We’ve all had that head-turning expertise: You’re driving by an unfamiliar city and swiftly you see an indication from a restaurant chain you thought survived solely in your recollections.
A number of of those restaurant relics could be present in Northern and Central California — some fairly frequent when you begin trying, and others positively the final of the breed.
The map above exhibits the remaining outposts of some dwindling chains. (We’ve disregarded Southern California as a result of, with its metropolitan sprawl and drive-in-and-diner tradition, it appears to be dwelling to each chain that ever existed.)
On the map
Shakey’s Pizza (pink dot). The mainstay of the Little League set has one final NorCal restaurant, in Oroville. Nationwide, it’s down from 350 to some dozen. Enjoyable reality: Co-founder Shakey Johnson acquired his nickname due to nerve harm from a wartime bout of malaria.
- Based: 1954, Sacramento.
- Now: 50 within the U.S., all however three of them in Southern California.
TGI Friday’s (orange dots). What began as an try to offer younger ladies a substitute for bars turned a family-friendly chain recognized for potato skins, frozen drinks and its exuberant birthday track.
- Based: 1965, New York Metropolis.
- Now: 309 within the U.S., and greater than 500 in different international locations — though the corporate introduced final 12 months that it would shut nearly 400 due to financial difficulties.
Fuddrucker’s (yellow dots). Predicated on the concept half-pound burgers aren’t almost massive sufficient.
- Based: 1979, San Antonio.
- Now: Round 75, with many current closures — together with, simply final week, three in Orlando.
Benihana (inexperienced dots). As they are saying, it’s not only a meal, it’s an expertise with quite a lot of yelling and knives.
- Based: 1964, New York Metropolis.
- Now: About 90 in the USA, with huge clusters in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Miami.
Swensen’s Ice Cream (darkish blue dot). Within the Eighties, the chain had 400 U.S. shops. In 2020, there have been three. And now there may be one: the unique retailer at Union & Hyde in San Francisco.
- Based: 1948, San Francisco.
- Now: One within the U.S., about 300 in Canada and abroad.
H. Salt Esq. Fish & Chips (mild blue dots). Began by British expat Haddon Salt in Sausalito, its subsequent three shops have been in Berkeley, Sunnyvale and Santa Cruz, beneath the unwieldy title H. Salt, Esq. Genuine English Fish and Chips Shoppe. The chain grew quick, reaching 500 shops in a number of years, and Salt bought it to KFC.
- Based: 1965, Sausalito.
- Now: Onerous to inform. In 1987, KFC offloaded the remaining shops to the franchise house owners, and there’s no central operation.
Winchell’s Donut Home (purple dots). The three Salinas areas of the “Dwelling of the Heat ‘n Recent Donut” have branched out into pizza, tortas, deli sandwiches, fruit burritos.
- Based: 1948, Temple Metropolis, Calif.
- Now: 170 shops within the Western U.S., most in Los Angeles.
Not on the map
Dozens of NorCal areas
- A&W, which began in Lodi in 1919, continues to be going sturdy within the Bay Space and throughout the nation. There’s no restaurant, only a plaque, on the authentic web site — 13 Pine St. — however you will get your Papa Burger and root beer a number of blocks away. Additionally pretty straightforward to seek out are Dairy Queen and Orange Julius.
Not right here, however nonetheless alive
- Bennigan’s. After a calamitous chapter in 2008, the fake Irish pub chain that began in 1976 has 11 U.S. areas. The closest is in Texas.
- Bob’s Large Boy. Began in 1939 in Glendale, Calif., it went from a peak of about 250 to 5 at this time, all within the Los Angeles space. There may be additionally a franchised Large Boy, with out the Bob’s, at a roadside on line casino north of Las Vegas.
- Arctic Circle. The 70-year-old burger chain recognized for its addictive fry sauce has a number of dozen eating places within the western U.S., none in California anymore.
- Howard Johnson’s eating places. The motel chain nonetheless operates, however of the 1,000 HoJo eating places there’s just one nonetheless open, in Lake George, N.Y. The same household highway journey favourite, the East Coast chain Pleasant’s, was purchased out of chapter final 12 months and operates 130 eating places.
All gone
- Farrell’s Ice Cream. The final one, in Brea (Orange County), closed in 2019.
- Crimson Barn. The burger chain (“Hit the Crimson Barn!”) as soon as had near 400 shops; it shut down in 1988. One former franchise proprietor in Wisconsin stored going as The Farm till 2020.
- Mr. Steak. The chain of household steakhouses closed its final restaurant, in St. Charles, Missouri, in 2009.