Timeless HoJo goes the way of the dodo (Howard Johnson Restaurants Dying)

Associated Press via Washington Times ^ | May 16, 2005 | Clarke Canfield

[PJ-Comix]

BANGOR, Maine -- The orange roof is long gone and the Simple Simon plaque is history. The famous 28 flavors of ice cream have dwindled to 16 varieties.

But at least the Howard Johnson name sits atop the building, which is a lot more than hundreds of one-time Howard Johnson eateries can say. The venerable chain once had more than 800 restaurants from coast to coast, but these days you can count them on two hands.

[PJ-Comix]

I've got fond memories of Howard Johnson's. When I was a kid it was one of the few chain restaurants you could find on the road. Howard Johnsons and South of the Border were MUST STOPS for us when we were traveling. Those familiar blue and orange restaurants beckoned us lonely travelers to its friendly surroundings.

[goldstategop]

Its sad to see a venerable piece of Americana disappear.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[KevinDavis]

Never been to a HoJo resturant...

[traderrob6]

A definate slice of Americana disappearing....too bad great ice cream.

[Xenalyte]

Blue Bell ice cream is better.

[yarddog]

I remember several years ago when they started doing the Ho-Jo ads.

It struck me as one of the worst ideas I had ever heard of. It made them sound like some kind of place that gangsta rap characters would hang out. Hardly the kind of place you would want to spend the night with your family.

[Hoodlum91]

I didn't realize HoJo's still existed somewhere. I haven't seen one in over 20 years.

[Armedanddangerous]

Are there any Stuckys' around? I haven't seen one of those in a while either.

[traderrob6]

Oh yea, they are still hangin in there.

[killjoy]

hmmm.... blueberry toasties...

[USS Alaska]

Ho Jo's... is that like Joe's hos??? Is that joey {the plug} biden's {insert sex type here} friend?

[johnny7]

Yup!

Remember them well... clean... good food and dependable. You knew it was a 'safe' place for a family to stop... far away from home.

Today, in New England anyway, the highway stops are a good place to hook-up with 'sick' America.

[reagan_fanatic]

Are there any Stuckys' around? I haven't seen one of those in a while either

Ahh, Stuckys. Everytime we went on a family vacation, my Dad would always stop there and pick up one of those big honkin pecan logs they sold. The darn thing was so huge it would feed the entire family.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

[P.O.E.]

I miss the clam strip sandwiches. They were on hot dog buns with the sides cut off.

Good ol' Americana - going the way of the dodo, indeed.

[AmericanChef]

One of the few places to have all-you-can-eat fried clam night. At least when I was a young'un. *sigh*

[moose2004]

I'm from a small city in Virginia, and I remember when I was kid my grandfather would take the whole family to Ho Jo's for dinner at least once a month. It was great. Sad to see this happen.

[billorites]

[T'wit]

Oh, COME ON. That's down south. Growing dairy cows down south is like growing peaches in Scotland. If you want really really good ice cream, find a good northern cow in a good northern location and milk it on a fine cold day. Add a little sugar, a little flavor to the pail if you like, stir on the way to the house, and by the time you get there, presto! Ice cream to die for.

[Final Authority]

The downfall really started when the interstate highway system was built by-passing the old state highways where Ho-Jo's were first established. As folks took a more direct route fewer stopped at Ho-Jo's. Then I remember a UK company took them over. They closed all of the marginally profitable units. It has been downhill ever since. My Grandfather and Grandmother used to take me there on Sunday rides up Rt. 1 in MA, NH, and ME seemingly forever ago. I would get either the hot dog plate or chicken croquets. It wasn't bad especially knowing in advance that Grandfather really stopped for a large sugar cone.