8 fast food chains you wish you could eat at again
Your mouth will water while remembering these now-defunct hamburger restaurants.
Craving a burger? Chances are, there's a McDonald's right down the street. Fast food is an American tradition that brings up memories of drive-thrus and good times. But for every Burger King, there's a Burger Chef that is long gone. While you can't go to these eight fast food chains anymore, their memories live on in our hearts and taste buds.
1). Burger Chef
With the popularity of McDonald's in the 1950s, Burger Chef sprung up around the country in the 1960s. The chain was so popular, in 1972 there were 1,200 outlets across the country — second only to McDonalds. But the rapid expansion proved to be the downfall of the chain, which was eventually sold to Hardee's. Burger Chef leaves behind a big legacy with its Fun Meal, the first ever kid's meal to include a plastic toy.
2). D'Lites
Before the recent health craze took over, there was D'Lites. The Georgia-based fast food chain sold tasty food that focused on health and nutrition. D'Lites had a brief run in the late-'70s and '80s, but it managed to franchise over 100 locations around the country. The chain's downfall came when McDonald's and Burger King started to offer healthier menu options.
3). Henry's Hamburgers
In the mid-'50s, Bresler's Ice Cream Company decided to jump on the growing fast food action by opening Henry's Hamburgers. By the early '60s, people could get "ten burgers for a buck" at over 200 restaurants around the countries. The success of other chains led to Henry's Hamburgers' decline in the '70s, but it didn't disappear completely. There's one location still open in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
4). Red Barn
"When the hungries hit, hit the Red Barn." That's exactly what customers did for more than two decades. The fast food chain, founded in 1961, served up "Big Barneys" and "Barnbusters" in 19 states. By the '80s, Red Barn's parent company was bought out by Motel 6, and the chain eventually went defunct.
5). Sandy's
The four founders of Sandy's originally operated some of the earliest McDonald's franchises. But when they couldn't open a location in Peoria, Illinois, they decided to start their own business. The Scottish-themed Sandy's opened in 1956, expanding on what McDonald's had done. In the early 70s, Sandy's merged with Hardee's, and the brand all but disappeared later in the decade.
6). Wetson's
When Wetson's opened in 1959, it was the McDonald's of New York, complete with 15-cent burgers and two clowns for mascots. The reign of Wetson's was short, however. When McDonald's and Burger King came to New York City in the 1970s, Wetson struggled to keep up and the chain went defunct in 1975. Recently there's been talk about a revival, but so far nothing has come to fruition.
7). White Tower Hamburgers
Often deemed an imitation of White Castle, White Tower Hamburgers first opened in Milwaukee in 1926. At its peak, White Tower had over 200 locations across the eastern half of the United States. But with the migration of people to the suburbs, many locations no longer served a purpose. The franchise slowly declined, and today White Tower Hamburgers has one location left in Toledo, Ohio.
. Wimpy'sInspired by the hamburger-loving Popeye's character of the same name, Wimpy's opened its doors in the 1930s and steadily grew across the Midwest until the 1950s. In the 1970s, Wimpy's all but ceased to exist in the United States when the founder died and no one purchased the rights to the Wimpy name. Surprisingly enough, the chain is still big in the U.K. and South Africa.
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Now a few honorable mentions of my own.
A&W - Essex Ontario
This chain restaurant was located on Highway 3, on the way to Leamington, Ontario. It was just a stand, but I always thought that it was the BEST of all A&Ws in the east. What made it so good was that the old couple who owned it would ask if you like your fries crispy or soft. I liked them crispy, so they were always accommodating in the request. They would also give you a "dunk cup" for the ketchup, which was a small paper cup equaling about 10 of those squeeze packets of ketchup. It was handy to have the little cup when dining in the car.
Icky’s - Archbold Ohio
This little sports bar was adorn in the colors of the Ohio State University and the University of Michigan. Often a peanut fight would break out between people of different fan loyalties on opposite sides of the room. Icky, (the owner), would serve a sort of beef Manhattan but with a twist. It was a slice of Texas toast with roast beef over top, a generous portion of fries, and then then whole thing was topped in brown gravy.
Grandma’s Kitchen – Covington Kentucky
At the top of the hill there was a restaurant called Grandma’s Kitchen. It was supposedly a franchise but I never ran into one since. When I worked in Memphis, and drove from Toledo on Monday morning, I would stop there for breakfast. It was where I learned about grits for the first time, and also that it was not “southern” to put maple syrup on them. From the waitress I learned that “well bless his heart” was not a term of endearment. Still, everything was good especially their ham with the eggs which was as big as the plate, with the scrambled eggs on top of the ham.
Shakey’s – Toledo Ohio
This chain restaurant was located on Secor and Sylvania and had a potato entre which was interesting. They would take a potato and cut it longways, about a quarter inch thick, and then bread it and deep fat fry it. It would come out looking like a McDonald’s hash brown, but the outside was golden brown and crispy like fried chicken, but the inside was like a French fry. I’ve never been able to figure out how they did the batter for the potatoes. The pizza was not shabby, but typical of most pizza places.
Holland House – Holland Ohio
This restaurant was located on Toledo’s west side, and due south of Sylvania OH. It had a hamburger which I’ve never seen duplicated, called the Moron Burger. Supposedly it was named that because it took a moron to order one. The bun was six inches in diameter, and contained four patties of hamburger about the size of a Whopper burger. Then it was loaded with whatever you wanted on it, including long dill pickles in place of pickle chips, and you could order it with five different cheeses.
Those are my memories of fast food. What small restaurants do you remember and why?
