[SamAdams76]

It's amazing how the restaurant industry has grown during my lifetime. Growing up, going out to eat was rarely done. It was a very special occasion. And when we did go out, it was along the lines of a Howard Johnson's or a Valle's Steak House.

Then the McDonalds came to town with a bunch of copycats like Burger Chef, Bob's Big Boy, Tastee-Freeze and Hardees. That was actually still considered "eating out" in those days.

Now there are endless "casual eating" joints from coast to coast and in the urban areas, countless "upscale" eateries that seem to be on every street corner. My favorites though are still the Irish pub joints where you can get a decent burger and some pints of ale at a bar with a lot of brass and wood.

Not to mention the meal kits you can pick up at the supermarket or have delivered to your home (i.e. Blue Apron).

[Fungi]

A nice Irish pub for some fish and chips made with Icelandic cod and a few brewskies. Yes sir!!

[morphing libertarian]

my wife learned to cook from her stay at home mom 10 kids. but she went to work as a nurse and came home tired/. No body iced my cooking so I had excuse. ewe ate dinner out 4-5 times a week to give her a break. i think women working g sparked restaurant boom and of course Micky Ds

[WeWaWes]

For my family too going out was a rare thing and in part because there were few places to go. Now there’s a type of restaurant on almost every corner of every town. I remember the staff were what I would now call career people.
Times have changed.

[ConservativeMind]

I really liked Burger Chef.

Two years ago, I ate at a former Burger Chef in Danville, IL that had kept the original recipes and had Burger Chef memorabilia all over the restaurant.

[BobL]

“Now there are endless “casual eating” joints from coast to coast and in the urban areas, countless “upscale” eateries that seem to be on every street corner. My favorites though are still the Irish pub joints where you can get a decent burger and some pints of ale at a bar with a lot of brass and wood.”

Between the $15 minimum wage and Obamacare, the past that you mentioned (which matches my recollection, completely) will soon be back. A couple of fast food chains will survive via extreme automation (McDonald’s for sure, plus 1 or 2 others - the rest won’t be able to automate fast enough and will fail), and the very high end (i.e., $100 dinner for 2). But virtually nothing in between.

It’s sad to lose this segment of our economy, but hopefully Trump can put those displaced back to work as he brings jobs home.