Kenny Rogers Roasters: From Country Fame to Rotisserie Riches
Picture this: it’s 1991, and country music superstar Kenny Rogers decides to venture into the fast food business. Kenny Rogers Roasters was founded by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who was a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. What seemed like an odd pairing actually made perfect sense – Rogers brought the star power, while Brown had the restaurant expertise.
The chain eventually grew to over 350 restaurants, including locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Their signature wood-fired rotisserie chicken became a sensation, offering what many considered a healthier alternative to the fried chicken that dominated the market. Enough people did that the chain soon had 350 restaurants around the world.
But the 90s weren’t kind to Kenny’s chicken empire. The company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 1998 and was bought by Nathan’s Famous, Inc. for $1.25 million. The last Kenny Rogers Roasters operating in North America was located in the Ontario Mills mall in Ontario, California and closed on December 31, 2011. Today, Kenny Rogers Roasters continues to flourish in Asia under the ownership of Berjaya Group. An article published by Time.com in 2011 reported that Kenny Rogers Roasters had grown to almost 140 restaurants across Asia.
Chi-Chi’s: The Mexican Restaurant That Couldn’t Survive the Storm
When Chi-Chi’s burst onto the scene in the 1970s, it brought Mexican food to places that had never seen a proper taco. Created by former Green Bay Packers star Max McGee and restaurateur Marno McDermit, it launched in 1975 in the unlikeliest of places for a Mexican food chain: downtown Minneapolis. The timing was perfect, with Mexican food a trendy choice for diners at that time.
Chi-Chi’s took off, growing to 237 locations by 1986. The restaurant became synonymous with oversized portions, sizzling fajita platters, and that distinctive Mexican-American flair that defined Tex-Mex dining for an entire generation. Families flocked to Chi-Chi’s for birthday celebrations and date nights, drawn by the festive atmosphere and generous portions.
Unfortunately, the restaurant’s downfall was swift and tragic. After some trouble in the late 1980s, and into the 1990s with a string of ownership changes, the chain eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2003. Then, later that same year, a hepatitis A outbreak tied to a Pittsburgh location, which affected over 600 people and killed four, was the final blow that ended Chi-Chi’s moment in the sun. However, there’s hope on the horizon – after over 20 years of settling dust, fans of the lively Mexican restaurant will be happy to know that there are whiffs of a revival slated for 2025.
Planet Hollywood: When Celebrities Ruled the Restaurant World
The 1990s were all about celebrity culture, and no restaurant chain embodied this better than Planet Hollywood. The first Planet Hollywood opened in New York City in 1991, backed by Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Soon, it found the support of Whoopi Goldberg, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith, Tom Arnold, Roseanne Barr, Wesley Snipes, and Danny Glo.
These weren’t just restaurants – they were entertainment destinations. Movie memorabilia covered the walls, from costumes to props, creating an immersive Hollywood experience. The food, while decent, wasn’t really the point. People came to feel like they were part of Tinseltown, even if they were just eating a burger in Times Square.
There were nearly 90 worldwide during the chain’s heyday in the mid-1990s, as The Telegraph reported. But now, only nine locations remain. As The New York Times reported in 1998, the novelty of themed restaurants took a sharp downward turn toward the end of the decade. The following year, Planet Hollywood filed for bankruptcy. While the brand still exists today, it’s a shadow of its former glory, with most locations transformed into sports bars or completely different concepts.
Roy Rogers: The Fast Food Western That Lost Its Way
Roy Rogers represented something uniquely American – a fast food chain that combined the cowboy spirit with quality comfort food. In 1990, Marriott sold the fried chicken chain, which was originally RoBee’s House of Beef when it first began in 1968 in Indiana, to Hardee’s. Of the nearly 650 Roy Rogers that once existed in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states in the 1970s and ’80s, only 140 still stood by the mid-’90s.
What made Roy Rogers special wasn’t just the food – it was the experience. And if you were a burger lover or a fan of the Gold Rush fried chicken sandwich, you absolutely loved hitting up the Fixin’s Bar for all your topping needs. The Fixin’s Bar was like a playground for burger customization, letting customers pile on everything from pickles to peppers with abandon.
The chain’s decline wasn’t just about changing tastes – it was about corporate shuffling and lost identity. When Hardee’s attempted to convert Roy Rogers locations, their attempt to turn Roy Rogers into Hardee’s, as one blogger notes, “ended in a customer revolt so serious that they actually aborted the whole idea and returned the Roy Rogers brand to some stores initially converted”. Today, ownership has changed hands a few more times in the past three decades, and now there are several dozen Roy Rogers locations, mostly concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Howard Johnson’s: The Orange Roof That Defined American Travel
Long before McDonald’s golden arches became synonymous with American highways, there were Howard Johnson’s distinctive orange roofs. 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. Today, the chain is defunct—after dwindling down to one location, the last Howard Johnson’s restaurant (in Lake George, New York) closed in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 1950s and ’60s, Howard Johnson’s restaurants were a real roadside attraction for baby-boomer kids being carted around in the car by their Greatest Generation parents. 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 restaurant chain.
The restaurant’s decline mirrors the broader changes in American dining habits. Says Susskind, “They relied on a road travel-based crowd that changed or disappeared when airline travel became more affordable”. What was once the epitome of family dining became a relic of a bygone era, unable to adapt to changing tastes and travel patterns.
Pizza Haven: The Regional Chain That Couldn’t Compete
This dial-a-pizza restaurant chain from Seattle was one of the very first to make home deliveries, beginning in 1958. With 42 locations in California and the Pacific Northwest, the future was looking bright for Pizza Haven. They were pioneers in pizza delivery, establishing practices that would later become industry standard.
Pizza Haven carved out a loyal following with their unique recipes and regional charm. Unlike the big national chains, they offered a more personalized touch, with local flavors and community connections that made them feel like more than just another pizza joint. Their thick-crust pizzas and generous toppings earned them a devoted customer base throughout the West Coast.
But being first doesn’t always mean being best in the long run. But as competition flared up from other chains, like Pizza Hut and Domino’s, Pizza Haven struggled to keep up. They ultimately filed for bankruptcy by the late 1990s. The chain couldn’t match the marketing budgets and expansion capabilities of their larger competitors, ultimately becoming another casualty of the pizza wars that defined the 90s.
Hot ‘n Now: Michigan’s Answer to Fast Burgers
Californians had In-N-Out, but if you grew up in Michigan, it was all about the Hot ‘n Now. The Midwestern drive-through chain that began in 1984 grew to over 150 locations at its peak in the mid-1990s. That’s in part because in 1990, Hot ‘n Now was acquired by Pepsi and expanded into 15 different states all over the country.
Hot ‘n Now built their reputation on speed and value, serving up burgers, fries, and shakes with assembly-line efficiency. Soon, everyone was able to experience the glory of olives as a burger topping. Their unique approach to burger toppings, including those unexpected olives, set them apart from the typical fast food fare.
The chain represented the peak of 90s drive-through culture, when speed and convenience were becoming increasingly important to busy American families. However, like many regional chains that tried to expand too quickly, Hot ‘n Now struggled to maintain quality and brand identity across so many locations. The rapid expansion that initially fueled their success ultimately contributed to their downfall as they lost the local touch that made them special.
Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips: The British Import That Couldn’t Cross the Pond
Arthur Treacher, a real-life English character actor (you may know him as the butler Jeeves in some Shirley Temple movies), was the spokesperson and nameplate for Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips, but wasn’t the owner of the chain that at its peak had 826 restaurants in the U.S. Today, only seven Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips restaurants remain: Three in the metro New York City area and four in northeast Ohio, where the chain was created.
The chain brought authentic British fish and chips to American audiences decades before it became trendy. Their crispy, golden fish served with thick-cut chips offered something genuinely different in the American fast food landscape. The restaurants featured nautical themes and British-inspired decor that transported diners across the Atlantic with every bite.
Despite early success, Arthur Treacher’s struggled to adapt to changing American tastes and increased competition from more versatile seafood chains. You can also find Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips products at other restaurant chains, including Nathan’s Famous. Today, the brand exists primarily as a co-branding opportunity rather than standalone restaurants, serving as a reminder of America’s brief love affair with British-style fish and chips.
