If you pulled one of those out now, your kids would probably need counseling.
Posted on 08/23/2016 7:32:32 PM PDT by RightGeek
BANGOR, Maine — The closing of one of the last two Howard Johnson restaurants in a couple of weeks will mark the end of its fried clam strips, ice cream and other menu staples that nourished baby boomers and leave the once-proud restaurant chain teetering on the brink of extinction.
The slice of roadside Americana will no longer be served up in Bangor after Sept. 6.
For waitress Kathe Jewett, it's the only job she's held since starting work when the restaurant opened in 1966.
"It's bittersweet, but it's nothing to be sad about," the 68-year-old Jewett insisted Tuesday during a break from serving customers. "I've been here for 50 years — and it's time."
The closing will leave only one Howard Johnson restaurant, in Lake George, New York.
[More nostalgia and pictures at the link]
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
We have very different memories of the 60’s. I experienced HoJo’s and Holiday Inn as quite chi-chi. I was in the 5 to 12 year old range. My parents did not have a lot of money back then and HoJo’s was a treat.
Best Western hotels were great also. Color TV and a swimming pool! I miss those simpler times.
You can get them at the Oyster Bar. Entree size or appetizer size. The best!
Is that the one where Don Draper disappeared?
I still remember the hot dogs weren’t called hot dogs or frankfurters or weenies, etc. They were called Frankforts. I loved them. There were times I would get on the Pa. Turnpike just to go to one.
Esso is still going strong in most of the world. It’s only in America they changed the branding to Exxon.
For me, being younger, the one that really is odd to see gone is Blockbuster.
Plus I eat them with tartar sauce. That might put me in the Funny Farm if I was eating them beside an actual Clam Connoisseur. Seriously, they are hard to find around Orange County. Leads are welcomed.
If you pulled one of those out now, your kids would probably need counseling.
A tradition on Friday work days. Lunch at Ho Jo of fried clams or clam chowder...New England Clam Chowder. Two choices here: Ho Jo or the Marriott (no fried clams at the Marriott ever compared to those at Ho Jo
anyone remember Iowa Pork Shops in SoCal?
How I miss them.
You know, it isn’t that they were that great, but...they were oh-so-American.
My father was career Navy and both of my parents were from Massachusetts, and we spent much time with our family of eight crammed into a station wagon in the sixties driving up and down the Eastern Seaboard between Washington DC and Massachusetts to visit family.
Passing motels with yellow bug lights above the door to the office...neon signs on the highway. And that orange and turquoise Howard Johnson’s sign...it was inviting and familiar.
Sigh.
I often thought I must have singlehandedly put them into Chapter 11 when I would visit them on the “all you can eat-clam strip” nights. I would tell the server: “I don’t want any french fries. No rolls. No cole slaw. Just clam strips.”
They knew the score. How I loved their clam strips.
I will always remember the back of the station wagon...no seat belts, the seats folded down flat...all of us in the back in our pajamas with blankets. The street lights above the road flashing by as I looked up...the glare of headlights of oncoming cars filling the inside of the car with fleeting light. I would awake, everyone asleep, I would look ahead and see my father driving through the night, like a machine, driving, the car droning...droning on through the endless and wonderful night of my childhood. I felt so content and safe in that car.
And Howard Johnson’s. And Howard Johnson’s. So American.
Burger Chef had great burgers!
Pizza Inn had much better pizza than the Hut.
Are there any Pizza Inns left.
Highs had delicious ice cream.
GC Murphy’s had the huge bulk candy section.
We only got to town 4 or 5 times a year and had precious little money.
We managed to get more enjoyment out of $5 than people get spending $100 today.
Can’t beat the Pecan Log Roll!!
That's what they make airplanes for (PMW).
I eat them with tartar sauce. That might put me in the Funny Farm if I was eating them beside an actual Clam Connoisseur.
Not at all. They serve them here with tartar sauce.
http://www.10best.com/destinations/maine/portland/restaurants/seafood
Why, you could fly in...pig out...hit the rack...fly out. Or stick around, watch some whales, tour the coast, enjoy the history.
Spend a week.
I think there are still a few Dogs n Suds in Indiana/Ohio area. I carry their bottled root beer at my restaurant in Cary, NC
PWM
I remember when they had the exclusive franchise on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Nothing like a monopoly to motivate a mediocre chain to deliver tasty food with top-drawer service with a smile!
JK! JK!
I vaguely remember Sambos. I always looked forward eating there. I think because of the little boy. I’m not sure but I think they gave kids like something to color when you were seated.
How about Farrell’s? I loved that place because of all the cool ice cream plates they offered and especially it was cool if it was your birthday.
Burger Chef I used to go there with my dad when I was younger loved it.
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