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

[tvguy]

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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Yup, around Sacramento, the Dairy Queens tend to have been owned by the same families for DECADES. Literally back to the 1960's. And both got into fights with Dairy Queen because DQ wanted top to bottom remodels that would have cost close to $1 million. The owner of the one closest to me got hit by this first, and they told Dairy Queen to take a flying leap. THEY dropped Dairy Queen, changed their name to Dairy Heaven, offered the exact same menu they had when they were DQ, just changed the names. Blizzards are now Glaciers.
The second closest one benefited from that because when DQ came to them with the same threat, they countered with, "what incentives are you going to give US to STAY a Dairy Queen and not go independent?" DQ backed down, the store is still DQ, and while they DID remodel about 30 years ago, they have not done anything but sell a ton of Dairy Queen products

 

[JoanneAZ]

There are still Der Wienerschnitzels around in Arizona. There is one kinda close to Westgate .

I had no idea, there’s none anywhere near me, haven’t seen one in over 20 years.

 

[JoanneAZ]

Black Angus in Mesa and Chandler, Der Wienerschnitzel in Chandler, Mesa and Tempe, Sizzler in Mesa, looks like Tasty Freez is in Wickenberg

Well, they are MIA in my area and have been for years.

 

[bcla]

I had mo idea, there’s none anywhere near me, haven’t seen one in over 20 years.

The one I grew up with is still where it's probably been for maybe 50 years. And it's still in the original A-frame building with a drive-thru going through the building, and no indoor seating. This isn't the one I grew up with (the article I found it from says Wilmington, CA), but the layout was pretty similar. A couple of ordering windows at the front and a drive through hole. At my local location I saw employees checking for cars before heading for the stockroom on the other side of the building.

And speaking of A-frames, I haven't seen an original IHOP A-frame with an actual IHOP in a while. I heard there was one in San Francisco that closed just this year. I see plenty of them, but they're all in nondescript buildings.

 

[_19disnA]

Some chains never update their menu to reflect the types of food people now eat and start losing business. Food popular in the 1960's may not be such a hit today.

It also seems like some of the older chain restaurants get bought up by a conglomerate that knows nothing about the food/restaurant business and things start to go downhill. They lose site of what made them popular initially or some accountant thinks they will save $.05 by doing this or that differently and just never works out as planned.

 

[goofyernmost]

In my town this past year we have lost...

Carrabba's
Macaroni Grill
Bob Evans
Sweet Tomatoes
Chili's
TGI Fridays
5 Guys

I just mentioned current ones. Many of those names listed by others closed up years ago. There have been a lot of local spots (not chains) that closed up this past year as well. I wonder if people just aren't going out to eat as much anymore.

 

[RangerPooh]

Jack in the Box is all over TN, or so I thought. Quiznos goes back and forth.

I've seen Jack's here in western Tennessee but it is not Jack in the Box. They have similar logos but that's it.
Jack's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack's
Jack in the Box https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_in_the_Box

 

[MrJT]

We used to have a few Whataburger locations in Central Florida. But they closed them all down years ago.

That would make me sad, I love Whataburger.
For me, I miss Marie Callendar's. I grew up in California, so I've been there plenty of times. When I moved back to San Antonio 8 years ago, there were 2 in town. Now there are none. One night, DW and I were going to get dinner there, and it was gone!

 

[Hikergirl]

There are alot mentioned here that I have never heard of.
In our area the chain sit down restaurants we have are- Olive Garden, Bonefish Grill, Texas Roadhouse, Outback, Chilis, Red Lobster, Buffalo Wild Wings, Fridays and Red Robin. We had an Applebees years ago but it closed, then the 2 other restaurants that took the space since closed, now it is vacant. It must be cursed LOL

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I haven't even heard of half of these.

 

[Lori74]

Grandys

 

[MetalMasterC]

There's nary an Arby's to be found; I stop every time I see one thinking it might be my last chance.

I find that funny, because there are a ton where I live. If I do recall, Arby's is doing well and is one of the biggest fast food chains today.

I mention this because I remember one named Rax. It was based in the midwest, but had locations close to NY. They were well known for their roast beef the same as Arby's.

Surprisingly, they still exist, and have 8 locations. Although, I don't know how up-to-date that all is.
http://raxroastbeef.com/

 

[_19disnA]

I think Arby started losing business a number of years ago when they switched from real whole roasted beef to a kind of processed/pressed meat typical of what you find in the grocery store deli. A lot of the sandwich fast food places use poor quality meat which makes for an unappealing sandwich.

 

[snoodledoo]

I miss Black Eyed Pea. Such delicious pot roast and wheat rolls. Looks like they are still in TX, TN and CO.
DD used to love Fazoli's. On our 2010 road trip, we were able to stop at both places.
I do remember Swensens and Farrells and wish we still had them.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Does Hardees still exist? I remember it was my favorite fast food when I was little.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Does Hardees still exist? I remember it was my favorite fast food when I was little.

Sure does in my area-there's multiple locations. Actually have one just over 10mins from my house.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For me, I miss Marie Callendar's. I grew up in California, so I've been there plenty of times. When I moved back to San Antonio 8 years ago, there were 2 in town. Now there are none. One night, DW and I were going to get dinner there, and it was gone!

I didn't realize Marie Callendar's was a restaurant chain.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ Same here, thought they only sell frozen foods. Apparently that have restaurants in CA/UT & NV.

https://www.mariecallenders.com/

 

[asta]

Jack in the Box is all over TN, or so I thought. Quiznos goes back and forth.

I know there is a Jack in the Box in Cool Springs (near I65). Some other locations have closed.

 

[superme80]

Thinking of a few more in my area.

There was California chain called Pasta Pomodoro started by an Italian immigrant who wanted simple food similar to what he grew up with. I thought it was pretty good, and I knew several Italians who thought it was about as authentic as any place they could find in the US. I'd describe it as a modern aesthetic. The menus were mostly black on white with only a little bit of color. I wasn't a theme restaurant like Olive Garden. They also had some stuff I never saw at any other Italian place like skillets. Later on the owners sold it off to a group that I don't believe understood what they had. They started changing up everything and they closed shop abruptly.

They had one at the Bay Street complex in Emeryville, California. Even after almost two years it's still not occupied, although they use the front patio as a performance space.

Starbucks seems to feature prominently in some chains shutting down. They bought a local cafe chain called Pasqua. I'd seen it as far as NYC on a trip, but once Starbucks bought them they lasted maybe a couple of years before all the locations were converted to Starbucks. They also bought a small bakery chain called La Boulangerie (not to be confused with Le Boulanger). Not sure what they did with the brand later on other than using the brand for its in-house pastries. The owner took on the lease of several of those old locations and now operates as "La Boulangerie de San Francisco".

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-starbucks-closed-la-boulange-bakeries-2015-6
http://www.laboulangeriesf.com/about/

I loved Pasta Pomodora!!!! Weak alfredo, but everything else was awesome. I also miss Baker's Square! Every Christmas season, DH and I would go for cocoa and candy cane pie. I was so bummed when they closed.