Restaurant chains that are no more

Never heard Famous Recipe called Lee's. I thought "Famous Recipe" was long extinct.
According to their website: Famous Recipe was purchased by Shoney's in 1981 and rebranded Lee's Famous Recipe using co-founder Lee Cummings as the national spokesperson.

Cummings had worked for several years for his uncle, Colonel Sanders. Cummings and Harold Omer opened their first restaurant in Lima in 1966.
 
According to their website: Famous Recipe was purchased by Shoney's in 1981 and rebranded Lee's Famous Recipe using co-founder Lee Cummings as the national spokesperson.

Cummings had worked for several years for his uncle, Colonel Sanders. Cummings and Harold Omer opened their first restaurant in Lima in 1966.
It seems like Mr Chicken in NEO may have sprung off of that, somehow. Not that I have a specific recollection.
 
According to Lee's web site there are 40 restaurants in Ohio.

I've been past the one in New Philadelphia many time. Always wanted to try it but never was in a position to stop. I asked one of the locals about it, and he said it's too greasy. Sounds good to me.
 
My first memory of a fast food burger was at Henry's Hamburgers, a franchise owned by Bresler's ice cream company. There was one in Hamilton (Butler County). There were once 300 Henry's. The last surviving one is in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Anybody else remember Henry's?




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My first memory of a fast food burger was at Henry's Hamburgers, a franchise owned by Bressler's ice cream company. There was one in Hamilton (Butler County). There were once 300 Henry's. The last surviving one is in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Anybody else remember Henry's?




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We had Bresler's at our Woodville Mall. I don't think Henry's Hamburgers made it here. I certainly don't ever recall it.
 
Anyone remember Duff's Smorgasbord? There was one near Belden Village.

And Po' Folks? There is still a handful of them in Florida.
I seem to remember that there was a sign with a threat of a surcharge if you wasted food at the Hamilton Plaza Duff's. Never had to worry if I went with Big Lonnie.
 
There were three Nickel Nook Restaurants back in the sixties in Connersville, Shelbyville, and Rushville, Indiana. They sold 5-cent hamburgers, but by the time I started going to the Connersville location, they were at about 2 for 15 cents.

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Burger Chef was the only fast food within 30 miles where I lived as a kid in Eastern KY.

Chi-Chi's was one of my favorites. There was one at Belden Village in Canton. There was a 45 min wait to get a table there almost every evening and sometimes at lunch. Then one day I read new corporate ownership had taken it over. Those idiots had to mess with success. They totally changed the menu and in about 2 years it was closed.

The other one that comes to mind was a franchise called the Italian Oven. I believe it was HQtrd in PA. Loved that place. They made an incredible stromboli in a wood fired oven. They seemed to always be busy, but they failed for some reason.
 
Burger Chef was the only fast food within 30 miles where I lived as a kid in Eastern KY.

Chi-Chi's was one of my favorites. There was one at Belden Village in Canton. There was a 45 min wait to get a table there almost every evening and sometimes at lunch. Then one day I read new corporate ownership had taken it over. Those idiots had to mess with success. They totally changed the menu and in about 2 years it was closed.

The other one that comes to mind was a franchise called the Italian Oven. I believe it was HQtrd in PA. Loved that place. They made an incredible stromboli in a wood fired oven. They seemed to always be busy, but they failed for some reason.
I recall eating at one inside a mall during a family vacation to Pittsburgh. IIRC, they gave you hollow breadsticks to use as drinking straws or something unusual like that. Drawing on the placemats may have also been encouraged.
 
I recall eating at one inside a mall during a family vacation to Pittsburgh. IIRC, they gave you hollow breadsticks to use as drinking straws or something unusual like that. Drawing on the placemats may have also been encouraged.
Yep! My memory was that the straws were pasta. And lots of fun on the placemats. The Italian Oven was a great little place. Amazed it didn't last.
 
Anyone with a Tumbleweed Tex-Mex Grill still near them? Saw one in Chillicothe over the weekend, had forgotten about them. I read where they're down to 20 or so locations scattered over a few states. Had one on west side of Columbus maybe 15 years ago, didn't seem to last long.
 
Anyone ever eaten at Jaques? Had it in Mansfield I think? I never heard of it but the statue (Big Jaque) now resides on Route 163 in Marblehead.

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Worked as a waiter at Chi-Chi's in Cuyahoga Falls (Chapel Hill Mall area) all 4 years of college. Loved it. Was from about 1998-2002. Food was good, work was good, etc. Twice grilled BBQ burrito and fried ice cream were the best.

I also remember "fun" times at Ponderosa growing up. My mom, sister, and I would get the buffet, dad would order a steak (sometimes mom would too, but she didn't like their steaks that much). Last time I went to one definitely had food poisoning, never went back.
 
Worked as a waiter at Chi-Chi's in Cuyahoga Falls (Chapel Hill Mall area) all 4 years of college. Loved it. Was from about 1998-2002. Food was good, work was good, etc. Twice grilled BBQ burrito and fried ice cream were the best.

I also remember "fun" times at Ponderosa growing up. My mom, sister, and I would get the buffet, dad would order a steak (sometimes mom would too, but she didn't like their steaks that much). Last time I went to one definitely had food poisoning, never went back.
I could spend the day eating those Ponderosa wings.
 
Worked as a waiter at Chi-Chi's in Cuyahoga Falls (Chapel Hill Mall area) all 4 years of college. Loved it. Was from about 1998-2002. Food was good, work was good, etc. Twice grilled BBQ burrito and fried ice cream were the best.

I also remember "fun" times at Ponderosa growing up. My mom, sister, and I would get the buffet, dad would order a steak (sometimes mom would too, but she didn't like their steaks that much). Last time I went to one definitely had food poisoning, never went back.
Similar experience at Chi-Chi's in Middletown, but my last year of high school. I made great money as a server's assistant and the work was never bad. Not to mention many of the servers were young enough to have no problem buying me and my buddies beer on the weekends. Twice grilled burrito was my favorite and I've still not found fried ice cream at any Mexican restaurant that comes close to Chi-Chi's. My wife and I frequented Chi-Chi's until the last one went out of business locally in the mid-00's.
 
Italian Oven used to have about 100 restaurants. There was one in the Hamilton-Farfield area of Butler County and another in the Northgate Mall in Hamilton County.
 
Today:

"...Ponderosa’s website shows it has restaurants in Columbus, Hillsboro and Wheelersburg. The website states a Ponderosa in Calcutta in Columbiana County is closed temporarily..."

 
Anyone with a Tumbleweed Tex-Mex Grill still near them? Saw one in Chillicothe over the weekend, had forgotten about them. I read where they're down to 20 or so locations scattered over a few states. Had one on west side of Columbus maybe 15 years ago, didn't seem to last long.
Pretty sure there's still one in Heath.

Tumble-weeeeeeed!
 
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