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I do get nostalgic for simpler, tastier times. You'd expect that from the Amish Cook's editor. Food conveys so many memories: comfort, nostalgic, long-gone but still-loved relatives, coziness, vanished youth...the list is of feelings these places conjure is endless. I've talked before about my fondness for such defunct eateries like Bill Knapp's and Burger Chef. Restaurant memories are on my mind because when Rachel and I were in Texas recently we saw a lot of Luby's Restaurants which is a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants in Texas. Cafeteria-style restaurants were once popular throughout the country and I'm not quite sure why they fell out of favor. A cafeteria seems more sanitary than a buffet, but I guess you can't pile your plate at a cafeteria the way you can at a buffet, so that is probably what did them in.....a local chain called the Cambridge Inn was a great cafeteria destination, but Luby's reminded me of the now defunct Hot Shoppe, a cafeteria owned and operated by the Marriott chain. Do any of our Amish Cook readers remember The Hot Shoppe? There are some other eateries that may still exist somewhere as shells of their former selves, maybe someone else out there knows? I know a few Rax roast beef restaurants still cling to life, and there is one old-style Farrell's ice cream parlor operating somewhere.....but what about these?
1) Wag's (we used to go here with my Grandparents in Florida
2) Burger Chef (I doubt any of these still exist, just sort of a fast-food forerunner to Burger King)
3) Howard Johnson Restaurants (I know the hotel exists, but HoJo used to be better known for it's ice cream, any of those still around?)
4) Sambos (a Denny's-style eatery, I think there are racial overtones to the name..not sure about that, but I think...)
5) York Steak House (used to be a mall-type steak house chain, any of those still around?)
I know, I could probably "Google" the above and find my answer, but that is no fun....maybe someone else just knows? Ah, nostalgic for the days before Google.
While, I am at it: anyone remember the old department store "Rink's?" Or "Fazio Foods", a grocery store chain? Any of these still around.....?
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Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
There is still a Value City Dept Store in Indianapolis, IN.
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
There used to be a Hills store in nearby Olean,NY,but that's been gone a long time. As far as eateries that you all mention..I've only ever heard of HoJo's,but never was at one!
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
Yum...I remember eating at York's. And Bellefontaine has a Rax that opened up a few years ago. It's not as good as the one I used to go to when I was a kid in Piqua. The chocolate chip milkshakes just are not the same. LOL
Mandy
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
I know right where that Rax is, I tried to go there actually the other week but there is so much construction on that road, I couldn't turn in there
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
I'm sick of all that traffic too. I know it'll be nice when 68 is widened but it's been a real pain. I try to avoid going in town if I can just because of it.
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
When we came to the Dayton area we found a little restaurant that was in a building that looked like an airplane hanger. It was on Smithville Rd .I think it was called Reds but what I remember most was their salad dressing. It was wonderful & I still think about it...
Also ate at Westward Ho which was a cafeteria. They had the best roast beef!!
Anyone remember Nickersons? They were usually on the interstates. They had honey bees displayed & it was fun to watch them work.
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
I used to love getting fried clams sandwiches at HoJo's (in addition to their ice cream, of course), and I loved Hot Shoppes for their fish sandwiches. I miss them both!
~ Janice
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
We still have a HoJo's, it's about an hour from my house in Lake Placid NY and I love that place, their corned beef hash on the breakfast buffet is the best. My very first job after high school was as a hostess at HoJo's, ahhh, the memories......First thing they did when they hired you was make you learn the thirty two flavors so you could rip em off at a moments notice if a customer asked......
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
AFAIK there are still a few HoJos around -- one that comes to mind is just off I-75 in the Bay City/Saginaw (Michigan) area... Another buffet-style chain that's still around (at least in SE Michigan) is the Sign of the Beefcarver (numerous locations)...
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
I just checked Wikipedia for "Howard Johnson's" and found this:
"As of September 2010[update], there were only three Howard Johnson's restaurants in business, each of them a former franchised restaurant from the original Howard Johnson's company. The three restaurants are in Lake George and Lake Placid, New York, and Bangor, Maine"
So I guess the one in Saginaw must have closed recently...
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
Sisters Chicken... we used to live in Hamilton, Oh and there was a Sisters Chicken close by. I'm now in Michigan but I'm pretty sure Sisters is no longer in operation. Do you know? We used to love going there.
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
Interesting....On Hojo, Cheryl, according to Loungender's research you are a lucky lady, one of the few operating HoJo restaurants is the one you still visit on on occasion!
Sister's Chicken...I live in Middletown....I had never been to a Sisters Chicken was running TV commercials in Cleveland as "recently" as 1990...because I went to college there and saw the ads...but I don't think there are any still left....
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
I remember Rink's in Dayton. I think the location was taken over by Hill's, where my stepdaughter worked for a time. Hill's is long gone now, too. What about Goldman's and Gold Circle and Value City Dept. Store? My sister worked at Gold Circle for years, then for Value City, when they took it over. Both stores are gone now, in Dayton. Maybe they exist in other cities? We do still have Value City Furniture, though.
Re: Sunday Night Nostalgia: Hot Shoppe, Anyone?
Ah, I remember being dragged to Gold Circle many times with my parents....they were bought by Federated Department stores and liquidated long ago, none left:(