The landscape of American fast food has changed dramatically over the decades. While giants like McDonald’s and Burger King continue to dominate, countless chains that once filled stomachs and created memories have vanished into history. Some disappeared quietly, others went out in spectacular fashion. These aren’t just forgotten restaurants – they were brands that defined entire generations, shaped childhood memories, and introduced America to flavors that would become staples. What happened to these culinary time capsules that once seemed destined to last forever?
Howard Johnson’s: America’s First Great Restaurant Chain
Think of drive-through restaurants and McDonald’s probably comes to mind first. However, decades before the golden arches ruled the highways, Howard Johnson’s was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with more than 1,000 combined company-owned and franchised outlets. This pioneering chain transformed the American road trip experience with its distinctive orange roofs and motor lodges.
With a menu including fried clams, baked beans, chicken pot pies and ice cream, Howard Johnson’s was one of the first sit-down fast food outposts, offering 28 different flavors of thick ice cream, including tastes like banana, fruit salad, caramel fudge, and peanut brittle. Howard Johnson’s popularity and large-scale footprint made it the largest restaurant chain of its time and America’s very first giant restaurant chain – later to be beaten out by McDonald’s.
The brand’s decline began in the late 1990s as changing travel patterns and increased competition took their toll. All good things must come to an end, and the restaurant’s army of locations began to thin in the late 1990s, finally fizzling out for good in 2022 when its last station in Lake George, New York, closed.
Burger Chef: The Pioneer That Time Forgot
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. This Indianapolis-based chain wasn’t just another burger joint – it was a trendsetter that introduced concepts we take for granted today. 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.
Even more remarkably, 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. Burger Chef deserves credit for creating the Happy Meal (or as they called it, the Fun Meal) way before McDonald’s. By 1972 there were 1,200 Burger Chef locations, but despite pioneering the concept of selling a child-oriented meal of a small burger, fries, drink, dessert, and small toy six years prior to the debut of the Happy Meal, overexpansion eventually did the company in and it was toast by 1981.
Following a slow decline and the conversion of most locations into Hardee’s restaurants, the Burger Chef name was officially retired in 1996. Today, only scattered memories remain of this influential chain that helped shape modern fast food.
Chi-Chi’s: The Catastrophic End of a Mexican Food Empire
Chi-Chi’s represented the height of casual Mexican dining in America for nearly three decades. By March 1995, the chain had grown to 210 locations, serving up sizzling fajitas, margaritas, and Tex-Mex favorites to families across the nation. The chain had built a loyal following with its festive atmosphere and accessible Mexican cuisine.
However, this success story came to a devastating halt in 2003. Twenty years ago this week began one of the most infamous food safety incidents, an outbreak of hepatitis A at a Chi-Chi’s restaurant outside Pittsburgh. It remains the largest hepatitis A outbreak in American history, and by the time it ended at least 650 people contracted the illness, four died and it helped change the response and regulatory frameworks of this country.
To cut to the chase, the villain was fresh green onions, which the FDA traced back to farms in Mexico. The contaminated onions were used in the restaurant’s mild salsa and other dishes. Mild salsa was eaten by 94% of the 181 identified case patients. Just a month before, the owners of the restaurant chain had filed for bankruptcy protection. By the time the lawsuits were settled, the chain was out of business.
The chain closed its remaining restaurants on the weekend of September 18, 2004. Plans for reviving the American chain have been discussed, though whether it can overcome its tragic legacy remains to be seen.
Arthur Treacher’s: When Fish and Chips Ruled America
Long before fish sandwiches became commonplace at major chains, Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips brought authentic British-style fish and chips to America. At the peak of its popularity in the late 1970s, it had 826 stores. The chain was named after British character actor Arthur Treacher, who played butlers in Shirley Temple movies and served as the brand’s spokesman.
In 1970, Fisher Foods swapped capital with and licensed franchises from National, with a total of 550 franchises sold (106 to Fisher alone), but only 99 stores were actually in operation. The chain’s authentic recipe came directly from London’s original fish and chips shop. The founders acquired the recipe from Malin’s of London, which originated the idea of serving customers on-the-go with deep-fried fish and chips, soaking in malt vinegar, in the 1860s.
The chain’s downfall began when economic forces beyond its control intervened. The downfall of Arthur Treacher’s began in the 1970s, when fast-food chains, new and old, were duking it out. The cod Arthur Treacher’s used in its recipes doubled in price as a result of the 1975-1976 Cod War between Iceland and Britain. In 1979, Arthur Treacher’s was sold to Mrs. Paul’s Seafood. The new owners replaced the cod with cheaper fish and customers soon boycotted the restaurant.
The company was then bought by a group of investors, and the corporate offices were moved to Youngstown, Ohio. It went into bankruptcy in 1983. Today, there are only a few stand-alone Arthur Treacher’s locations remaining, all in Ohio.
Gino’s Hamburgers: The NFL Captain’s Fast-Food Dream
Some fast-food chains were born from corporate boardrooms, but Gino’s Hamburgers had a more colorful origin story. The hamburger joint was founded in 1959 when Colts captain Gino Marchetti joined forces with owners Joe Campanella, Louis Fisher, and Alan Ameche. This wasn’t just any business partnership – it was a dream team of NFL legends entering the restaurant business.
The #dreamteam went on to found 359 locations. But Marriott Corporation scooped up the chain in 1982 and rebranded the locations into Roy Rogers Restaurants. The transformation was swift and decisive, leaving longtime customers mourning the loss of their beloved Gino’s experience.
The final Gino’s closed in 1986. What makes this story particularly poignant is how a chain built by sports heroes – men who understood teamwork and perseverance – ultimately couldn’t compete against the corporate machinery of larger restaurant conglomerates. The Gino’s name disappeared from American highways, taking with it a piece of NFL history.
Lum’s: Beer-Steamed Hot Dogs and Broken Dreams
Lum’s rushed onto the fast food scene in the ’50s. People knew and loved the small fast food chain for its legendary beer-steamed hot dogs. This Miami-based chain wasn’t content with ordinary hot dogs – they created something truly unique that set them apart from every other fast-food competitor.
And over time, 273 different locations existed. For a while, it seemed like Lum’s had found the perfect niche. Who wouldn’t want a hot dog steamed in beer? The concept was both innovative and appealing, especially during an era when fast food was still defining itself.
However, success proved fleeting. But it couldn’t last for the long haul. Most locations closed when the Lum’s company filed for bankruptcy. Then, the Swiss parent company of the Wienerwald restaurant chain purchased Lum’s, which comprised 273 locations at the time of purchase in 1978. But when Wienerwald and Lum’s filed for bankruptcy in 1982, the 70 remaining locations were abruptly closed, save for one last Lum’s, which ceased operations in 2017.
Only one Lum’s lasted throughout the 2000s and 2010s, and it was located in Bellevue, NE. Unfortunately, the chain sold its last hot dog in 2017. The end of Lum’s marked the conclusion of one of fast food’s most distinctive concepts, proving that even the most creative ideas can’t always survive changing tastes and economic pressures.
