Do You Remember These Restaurants?

[ScottA]

I ran across an article the other day on the internet asking if I remembered these restaurants they had listed. They hadt a shor paragraph about each one and what happened to them. Most are gone but some are hanging on with one or two places still open. A lot of these are regional and I never heard of.

I was just curious if you guys had heard of or eaten at any on their list. The ones with an * are the ones I have eaten at in my lifetime.

Howard Johnson’s *
Kenny Roger’s Roasters *
Minnie Pearl’s Chicken
White Tower
Lum’s
Valle’s Steak House
Gino’s Hamburgers
Mr. Steak
Bob’s Big Boy *
Bennigan’s *
Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouses *
Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse
Naugles
Druther’s
Henry’s Hamburgers
Pup ‘N Taco
D’Lites
A&W Drive-Ins *
Carrol Restaurants
Wetson’s
Rax Roast Beef *
Claudia Sander’s, The Colonel’s Lady
Red Barn
Burger Chef *
Pioneer Chicken
Steak and Ale *
The All American Burger
Chi-Chi’s
Sandy’s

[J.B.]

Eaten at Bob’s Big Boy, Naugles, Pup ‘N Taco and Pioneer Chicken.

[PNGwynne]

Ah, Rax, they had some great food. Burger Chef, Red Barn, and Clancy's were childhood favorites. Clancy's was a particularly good small burger chain.

Ponderosa, before they deteriorated, was a favorite of our family for decades.

[Hector]

Bob’s Big Boy, A&W Drive-In, Pioneer Chicken, and Red Barn.

[MRP]

I ran across an article the other day on the internet asking if I remembered these restaurants they had listed. They hadt a shor paragraph about each one and what happened to them. Most are gone but some are hanging on with one or two places still open. A lot of these are regional and I never heard of.

I was just curious if you guys had heard of or eaten at any on their list. The ones with an * are the ones I have eaten at in my lifetime.

Howard Johnson’s *
Kenny Roger’s Roasters *
Minnie Pearl’s Chicken
White Tower
Lum’s
Valle’s Steak House
Gino’s Hamburgers
Mr. Steak
Bob’s Big Boy *
Bennigan’s *
Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouses *
Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse
Naugles
Druther’s
Henry’s Hamburgers
Pup ‘N Taco
D’Lites
A&W Drive-Ins *
Carrol Restaurants
Wetson’s
Rax Roast Beef *
Claudia Sander’s, The Colonel’s Lady
Red Barn
Burger Chef *
Pioneer Chicken
Steak and Ale *
The All American Burger
Chi-Chi’s
Sandy’s

I remember/patronized all the ones I bolded at some point in my life.

-M

[jwyblejr]

A&W is still around,just not the way they use to be. They have them either in the same building as a KFC or a Long John Silver's.

[J.B.]

I remember/patronized all the ones I bolded at some point in my life.

-M

"Sir, while we do appreciate your patronage, we kindly ask that you not-"



"Shut up you and get me my Lemon Tart."

[LonnieFisher]

I worked at Chi-Chi's when I was nineteen. I loved their food. Working there was awesome! I worked in the kitchen.

[YoungOnce]

Wow... What a list. I grew up with a bunch of those. My first real job in high school was at a Druthers as a cook. Andy Dandytail was the Ronald McDonald mascot. Before Druthers, the restaurant was called Burger Queen. Queeny Bee was the mascot there. A lady in a big bee costume. Ate my first ever hush puppy there and thought it was the greatest thing.

[thunderbolt]

Kenny Rogers, Burger Chef, Ho Jo, Rax, Bennigans, Chi chi's, Steak and Ale, Red Barn, Lums, Bonanza and Ponderosa, Big Boy

[Joshua the Atomic Robot]

Bob's Big Boy was my favorite when I was a kid because they gave you Big Boy comic books. Plus, I loved the Big Boy statue they had in the parking lot, my little sister and I would always say "hi" to him and talk to him like he was real. I would order the Big Boy burger with fries and a Coke, and have a hot fudge sundae for dessert.

We also used to drive-through Naugles a lot when I was a kid, I recall it basically being the same as Del Taco.

Kenny Roger’s Roasters I remember because of Seinfeld, but I'm not sure I ever saw one in real life.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Kenny Roger’s Roasters (There was one at Turfland Mall in Lexington. My Mom LOVED that place).

Bob’s Big Boy (never ate at a Bob's but we still have Frisch's Big Boy around here, and I've eaten there several times)

Bennigan’s (I think one just opened near here?)

Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouses (We had Ponderosa in my hometown here for several years. Straight steakhouse for about 15 years, then closed during a huge flood we had here, and reopened as a buffet. There is still one in operation about an hour from here).

Druther’s (We had one of these in town as well. Replaced Burger Queen. They had Andy Dandy's Kid Meals, and Long John's style battered fish. Good stuff).

A&W Drive-Ins (There's one down in Pigeon Forge, TN, I believe. I've eaten there).

Steak and Ale (There used to be one in one of the malls in Lexington, KY)

Chi-Chi’s (Where my wife and I ate our first "out of town date" meal).

Chris

[EMCE Hammer]

"Rax stacks roast beef, against anyone around. Rax has the greatest roast beef sandwich in town." At least that's how it replays in my head, I could be off on iit.

Chi-Chi's, Burger Chef, A&W, and of course Ponderosa. I still have the keys to the time clock.

[Mikey]

Howard Johnson’s ---- oh yes, loved their giant HO JO hotdog
Kenny Roger’s Roasters - never heard of it (not local)
Minnie Pearl’s Chicken - never heard of it (not local)
White Tower - never heard of it (not local)
Lum’s - never heard of it (not local)
Valle’s Steak House - never heard of it (not local)
Gino’s Hamburgers - never heard of it (not local)
Mr. Steak - never heard of it (not local)
Bob’s Big Boy - LOVED THEIR BIG BOY burger (the original Big Mac)
Bennigan’s - Heard of it but never went
Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouses LOVED THEIR BUFFET's --- used to fill up on fried chicken and tacos
Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse - Loved their blackened steak
Naugles - never heard of it (not local)
Druther’s - never heard of it (not local)
Henry’s Hamburgers - never heard of it (not local)
Pup ‘N Taco - never heard of it (not local)
D’Lites - never heard of it (not local)
A&W Drive-Ins - (not local)
Carrol Restaurants - never heard of it (not local)
Wetson’s - never heard of it (not local)
Rax Roast Beef - never heard of it (not local)
Claudia Sander’s, The Colonel’s Lady - never heard of it (not local)
Red Barn - never heard of it (not local)
Burger Chef - not local
Pioneer Chicken - never heard of it (not local)
Steak and Ale - They were ok
The All American Burger - never heard of it (not local)
Chi-Chi’s - never went
Sandy’s - - never heard of it (not local)


Would like to add a few others ...

Beefsteak Charlie's

Stewarts Drive-In

Dog and Suds Drive In

Arthur Treatchers fish and chips

Roy Rogers

Mr Angus

[palitoy]

In my neck of the woods we had:

Ponderosa- All dried up around '83.
Red Barn- closed in the mid 70s, the building still stands.
Kenny Rogers- They just disappeared with the Olive Gardens in the 90s.
A&W- We had the drive ins when i was a kid, then they all vanished, now there are tons near me again.