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We had Arby's, but not Hardee's, and I remember a few Burger Chefs in the general vicinity.  I've heard of Tim Horton's, isn't that the big Canadian donut shop chain?  Ours in Dunkin' Donuts.  They take over EVERYWHERE.  There are three in a six mile radius of my house, including an express DD in the local Stop & Shop supermarket.

Friendly's is a Connecticut based ice cream company.  Been around since the 1930s. They started as ice cream parlors and moved into burgers and other fare.  Today they're kind a cheap family restaurant chain, a step above Denny's and a step below Appleby's.  They also distribute their ice cream to regional grocery stores.

In the '80s Friendly's launched one of their most successful specialties, the Reese's Pieces Sundae.  This was a HUGE deal served in what looked like a giant brandy glass with tons of caramel, marshmallow, whipped cream, and a whole mess o' those Pieces.  They shoulda called it an Insulin Shock sundae  :P

1981 they had the most annoying jingle: "The Friendly's Super Summer Sundae Cele-brati-on!" with much chorus and fanfare.

The other day I was remembering an early '80s fast food chain in controversy.  "Sambo's."  Sambo's was derived from the founders' first names Sam and Bob.  The problem was "Sambo's" conjoured the image of "little black Sambo," a racist caricature from a legend of old Dixie lore.  Thus, offended citizens began a protest campaign.  Sambo's countered that they employed a bigger percentage of African Americans than any other chain.  No matter.  "Sambo's" had to go.  I know our local franchise was renamed "Sam's" in 1981 ("There's No Place Like Sam's," the sign said) and went out of business not long after.
However, the next year we were driving through Florida, and I saw a "Sambo's."  I pointed to it and said, "Hey, they didn't change the name."   My dad said, "They don't care down here!"
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8) 8)I remembrer saambo's being changed to seasons.I also remember red barn.Cheers!

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8) 8)I remembrer saambo's being changed to seasons.I also remember red barn.Cheers!
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Oh, then Seasons was the same company?  The Sam's I referred to was called Seasons after a brief stint as Sam's.
The legend of "Little Black Sambo" only goes back to 1899 India.  It was a Scottish Woman, Helen Bannerman, who wrote the story of an Indian boy who loses his clothes to bullying tigers, so he gets the tigers to chase eachother around a tree so fast they turn into butter.  Then Sambo uses the butter for his pancakes.  Pancakes were one of Sambo's specialties when they opened in 1957.  
The illustrations of Sambo in the book looked more African than Indian.  The "little black Sambo" character got popular in the U.S. in the '30s and '40s as another depiction of American blacks as child-like, shiftless, and lazy.  Quite a shame, really.
I got this info from an article I found on CNN online from 1998, when the owners grandson was trying to start the chain back up.  The name Sambo's was the derived from the names of its founders Sam Battistone and Newell "Bo" Bohnett.  They did use the storybook illustration as their mascot in the beginning, though this was later changed to a tiger.  The reason the article mentions for "Sambo's" failure was over-expansion, and not racial controversy.  However, the proposal to re-establish the chain was generating opposition on those grounds.  I do know the controversy was around in the '70s, though.  I'd post the link, but I can't get it to work.
I don't know if the Scottish writer of "The Story of Little Black Sambo" was aware that in the U.S., Sambo had been a pejorative for blacks since the mid-19th century.  You can find it used in Harriet Beecher Stow's "Uncle Tom's Cabin."  Simon Legree's thugs are called Quimbo and Sambo.

The original "Sambo's" restaurant is still in business in Santa Barbara.

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I wonder how a joint called "Fattburger" survives in health conscious southern CA?  The only Roy Rogers and Bob's Big Boys I've seen are on the interstate turnpikes.  I commented on an earlier post about suspicion of burger joints with a captive customer base (tpk. motorists).  You eat a Bob's Big Boy in Jersey, it'll still be with you in Georgia.  Belllch!
It's funny how a lot of rank places have great milkshakes.  
Everybody remembers Friendly's Fribbles, but I don't dine there anymore.  Has the food gotten greasier or have I gotten less tolerant.  Don't know, but I'm not in the market for a Fish-a-majig or a Friendwich.
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I think the health conscious thing in LA is a myth. There is just too many "bad" fast food joints to support this idea. I couldn't throw a rock from my house without hitting a two "real" mexican taquirias (meaning it comes with a roll of toilet paper  ;D ),chicken wing/pizza shop, local burger joint, taco hell, Del Taco (socal chain) or "Pho" 56 (or add you own #, vietnamese/tawianese fast food joint). Beans, bread, lard, cheese, deep fried this or that, rice. etc., all high in carbs and heavy in the stomach. The only real workout people really do here is open and close their mouths on mounds of food and gab on their cell phones in traffic while in thier SUV's.

Fattburger has the idea (correctly for my tastes) that a good hamburger has to have some "fat" in it for taste. I've noticed that low or no fat burgers or meat has less or no taste, the real hamburger lover needs to have that fat content to get the right "taste". It's not a everyday thing, mind you, just glad to know its there when you want a big jucy greasy one  ;D.

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Fattburger has the idea (correctly for my tastes) that a good hamburger has to have some "fat" in it for taste. I've noticed that low or no fat burgers or meat has less or no taste, the real hamburger lover needs to have that fat content to get the right "taste". It's not a everyday thing, mind you, just glad to know its there when you want a big jucy greasy one  ;D.
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Yes indeedy, and no iceburg lettuce interfering! Yes, I was playing on L.A. stereotypes.  I knew a guy from L.A. who said he used to go for tuna tacos in Tijuana.  I said "oh, please," but he said, no, there literally is such a thing as a tuna taco, and there's lots of 'em in Tijuana.  I still doubted it.  How could any gringo eat a tuna taco in TJ and live to tell?

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Neither were here in New England, but I've certainly heard of Jack N The Box.  They had some kind salmanella or something in their burgers in the early '90s.  I lot of people were upchucking them, so the name Jack N The Box was most apropos.  You push it down, and it pops back up!

Are Friendly's and Arby's Roast Beef regional or national?
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:P :PIt was e.coli.cheers!

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I remember "Sambos" in south-east Michigan during the late 70's,early 80's. We have had Elias Brothers Big Boy in Michigan for the past 50 years. Here is a link that gives the history of the company. http://bigboy.com/ My mom claims that Big Boy was very popular in our area during the late 50's,before Burger King and McDonalds became more commonplace. I think it was a drive-thru only for the first ten years,or so. You either brought the burgers home,or ate them in your car in the parking lot,just like the gang on the old "Happy Days" tv show. Dunkin Donuts has been here for at least 30 years,maybe longer. Tim Horton's has only been here for about 10 years or so.Tim Horton's is sorta like Dunkins,but has soups and salads,in addition to,the donuts and desserts. Tim Horton was a hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the late 60's and early 70's. He started the donut franchise with his wife,shortly before he died tragically young. My wife lives in Canada,and on the trip up to see her,I make a mental note of all the Tim Horton stores I see,before I arrive. I lose track by the time I get to her place. LOL! Tim Horton's is so popular in Canada,I have driven past intersections where I see one on all four corners! Four stores within a 2 minute walking distance of each other! :o Thanks for the memories! Sincerely,Steve.
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In Pittsburgh the local Big Boy franchise, for years, was a chain called Eat 'n' Park.  If you went there on your birthday, they'd give you a membership to the "Big Boy Club", and every year you would get this cool plastic coin that was good for a free Big Boy!

They also gave out these cool  8) Big Boy balloons that had little cardboard feet on them.  You blew up the baloon, tied off the end, inserted the cardboard feet, and you then had your own Big Boy on the table.  Awesome.

Somewhere along the line, Eat 'n' Park dropped the Big Boy franchise  >:( , and no more Big Boy Club.  Served the same food though, except instead of being called a "Big Boy" it was called a "Superburger".

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When did the last Howard Johnson's close?  You still see Howard Johnson's hotels, but the orange-roofed restaurants I remember going to with my grandparents in the '70s.  They had 28 flavors of ice cream, the be-all-end-all of ice cream for decades.  My mother remembers going to "HoJo's" on the road with the 'rents far back into the '40s.  I remember hearing HoJo's was phasing out their restaurant operations circa 1985, but I don't know when they disappeared all together.
???
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I think there are a few left. I travel extensively and I've definitely seen them. I wish I could remember where though. :-/

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I grew up in NE Ohio and I do remember Red Barn.  As I remember they were almost like Kentucky Fried Chicken.  The restaurant did actually look like a big red barn.  But, one time I got really sick from eating their food.  That was the last time I ate there.  I think they finally closed down in my area in the mid-80s.

We didnt have any Jack In The Box.  The first one of those Ive ever been was in California about 15 years ago.
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In Boston we've got Popeye's Chicken 'n Biscuits.  I don't know where else Popeye's may be.  It's mighty tasty, but it plays hell with your innards.  There's an uban myth that Kentucky Fried Chicken went with "KFC" because their chicken isn't real chicken.  KFC uses its own genetically modified frankenchicken, so far removed it can no longer be identifed as "chicken."  This, of course, is unadulterated horse puckey.  
KFC switched to the abbreviation to tone down the "fried" part in our increasingly health conscious times.  As for frankenchicken, why would a for-profit fastfood business invest billions in genetic engineering R&D, AND buy its OWN farms and rendering facilities?  Cheap chickens from the open market sound like a much better bargain.  
That's not to say that factory-farm chickens aren't crammed into movement-restricting cages and pumped full of terrible hormones. This is what accounts for the strangely uniform texture of KFC.  However, Colonel Sanders' secret chicken labs are a myth.

Quoting:

In Boston we've got Popeye's Chicken 'n Biscuits.  I don't know where else Popeye's may be.  It's mighty tasty, but it plays hell with your innards.  There's an uban myth that Kentucky Fried Chicken went with "KFC" because their chicken isn't real chicken.  KFC uses its own genetically modified frankenchicken, so far removed it can no longer be identifed as "chicken."  This, of course, is unadulterated horse puckey.  
KFC switched to the abbreviation to tone down the "fried" part in our increasingly health conscious times.  As for frankenchicken, why would a for-profit fastfood business invest billions in genetic engineering R&D, AND buy its OWN farms and rendering facilities?  Cheap chickens from the open market sound like a much better bargain.  

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Ha, Frankenchicken ;D, that's the first time I've heard that..it makes sense to me ;). I was disscussing the topic of fast food yesterday, and we all came to the conclusion that KFC went downhill somewhere in the mid 80's. Maybe it just me and my childhood memories but didn't KFC's "frankenchicken" get greasier since then? I can't even eat there anymore, the last time I bought from there the box was soaked with grease before I even got home..completely unedible now.

BTW my very first "real" job in high school in '83, was at Popeye's, I was a prep cook..if you think the chicken can play havoc with your insides, then you don't want me to tell you how they prepare their side dishes ;D! I remember coming home with that stench in my clothes, if you've ever worked in a fast food place you know the smell. To this day the smell from chicken joints makes me kind of sick to my stomach.

Popeye's was a big deal when they first started to franchise in the early 80's, it was one of the first big outlets that was black owned and sprouted up all over the Balt/D.C. area. There's a simalar local Baltimore chicken chain called "Chicken Georges" (named after Ben Vereen (sp?) character in "Roots").

What really bothered me is about Popeye's is at the end of the day they would throw away 15-30 pounds of fried chicken, no one was allowed to bring it home, and my manager would call the cops if he caught bums or homeless people trying to get it out of the dumpster, what a waste! With so many hungry people out there..he actually ordered us to pour bleach on it once it was in the trash!

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What really bothered me is about Popeye's is at the end of the day they would throw away 15-30 pounds of fried chicken, no one was allowed to bring it home, and my manager would call the cops if he caught bums or homeless people trying to get it out of the dumpster, what a waste! With so many hungry people out there..he actually ordered us to pour bleach on it once it was in the trash!
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Maybe it was a liability issue, but if the guy didn't like bums, he should have welcomed their consumption of leftover Popeye's.  Gotta figger the arteriosclerosis and obesity would kill 'em before exposure or alcohol poisoning!
If I go to a fastfood/short order joint and you can see back to the prep room, I don't look!  What you don't know can't hurt you.  Ostrich logic at the chicken shack!
It's like Denny's, the cooks look like they were in jail as recently as that morning!  One time I complained at Denny's 'coz I'd been waiting 45 minutes.  The waitress gave me a sing-song about "the food is taking a while..."  I looked over the counter and thought, "you mean the hepatitis junkie ex-cons are taking a while!"
I think KFC did change their formula in the mid-'80s.  The fact that you and I can't stand to eat it anymore may be due to aging.  When you're a kid, you're immortal.  Greasy fastfood isn't just benign, it's FUN! A kid never thinks "Holy cow, what IS this crap?", the only question is, does it taste good?  Some of that follows the American male into adulthood, that's why we relate to Homor Simpson.  Speaking of, a scientific study of erotically arousing odors for men found that most erotic was the smell of doughnuts.  I wish I could find that study again, it was a few years back.  Anyway, Homer was onto something when he said, "mmmmm, doughnuts!" ;)

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Who remembers these fastfood restaurants,or were they just in the south-eastern Michigan areas?  ???Thanks for the memories! Sincerely,Steve
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Hey Steve, I remember a Red Barn on 8 Mile Road. I can't remember if it was on the Detroit or Oak Park side, though.

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I think Arby's is in the States,and Canada. I never heard of Friendlys. I don't think that place ever reached my neck of the woods (south-east Michigan). Does anybody remember Burger Chef? We had those here in Michigan up until the late 1970's,and then they were bought out by Hardees. In the mid 90's,Hardees was bought out by the Tim Horton corporation. Half of the former Hardees buildings became Tim Hortons,the other half became Wendys. The fast food wars get confusing after a while,don't they?  ::) LOL! Thanks for the memories! Sincerely,Steve.
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Yes I remember Burger Chef, too. Wasn't there one in Southfield on Lahser Road near Telegraph?

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Are Friendly's and Arby's Roast Beef regional or national?
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Arby's Roast beef is NASTY tasting.

When Arby's first came out, the roast beef sandwiches were awesome.  But now they make the sandwiches out of this gelatinous, beef-product mass that has all the taste and texture of roast baloney.

YUK!

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Arby's Roast beef is NASTY tasting.

When Arby's first came out, the roast beef sandwiches were awesome.  But now they make the sandwiches out of this gelatinous, beef-product mass that has all the taste and texture of roast baloney.

YUK!
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You noticed that, too, huh?  I notice also that Arby's are relegated mostly to Mall food courts, along with another horrible outlet, Sbarro's pizza. If you look around, you can usually find a mom & pop roast beef joint that'll hit the spot.  We don't have Hardees here in New England, but every time I hear the name I think of two things.  There's the line from the Dead Milkmen song "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)" that goes:
"I met Andy Warhol at a really chic party!
BLOW IT OUT YOUR HAIR-DO, 'CUZ YOU WORK AT HARDEES!"
and the scene in Fargo where Officer Marge Gunderson stops at Hardee's on her way back from Brainerd.
And if I may, I'd like to badmouth another chain restaurant
PIZZA HUT
Yeah, Pizza Hut--Makin' it LATE.  We used to go there in the '70s quite a bit.  I'd always order a Fanta when the waitress came around and try to save it up because the pizza would be hot.  The ice would melt before that thing came around.  In the '70s, you could order two types of crust "Thin 'n Crispy" or "Thick 'n Chewy."  We always got the latter.
My gripes with PH as an adult?  They STILL take forever, the seats are uncomfortable, the salad bar's suspect, there's always kids yelling, they've got ONE beer on draft--Miller Light, and only two choices for soft drinks, Pepsi or Slice.  Prolly something different now, haven't been there in YEARS! :P

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 We don't have Hardees here in New England, but every time I hear the name I think of two things.  End Quote

A really long time ago (I am really revealing my advanced age here), there was a burger chain called "Sandy's".  Their logo was a Scottie Girl dressed in a plaid pleated skirt.  The burgers and fries were AWESOME.  :P

Then Hardees bought the chain, rebranded the stores as Hardees, and the food was relegated to suckdom forever more.  >:(

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Yes I remember Burger Chef, too. Wasn't there one in Southfield on Lahser Road near Telegraph?
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I think you are right Dave. I  remember passing by the Burger Chef on Telegraph Road. The Red Barn on 8 Mile sounds vaguely familiar too. What I remember crystal clear is the Red Barn in front of Wonderland Mall, on Plymouth Road in Livonia. We were only a 5 minute drive from Wonderland Mall. It was practically my second home. We would go shopping there at least 2-3 times a week. My family and I were mallrats. LOL! Now I heard they plan on destroying my old childhood haunt in the summer of 2005. :( It might become a much smaller strip mall, or a condominium complex.My grandparents took me to a Burger Chef in Westland on Joy Road. It is now a Wendy's. I also seem to remember a Jack N the Box in the Waterford/Pontiac area on Telegraph. I currently live in Waterford,and a friend of mine claims the site is only a few minutes away from my apartment. I can't place the exact location,though. It might be a Taco Bell now,or maybe a men's clothing store (Huron and Telegraph). :D Thanks for the memories! Sincerely,Steve.

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I was disscussing the topic of fast food yesterday, and we all came to the conclusion that KFC went downhill somewhere in the mid 80's.End Quote

I wholeheartedly agree! Kentucky Fried Chicken was my favorite fast food. I remember they served my favorite desert, fruit tarts. Mmm.... Then one day, sometime in the early 90's, the fruit tarts were gone!! :'( And in most of their establishments, they also did away with their corn on the cob. >:(

Anyway, I also very much liked a seldom mentioned taco place called Taco Maker. My fave desert of theirs were called "Crustos", cinnamon covered light and airy tortilla chips.

Yeah, I've always been all about the deserts. ;D ;) ;D

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Anyway, I also very much liked a seldom mentioned taco place called Taco Maker. My fave desert of theirs were called "Crustos", cinnamon covered light and airy tortilla chips.

Yeah, I've always been all about the deserts. ;D ;) ;D
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Crustos?! Yikes! I think thats what we called our roomates underwear that he left all over our dorm room in college! But, um, they weren't covered in, cinnamon ;D!

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Crustos?! Yikes! I think thats what we called our roomates underwear that he left all over our dorm room in college! But, um, they weren't covered in, cinnamon ;D!


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Oh, just the Redi-Whip and rainbow sprinkles then? :D
Crustos sounds like a failed off-brand snack you might find at the dollar store.
Speaking of cinnamon, my local mall has the nastiest pastry place called Cinnamonster.  They do a really huge, really heavy, really sticky, sickeningly sweet cinnamon roll.  

Are there any A&W Root Beer stands left in CA?

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Crustos sounds like a failed off-brand snack you might find at the dollar store.End Quote

Yes, not a pretty name but they tasted great.

By the way, I llllove really huge, really heavy, really sticky, sickeningly sweet cinnamon rolls. Mmmm....

I'm just a sugar addict or something. ;D

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eat a tuna taco in TJ End Quote

lol! MS, you really seem to know the SoCal lingo - you sure you're actually from New England? ;-)

(P.S.: I'm Cali-born & bred, but currently live in New England myself, where "wicked" seems to have a whole different meaning. Oh, and I still haven't quite figured out how the expression "geezum crow" came about, which I swear I never heard in my life until about 4-5 years ago... :-) )

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Anyway, I also very much liked a seldom mentioned taco place called Taco Maker. My fave desert of theirs were called "Crustos", cinnamon covered light and airy tortilla chips. End Quote

Never heard of Taco Maker, but back in the mid and late '80s, Taco Bell made those exact same chips (triangular in shape), except they were called "cinnamon crispas". You never had theirs? ???

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lol! MS, you really seem to know the SoCal lingo - you sure you're actually from New England? ;-)

(P.S.: I'm Cali-born & bred, but currently live in New England myself, where "wicked" seems to have a whole different meaning. Oh, and I still haven't quite figured out how the expression "geezum crow" came about, which I swear I never heard in my life until about 4-5 years ago... :-) )
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I'm a Yankee through and through, straight back to the Mayflower.  Like I say, I heard of "tuna taco" from an L.A. native.  I'd only heard it before as a vulgar euphemism.  TJ for Tijuana, I got that from the greatest purveyor of Cali-Chicano culture, Cheech Marin: "I don't belong here in downtown TJ/'cause I was born in East L.A., Ole!"
;D

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(P.S.: I'm Cali-born & bred, but currently live in New England myself, where "wicked" seems to have a whole different meaning. Oh, and I still haven't quite figured out how the expression "geezum crow" came about, which I swear I never heard in my life until about 4-5 years ago...  )
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"Jeezum crow" I have said on many occasions, but I don't "pahk the cah in the Hahvahd Yahd."  I went to Boston yesterday, and as soon as I got on the subway (the MBTA, the "T"), it was like something out of "Good Will Hunting."  One youth was saying to the other, "Kid's a retahd, he tried to use my fathah's credit cahd!"  There is a peculiarity in certain Boston accents I call the R-A transposition.  For instance, I overhead some kids on the street car talking about going to a "bah mitzver."  The other day there was a double murder in the town of Saugus.  Cop reported both victims suffered severe head trauma, pronounced
"svee-ah head trammer."  Howzat?  The one that really annoys me is the "nasaling" of vowels.  If a Boston guy calls me over, "Max, come over here," he'd say, "Meee-ax, come ovah heee-ah!"
;D

Quoting:back in the mid and late '80s, Taco Bell made those exact same chips (triangular in shape), except they were called "cinnamon crispas". You never had theirs? ???End Quote

Not at the time, but I actually had them in the 90's and they were called "Cinnamon Twists". They were twisted, of course. ;D Whoa, I haven't been to a Taco Bell in ages! :o

I wonder what they are called now and how they're shaped? ;)

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Both the Red Barn & Jack N The Box were around in Maryland when I was a kid.
I'm not sure if Red Barn is still out there now that I live in Southern California. Arby's is out here too. It's a national franchise.

Jack N The Box was in a lot of Atlantic States until late 79, then pulled back to just the California area.
Jack's still here  in CA and pretty popular with "Jack" (wearing the Clown head & business suit) protraying himself as the CEO of the company and trying to figure out new ideas for sandwhiches to sell. The TV ads are pretty funny, but I wouldn't eat there on a dare. A lot of locals call Jack N the Box, "Jack N the Crack" if you're dumb enough to eat there.
We are lucky (or unlucky) enough to have SoCal only burger joints like TommyBurger (chilliburgers, chilli chesee fries, actually chilli on everything, open til 3am), Fattburger (pretty much what you think), Carl's Jr., & InNOut Burger (family owned 50's style burger joint, only sells one burger, w/ or w/o chesee only, cooked fresh right in front of you w/grilled onions, very tasty, people wait in lines for hours, they still wear paper hats in this place! ;D).
Don't let me start on the weird food places we have here in Cali..but I must mention Roscoe's Chicken N' Waffles, yes, just what you think it is and its GOOD...dipping the chicken in the surup, yumm. You can't say you've been to LA and not to have gone to Roscoe's late after a night bar hopping ;D.

I do remember Friendly's, they were still around when I left Maryland, they were around as far west as Columbus, OH. I used to love the really thick Fribble shakes as a kid.

Does anyone remember Roy Rogers? Cowboy themed burger franchise with Roy's as spokesman. Famous for the Doulbe R Bar Burger (roast beef & hamburger). Real ice cream shakes..The last time I went back east they were gone, for a while I was told Hardee's took over, but they seemed to have vanished too.

What about Bob's Big Boy? We have them here but, I remember when I was in Detroit it was (I think) Eliah's Brothers Big Boy (Big Boy had red hair), in Ohio it was Frisch's Big Boy (Big Boy had brown hair) but they were all the same type Big Boy.
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Jack N The Box (or another obsenity i prefer to refer to it as (which i will not mention here as it is pretty vulgar) i know is here in arizona as well, is up in washington and back in texas and possibly new mexico...In N Out is here in az as well. Last but not least, there was a Carls, jr. in Lubbock, TX and I was living there about a year ago...I've moved twice since (at least 1,000 miles a pop) and i havent seen one since :\ There one of the very few decent heart-attack inducing food joints...i think they have them here in Phoenix but i just got here so, no idea.

Arby's is all over the place. Hardee's is in most of the southern states.

Geez, with all this fast-food knowledge youd think i was obese...but, i just move alot lol.

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Last but not least, there was a Carls, jr. in Lubbock, TX and I was living there about a year ago...I've moved twice since (at least 1,000 miles a pop) and i havent seen one since :\ There one of the very few decent heart-attack inducing food joints...i think they have them here in Phoenix but i just got here so, no idea.
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Carl's, Jr. is the one with the Biblical chapter and verse numbers on its wrappers.  Did you notice that?  I've never been to a Carl's, Jr., but I read that the owners are very religious.

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Who remembers these fastfood restaurants,or were they just in the south-eastern Michigan areas?  ???Thanks for the memories! Sincerely,Steve
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Hi People! In your quest for food of the 70's, please check out: www.barnbuster.net EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about the Red Barn restaurant chain from the 60's and 70's.  Enjoy! ;D

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They had 2 jack in the box restaurants in brockton ma and one in n attleboro ma, all gone now. I think they're still in business but not locally here.
Any one ever hear of Popeye's? There used to be a couple here but no longer. Are they still in business?
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This thread keeps coming back up...like Jack In The Box burgers! ;D
We were talking Popeye's earlier in the thread...check back a page or two.  I think Popeye's is still around, haven't heard otherwise.

Quoting:
Heck yeah, Popeye's is still around...
BTW, has anyone really wondered just what a one-eyed, sailor with deformed triceps, and a weird fetish for spinach, has to do with fried chicken?
Much less cajun flavored fried chicken?
???
Maybe I shouldn't talk, I worked for Gumby's Pizza too... ;)
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Oh, so that's where Gumbypiz comes from.  Gumby's Pizza, huh?  As in Gumby and Pokey.  There were recurring idiotic characters on Monty Python called "Gumbies."  When I saw the flat green guy, I said, "That is not a Gumby."
Popeye does have a rather chicken-like appearance.  Maybe they couldn't get the rights to use the character the originally wanted.  Maybe the company wanted to be called "Elvis," but that got nixed, so a guy on the board said, "how about Popeye's Chicken 'n Biscuits?"

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Oh, so that's where Gumbypiz comes from.  Gumby's Pizza, huh?  As in Gumby and Pokey.  End Quote

Yep, Gumby's Pizza We Can Give You 20 Inches (chain slogan and bumper sticker for their 20 inch pizza pies).
Also specials like the "Double Dammit", "The Pokey" & "Pokey Sticks". It's a national franchise started by the children of the owners of Fuddruckers. They're all over college towns in the mid-west, I worked at "The" Ohio State shop in Columbus.

MS, when I'm back east sometime, I'll buy you a beer pitcher and discuss a lot of very bizzare, strange & funny delivery stories...

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Any one ever hear of Popeye's? There used to be a couple here but no longer. Are they still in business?
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There is an alive and well Popeye's here in Denver on East Colfax Ave.  Their chicken is greasy as hell and gross but the jambalaya isnt bad.

Speaking of older fast food joints, does anyone remember G.D. Ritzy's?  It was modeled after a 50's style diner and they had pretty good food and ice cream.  I had one close growing up in Ohio and one just down the street from me outside of Denver.  Im not sure about the fate of the one in Ohio anymore but the one that was here was demolished about 2 years ago to make way for a new Carls Jr.

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In Boston we've got Popeye's Chicken 'n Biscuits.  I don't know where else Popeye's may be.  It's mighty tasty, but it plays hell with your innards.  There's an uban myth that Kentucky Fried Chicken went with "KFC" because their chicken isn't real chicken.  KFC uses its own genetically modified frankenchicken, so far removed it can no longer be identifed as "chicken."  This, of course, is unadulterated horse puckey.  
KFC switched to the abbreviation to tone down the "fried" part in our increasingly health conscious times.  As for frankenchicken, why would a for-profit fastfood business invest billions in genetic engineering R&D, AND buy its OWN farms and rendering facilities?  Cheap chickens from the open market sound like a much better bargain.  
That's not to say that factory-farm chickens aren't crammed into movement-restricting cages and pumped full of terrible hormones. This is what accounts for the strangely uniform texture of KFC.  However, Colonel Sanders' secret chicken labs are a myth.
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We have popeyes Chicken in Louisiana. It is supposedly Famous neworleans style fried chicken. "Love that chiken from popeyes"  We also have a jack n the box. the are all around here, and we also had a Fatburger stand. We have a Tastee Freeze too.

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Proud to anounce there is a HoJo's Resteraunt on Route 301 on the Easternshore of Maryland, go by there all the time, and I mean GO BYE THERE, so yes there is one that I know of, still in operation.

As far as Jack-in-the-Box, some on here said there was some here in Marland, I have been here 20 years and have never seen one (where in Maryland?), I was raised in Seattle Wa, and had one right down the street from me, and that was in late 70's, remmmember when they where blowing Jack up with TNT , that was funny!!
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There were a few Jack N The Cracks in south central Maryland in the mid to late 70's (Howard, Prince Georges counties).
If you're from the eastern shore, than they may not have been any out there.
Though I did hear of McDonald's pitching a "McCrabcake" sandwich in and around Sailsbury and Ocean City, was this true? Sounds like a very another scary creation from fast food hell.

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Though I did hear of McDonald's pitching a "McCrabcake" sandwich in and around Sailsbury and Ocean City, was this true? Sounds like a very another scary creation from fast food hell.
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Heh heh... Reminds me of when McDonald's first came out with the McRib Sandwich, a pressed-pork-product concoction that they billed as "a no bones bar-be-que".

A buddy of mine bit into one of those things and broke a tooth on a piece of bone that must have made it thru the meat grinder.  He threatened to sue the store and they paid for his dental bill.

;D

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Though I did hear of McDonald's pitching a "McCrabcake" sandwich in and around Sailsbury and Ocean City, was this true? Sounds like a very another scary creation from fast food hell.
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I thought "McCrabcakes" was one of David Letterman's jokes.
???