Another chain restaurant topic - which ones are gone or just missing in action in your area?

bcla

On our rugged Eastern foothills.....
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
I guess it's whatever you want it to be - barely in your area, completely gone, or just no longer in your area, but what chain restaurants do you miss? It doesn't need to be a chain that's completely gone. I've seen chains that were reduced to scattered locations.

So here are mine:

Elephant Bar. It was kind of an odd concept, but there was one near where I worked at the time, and several locations were near where I used to go a lot. They called it a "pan-Asian" theme, but it was more like a casual dining with an adventure theme. Some of the menu items were distinctly American, but others were Asian inspired. There's only one location left near me. I used to have a difficult time getting a table, and that was one place that all my coworkers would agree to since they had such a varied menu and well-priced lunch specials.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_Bar

Sambo's. Similar to Denny's although their name was controversial.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambo's

Swensen's. It was an ice cream shop founded in San Francisco, with menu items that were often San Francisco themed. Most shops actually made their ice cream onsite. There's one store left in San Francisco, and maybe a couple more in the US. However, it seems to be more of an international chain now. I strangely enough had ice cream at one in Changmai, Thailand back in the 90s.

Pioneer Chicken. It was a west coast chain that I understand is barely holding on with a couple of locations.

There used to be a fairly high concentration of Dairy Queens and Orange Julius around me when I was young, but some reason they seemed to close until most of the ones left look kind of grimy. I don't specifically remember it, but I heard there's one last Howard Johnson's Restaurant left.
 
I really liked Sambos. There was also one in South Lake Tahoe across the street where we stayed every year. I just drove by the Elephant Bar at Sunrise yesterday. Haven't been in there for ages. My DIL worked there while going to college years ago. The few Dairy Queens around here do look questionable. When I was growing up, they were the place to go for the sundaes.
 
We used to have a few Whataburger locations in Central Florida. But they closed them all down years ago.

I also remember seeing Jack In the Box ads on TV a couple of years back, but we have none in the state of Florida. So I still scratch my head on that one.

It also seems that Dairy Queen is far and few in between as well. Although rumor has it there might be one opening up close to me soon.

Even though it's mainly a West coast chain anyway, there are 2 Del Taco locations in Central Florida. Used to be 3 as of a year or so ago. I would like to see one open up again soon.
 
Howard Johnsons
Kenny Rogers Roasters.
Minnie Pearl's chicken
Mrs Winner's Chicken
Chi Chi's.
Burger Chef
Boston Market. Came in with a bang. Was out within about 5 years.
La Petite Boulangerie
Bennigans. The original pieces of flair on he waitstaff.
 


There's nary an Arby's to be found; I stop every time I see one thinking it might be my last chance.
 
About 10 years ago there were close to a dozen Quizno's sandwich shops in my extended area. Most closed within a year or two. I don't think there are any left.

One fast food chain I miss is Gino's, which was big in the mid-Atlantic states. Their Gino Giant pre-dated the Big Mac. They had the right to sell Kentucky Fried Chicken in the area. Marriott acquired the chain in the early 80s and converted most to Roy Rogers. There are very few Roy Rogers remaining, those left are mostly in food/fuel areas on toll roads.
 


One fast food chain I miss is Gino's, which was big in the mid-Atlantic states. Their Gino Giant pre-dated the Big Mac. They had the right to sell Kentucky Fried Chicken in the area. Marriott acquired the chain in the early 80s and converted most to Roy Rogers. There are very few Roy Rogers remaining, those left are mostly in food/fuel areas on toll roads.
Always liked Gino's more than McDonald's . Another fast food chain I miss is Arthur Treacher's , the Fish & Chip they had were pretty good.
There was a local chain restaurant called Rib It in our area. I loved their Cajun Lamb Ribs.
 
MIA in GA.
Whataburger
Bob Evans
Jack in the Box.

i like all of these but we have none in Ga. perhaps thats why i like 'em.. i rarely get to eat at 'em...

I also like the Mexican places 'On the Border' and 'Chi Chi's'.. we had these here years ago but no more.. :(
 
Shoneys - I think they are still around but there used to be two here in Athens but both are gone now. It was our go to place for breakfast before leaving on a Disney trip.

Sonny's BBQ - again I know they are still around but the one here in Athens recently lost it's franchise. We didn't eat there often because being from Georgia it's not really BBQ but sometimes you just wanted it.
 
I really liked Sambos. There was also one in South Lake Tahoe across the street where we stayed every year. I just drove by the Elephant Bar at Sunrise yesterday. Haven't been in there for ages. My DIL worked there while going to college years ago. The few Dairy Queens around here do look questionable. When I was growing up, they were the place to go for the sundaes.

I took my kid to DQ after being pestered about it. The ones we visited were in Campbell and Vallejo, CA.

The one in Campbell looks like it’s stuck in a 60s time warp. I’ve seen DQ in other states where the building was pretty new or at least they gutted the building to make it look more modern.

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In Vallejo it’s only outdoor seating, and not much of it.

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The scattered mall locations don’t have the full menu, such as no burgers. I found one location with only the soft serve, but it was combined with and Orange Julius.
 
I was another fan of Gino's. Always preferred it over McDonald's and other FF chains.

The Sambo's near where I grew up changed its name to No Place Like Sam's. Then it became a Denny's. Now I think the building houses one of those walk-in urgent care medical clinics.
 
This. My city used to have two and now there in none. The nearest one is 40 miles away!

There isn’t a single one left in California. The only one I’d even driven by mysteriously went up in flames two years after it closed.
 
Ruby Tuesdays in the nearby mall just closed abruptly last week. There are several very good unique restaurants nearby, but people still flock to the Olive Garden and Chili's by the mall. I don't get it.
 
Having moved to Tennessee from the west coast it's more about restaurants that we don't have here. I miss not having the following:
-Del Taco
-Togo's
-Quiznos
-Jack in the Box
-In and Out Burger
-Carl's Jr (Hardees is NOT even close to Carl's!)

My daughters miss Taco del Mar.

What DH and I really miss is Fresh Choice, but I believe they closed up shop years ago. We use to frequently go there for lunch when we still lived in Ca.
 
Well, maybe it’s more of a case of they’ve never been in my area, but I’ve never been to White Castle. I was visiting the Chicago area when I saw a bag, but I didn’t try any. I’ve seen White Castle frozen burgers, but that’s kind of weird reheating the whole thing.
 
Restaurants we don't have:
Arby's
White Castle
TGIFriday's
Bennigan's
Carrabba's
Chevy's
Sonic
Jack in the Box
Shoney's
Steak n Shake
Kentucky Fried Chicken (there's one left)
Panera
Hardee's/Big Boy/Carl Jr.'s
CiCi's
Chik-fil-A (we have one that just opened- I believe it's the only one in Maine)
Quizno's
 

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