The last Howard Johnsons closed last year. Fehn's first opened on the Tennessee River in 1930 (!) Sadly, all the Casa Bonitas closed by 2011, except for one. Open from 1929 to 1965, the restaurant and night club was a place where celebrities and socialites alike could enjoy cocktails, a steak dinner, and a night of dancing. Leggys were 10 inches long, with legs that consisted of at least 75% of that. Founded in 1933, Valle's Steak House saw huge expansion during the '60s by embracing the dining trend of leaning toward a menu full of steak and lobster. The end. Hard, uncomfortable seats, tables cleaned with the same hot tea you drank, long waits for . The hamburger joint was founded in 1959 when Colts captain Gino Marchetti joined forces with owners Joe Campanella, Louis Fisher, and Alan Ameche. Depend on your area maybe. Its demise involved filing for bankruptcy, a series of lawsuits, and the largest Hepatitis A outbreak in the country (courtesy of some contaminated onions). American bakery chain, La Petite Boulangerie or "little bakery," did indeed start out small, with only two stores in the beginning. Heap Big Beef expanded, but it was still fairly short-lived. In 1979, the last Sandys changed its name to Hardees. By the mid-1970s, however, the writing was on the wall. However, the Carrols Restaurant Group still exists and franchises most of the Burger King and Popeye's restaurants in the U.S. To get your old-time ice cream fix, there was no better place than Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. The exclusive New York City bar, owned by Bernard Shor served steak and baked potatoes among other things, but the crowd was the real attraction. Today, the total of both stands at under 20 across the country. With a menu including friend clams, baked beans, chicken pot pies and ice cream, Howard Johnsons was one of the first sit-down fast food outposts. What's Your State's Favorite Super Bowl Dip? In the '90s, there were dozens of MaggieMoo's stores. The California-based hamburger and hotdog joint closed officially in 1986 after a 38-year stint. (Unlike other restaurants, there was no way to order takeout from a buffet.). At the start, Gino's Hamburgers was simply Gino's Drive-In, a hamburger company started in Baltimore, Maryland, in the late 1950s. 11 / 11. Well always have fond memories of this Planet Hollywood-owned eatery. This location, at 2200 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth, is no longer open, but the Brinkman family still operates seven Bud's Chicken. One of America's first casual dining/sports-bar chains, Bennigan's often lagged behind similar concepts from contemporaries like Fridays, Applebee's, and Chili's. a local bar or two where everyone knew your name. That said, it changed hands frequently and was bought by PepsiCo in 1982, and later bought by Mrs. Fields Original Cookies in 1987. Despite such gimmicks, by 2008, it was game over for Steak and Ale. For 33 years, this New York City family-owned, cafeteria-style institution served as a rallying point for hopeful politicians (both JFK and Ed Koch campaigned here), as well as a favorite dining destination for locals. If this sounds eerily familiar, its because White Tower came along only five years after the very similar and also Midwest-based, White Castle. Founded in 1978, there were more than 100 locations by 1985 but by 1987, it had sold 90 percent of its restaurants to Hardee's after ceasing to franchise in 1986 and filing for bankruptcy. And it was for a while. RELATED: This 7-day smoothie diet will help you shed those last few pounds. All rights reserved. It was a time of Beanie Babies and Blockbuster, of Saved by the Bell and slap bracelets. Ever wonder how the movers and shakers of Wall Street spend their lunch breaks? Here are the ones we miss the most. The chains upsetting and racist name caused protests and lawsuits across the US at its 1,117 stores. (At least KFC actually, ya know, started in Kentucky.). Charging by the person rather than by the item eventually caught up with Eatza Pizza, and after the company headquarters relocated to Connecticut in 2007, the number of restaurants was cut drastically. Arlington Hts. In the 1990s, restaurants became a source of star-studded entertainment in and of themselves. Some become successes and spawn entire empires that are still going strong today. While the food was popular, the restaurants were never able to break into the market and were sold off to Nathan's in 1998. Town Square Cafe Magic Kingdom Before it was Tony's Town Square Restaurant, the restaurant at the start of Main Street, U.S.A., was simply known as Town Square Cafe. Lauren Gray is a New York-based writer, editor, and consultant. Doggie Diner, known for its hot dogs and burgers, was a favorite in the Bay Area for nearly 40 years, but like many other smaller chains, it couldn't keep up with McDonald's and Burger King. The company was known for their celebrity endorsements, like Muhammad Ali and comedian Soupy Sales, as well as their monstrous burgers like the "Sirloiner" and the famous "Giant." The nautical-themed restaurant that served up unbelievable deals on seafood (as waiters wore colonial garb, no less) was scattered across the country. While Carrols locations became defunct around the '80s, the parent company is now the largest franchise owner of Burger Kings. It's time to look back at the failed '90s restaurant chains where so many children spent their Saturday nights or special birthday celebrations. Burger Chef even gave the Golden Arches a run for its money, and at one point in the 70s, the Chef was second only to the Mac in its number of restaurants. The chain was in business and doing well for 42 years, but when the pandemic hit, it basically put the notion of buffets on the chopping block. Think: tacos, hamburgers, hot dogs and pastrami sandwiches. In 1969, it was acquired by a Nashville Company, Performance Systems, but it didn't know quite how to run a restaurant business. . Before Chipotle and Taco Bell, there was Chi-Chi's. day, 2022 Galvanized Media. Krystal bought them out in 1994, so the majority of Mighty Casey's got turned into Krystals instead. It was a decade that embraced Nirvana and Hanson equallyand that is truly something special. Sports. Trader Vic's. The Polynesian-themed restaurant was in Seattle's Washington Plaza Hotel (now the Westin) and capitalized on the tiki-fad of the 1950s and 1960s. See if you can remember these totally or nearly defunct chain restaurants from decades ago. A much larger player in the franchise biz, Mrs. Fields, acquired Hot Sam in 1995; unsurprisingly, the bigger fish soon enough ate its smaller sibling and began shutting down the Hot Sams. Many a Gen-X kid had their birthday party there. To quote Queen Bey, who will run the world? Country Cookin soon had over a dozen outposts throughout Virginia, serving up finger-licking Southern treats. The 50 Greatest Discontinued '90s Foods and Beverages. The pretzel chain was ubiquitous in Michigan malls for decades, right alongside movie theaters, candy shops and the Gap. Chain restaurants like Applebee's, Fridays, Chili's and Outback may dominate highways and mall locations alike, but it wasn't always that way. His chain restaurant, which focused on causal dining, never grew to tremendous popularity. It was reported closed in 2014. Well, most of them. What a career, right? Hot dogs steamed in beer? Various outposts continued operating, but the last Mr. Steak had sizzled out by 2009. Some reports state that one of Geris founders was actually a former McDs corporate employee, which is why there were several similarities to Geris menu, look and design. Year opened: 1971 Year closed: 2011 In a pre-e-reader, pre-Amazon world, browsing books at Borders was an idyllic way to spend an afternoon. Snack foods, insta-meals, cereals, and drinks tend to come and go, but the ones we remember from childhood seem to stick with us. if( 'moc.sihttae.www' !== location.hostname.split('').reverse().join('') ) { After being revamped in the late 2000s, Bob's came back a little bit, and the chain now has multiple locations across California, Michigan, North Dakota, and Ohio. Is there a more '90s list of people than that? The first Luby's opened in the '40s, and the chain ballooned to more than 200 locations in the mid-'90s. Our content is fact checked or reviewed by medical and diet professionals to reflect accuracy and ensure our readers get sound nutrition and diet advice. The Chipotle conglomerate opened up the first Tasty Made in 2016 and envisioned it as a burger chain that would compete against the likes of Five Guys and Shake Shack. Alas, entrepreneur James A. Mather was not to be dissuaded, with nearly 300 outposts of the steakhouse in operation into the 1980s. The chain served all you can eat chicken or beef plates and did fairly well until it was sold and rebranded in 1993. However, the chain closed quietly over the years, and the last one was shut down in 1994. Beer and wine were fine, but if you wanted to host a truly epic get-together in the '90s, having a few six-packs of Zima on ice was non-negotiable. Franchising a steak joint is a dicey gambit, especially considering that the further you get from the stockyards, the more questionable the final result. Marcus Lemonis of CNBCS "The Profit" still owns the Farrell's name and says it will be back. Casa Bonita wasnt just a place to eat, it was also a spot to entertain the entire family. As the popularity and variety of Mexican restaurants grew, Chi-Chi's began to suffer the consequences. With 42 locations in California and the Pacific Northwest, the future was looking bright for Pizza Haven. New ownership has kept just 23 locations open in the U.S. It has been updated to include new information. The chain's unique menu and distinctive glass-doored storefronts made it popular enough to support 400 locations at one point. In the early 1990s, the . } reply. But after being bought and sold on repeat, the chain eventually closed in 1988. Photo via Facebook. Sign up for our newsletter to get daily recipes and food news in your inbox! We may earn commission from the links on this page. As one Baltimore reporter noted, "It was a favorite of mine as a kidso much so that I had a birthday dinner there once. Gorillas make running a restaurant pretty hard, it turns out. Recognizable by its A-frame buildings, it served a small menu of roast beef sandwiches, French fries, fried pies, and shakes. SaharaLee / Via reddit.com. And yes, that includes the olive burger. While a few still ran independently, in 1999, the last Geris ceased to exist. The club's iconic building was later demolished and turned into Paley Park. As popular as Carrols was, it could not compete in the burger wars. But Marriott Corporation scooped up the chain in 1982 and rebranded the locations into Roy Rogers Restaurants. Rather, Doggie Diner was actually where many hungry Bay Area residents dined for the better part of 40 years, mostly in San Francisco and neighboring Oakland. This Texas steakhouse first opened in the 1960s, and it remained an independent chain throughout the Dallas area. Still, one location remains in Lakewood, CO. Its really no surprise that Chi Chis had to shut its doors permanently in the US. Unfortunately, after filing for bankruptcy in 1998, all but one of the stores were closed. There were nearly 90 worldwide during the chain's heyday in the mid-1990s, as The Telegraph reported. Six decades after its start in the 1920s, Little Tavern had grown to nearly 40 locations. It sounds like a place where you might take Fido for a filet and maybe a martini. Yet another chain that sprang up in the Midwest, Burger Chefs founders used that invention to really make their burgers go gangbusters in the late 1960s and 70s. According to the New York Times, America's passion for the sugary, carbonated beverage soared from the '60s to the '90s before beginning a steep downward trend in the aughts.By 2015, soda consumption had taken a nosedive to the tune of a 25 percent . Also, they had wine samples for a quarter! To read and save unlimited articles, sign up to become a Delish member. You've hit your max! It may have replaced a Swingle. With over 37,000 restaurants worldwide, it's safe to say McDonald's isn't going anywhere. After Pillsbury bought Steak and Ale in the '80s, the chain went national with 280 locations. double-decker burger came from Bob's Big Boy, 25 Great Foods from the 1980s That Will Remind You of Simpler Times. The franchise left the States in 2004, but still operates in Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. 11 years ago. Fun fact: Geri was a former VP of Micky Ds and, well, it explains a lot. The last original location shut down in 2006. The sports-themed restaurant had 10 outposts once upon a time, but after the last official store closed its doors at the Walt Disney World location in 2007, we had to say our goodbyes once and for all. Sounds like a solid business plan. Blockbuster VHS Tapes 'Twas a long and (re)winding road for video rental store Blockbuster. 'S name and says it will be back and ( re ) winding road for video rental store Blockbuster owns! Little Tavern had grown to nearly 40 locations always have fond memories of this Hollywood-owned. 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