Howard Johnson’s – The Orange Roof Pioneer
Picture this: you’re driving down a busy highway in the 1950s, and suddenly that distinctive orange roof with a cupola appears on the horizon. Your heart skips a beat because you know you’re about to experience something special. Howard Johnson’s restaurants were a real roadside attraction for baby-boomer kids being carted around in the car by their Greatest Generation parents. Howard Johnson’s was a pioneer of the nationwide roadside restaurant, replicating from coast-to-coast everything from its signature orange roof, cupola, the Simple Simon and the Pieman plaques, and its limited-menu food items. Howard Johnson’s presaged the success of McDonald’s doing the same thing.
At its zenith, Howard Johnson’s operated more than 1,000 restaurants, including the Ground Round brand. What made this place so magical wasn’t just the predictable menu or the cheerful architecture. It was the promise that no matter where you were in America, you could count on getting that familiar taste of fried clams, ice cream in twenty-eight flavors, and comfort food that felt like home. But failing to update its menu — centered around fried clams, chicken, hot dogs and ice cream — its infrastructure and marketing, along with increased competition from the likes of Friendly’s, Applebee’s and Chili’s, sealed the fate of the Howard Johnson’s.
The Automat – Where Technology Met Comfort Food
Long before smartphones and self-checkout kiosks, there was something that seemed almost futuristic to your grandparents’ generation: the Horn & Hardart Automat. In their heyday, Horn & Hardart automats were popular, busy eateries. They featured prepared foods displayed behind small coin- and token-operated glass-doored windows, beginning with buns, beans, fish cakes, and coffee. Imagine walking into a restaurant where gleaming walls of little glass doors held freshly prepared meals, and all you needed was a handful of nickels to unlock your lunch.
As late as the 1950s one could enjoy a large, if somewhat plain, meal for under $1.00. By the time of Horn’s death in 1941, the business had 157 retail shops and restaurants in the Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore, areas, serving some 500,000 patrons a day. During the 1940s and the 1950s, more than 50 New York Horn & Hardart restaurants served 350,000 customers a day. The coffee was legendary too – In their heyday in the 1950s, Automats sold more than 90 million cups of fresh-brewed coffee each year. From 1912 to 1950, a cup cost a nickel.
Burger Chef – The Fast Food Giant You Forgot About
Before McDonald’s completely dominated the burger landscape, there was a chain that actually gave them serious competition. There was a time – the late 1960s and early 1970s – when Burger Chef, founded in the Midwest in 1958, was the second-largest restaurant chain in the country, only slightly behind its biggest competitor, McDonald’s. This wasn’t some small regional player – Burger Chef was a true innovator that helped shape what we know as fast food today.
Reaching over 1,000 locations at its apex, the burger joint was a true innovator in the fast-food field, serving up a slew of firsts. The Chef pioneered the value menu by offering a combo of a hamburger, fries, and milkshake called the Triple Treat, which, at the time it was introduced in the 1950s, cost 45 cents. It was the first to dole out kid’s meals with a toy and to offer a works bar where customers could customize their sandwiches. Think about that for a moment – every time you get a Happy Meal or customize your burger, you’re experiencing something Burger Chef invented decades ago.
A&W Root Beer Stands – The Original Drive-In Experience
When your grandparents talk about the good old days of drive-in restaurants, they’re probably remembering places like A&W. A&W’s origins date back to 1919 when Roy W. Allen set up a roadside drink stand offering root beer at a parade honoring returning World War I veterans in Lodi, California. Allen’s employee, Frank Wright partnered with him in 1922 and they founded their first A&W restaurant in Sacramento, California, in 1923. This wasn’t just about the food – it was about an entire cultural experience.
By 1960, A&W had 2,000 restaurants. The company became famous in the United States for its “frosty mugs” – the mugs were kept in a freezer and filled with A&W Root Beer just before being served to customers. Picture this: you’d drive up, park your car, and a carhop on roller skates would bring you that ice-cold mug of root beer. It was pure Americana, and for many families, it represented the perfect summer evening out.
White Castle – The Slider Pioneers
While everyone knows White Castle today for their small square burgers, your grandparents knew them as revolutionary pioneers. White Tower no-frills diners numbered 230 in the chain’s heyday, the 1950s. The concept, born in Milwaukee in 1926, mimicked a close competitor, White Castle (yes, there was a legal tussle, and White Castle won), both with an emphasis on square, steam-cooked burgers smothered in onions and sold by the sack, and architecture that made small-box stores look like medieval castles, complete with fake turrets. White Tower was essentially making sliders before sliders were cool.
White Castle wasn’t just selling burgers – they were selling a completely new way of thinking about food. Their tiny, affordable burgers were perfect for workers who needed a quick, cheap meal during the Great Depression and World War II. The castle-like architecture wasn’t just quirky design; it was meant to convey cleanliness and quality at a time when many people were suspicious of ground beef. These little white buildings dotted the American landscape, becoming beacons of affordable sustenance for working families.
Red Barn – The Distinctive Country Restaurant
With its distinctive barn-shaped buildings and “Big Barney” burger, Red Barn was a beloved fast-food chain throughout the ’60s and ’70s. Known for their unique architecture and family-friendly atmosphere, they had over 400 locations at their peak. Imagine driving down the road and seeing what looked like an actual red barn, complete with high ceilings and large windows. That wasn’t an accident – Red Barn wanted to stand out from the growing crowd of fast-food restaurants.
The chain’s design philosophy was brilliant in its simplicity. In an era when most fast-food places were trying to look sleek and modern, Red Barn went the opposite direction, embracing a wholesome, country aesthetic that appealed to families. The chain’s decline began in the late ’70s, and the last Red Barn closed in the late 1980s. But for those who experienced it, Red Barn represented something unique – a place where fast food didn’t have to sacrifice character for convenience.
Hot Shoppes – The Family Dining Destination
Before Marriott was known for hotels, they were in the restaurant business with Hot Shoppes. The food-for-the-family chain grew to 70 locations by 1960, settling in seven states and D.C. But to the dismay of many fans, Marriott Corp. began closing the restaurants in the 1990s, shuttering the last Hot Shoppe in 1999. These weren’t just restaurants – they were community gathering places where families could count on generous portions and honest prices.
Fresh-made food, as this 1968 Hot Shoppes commercial touts, and plenty of it, including a sumptuous buffet bar. There were signature items, too, including the Mighty Mo triple-decker hamburger, the Orange Freeze tart milkshake, and the Teen Twist ham-and-cheese sandwich topped with tartar sauce. The Mighty Mo alone tells you everything you need to know about Hot Shoppes – this was a place that didn’t believe in skimping on anything. When your grandparents wanted to treat the family to a special meal out, Hot Shoppes delivered both quality and quantity in spades.
