here.  But I enjoyed them when I was on the east coast.  Sorry I won't have that to look forward to on future trips.

There are plenty of them here.  Not as many as in years past, but plenty.

People complain about them a lot, yet they are often packed as mentioned.  I guess they just don't handle that volume well.

Recently a lot of Friendly's closed down in Connecticut. There is still one in Milford that seems to be doing well. I never understood why it was so popular. Their food is "okay" and one time we waited almost 2 hours for our food when some machine broke and they didn't tell us.

Why would you have stayed that long?  Make me wait an hour for my food, shame on you, make me wait two...

In 2011 or 12 a bunch closed in bankruptcy reorganization.

I always thought the problem was not so much having too many stores as it is just figuring out things like when you have kids and ice cream everything ends up sticky and you have to wipe things down. They have not been great in getting little details through to their staff.

And, as you say, don't keep secrets from your customers.

We were with a large group of people and everyone wanted to stay. This was at least 5-6 years ago. If I was in that situation today, I would've left immediately.

[vdeane]

Radio Shack cannot be said about this anymore.

They are still open.

Not for long

[Pete from Boston]

Radio Shack cannot be said about this anymore.

They are still open.

Not for long

This has been beaten to death here and in the news media in general, but there's no indication that the stores are going completely away.  Sprint is buying a bunch of them, and apparently just doesn't need all the space in most of those locations. And then there is the usual issue of franchisees, who are going to have a choice of what to do with their locations.

So amazingly, Radio Shack may not be dead just yet.

[DandyDan]

On that note, are Sizzler locations still around?  Feels like a good decade or more since I last saw one of those.

They have a Sizzler in Omaha on L Street.  I thought they had one other one in the Omaha area.  I have never been there (largely a function of the fact I don't live close to there).

[PHLBOS]

So amazingly, Radio Shack may not be dead just yet.

  Sorry, I just had to.