Chi-Chi’s was one of my all time favorites!! I would LOVE to see that one resurrected!!
@kenthuang4364 ай бұрын
I went there a couple of times and I thought the food was pretty good. The only thing is the one we had was one of those that had the contaminated green onions so I don’t think very many people where I live wants to see the restaurant chain revived.
@Linda76474 ай бұрын
I loved Chi-Chi's. Yeah, it was 'Americanized' Mexican food. But it was damn good. The seafood Chimichangas were amazing. Haven't found anything like them anywhere since. Plus the atmosphere was great. I really miss that place.
@davidtoups46844 ай бұрын
I liked Chi Chi's too. Sure, it wasn't "authentic" Mexican, but I thought the food was pretty good for what it was
@weegeemike4 ай бұрын
It looks delicious, hard to find good TexMex anymore...now. places are either all Mex or all Tex 😂
@DTD1108654 ай бұрын
I at least like the waitress in the Chi-Chi's commercial shown in this clip. There's a diner in Farmingville, New York that went Tex-Mex roughly a decade ago, but I don't know how good the food is.
@beckycaughel75574 ай бұрын
How on earth can you say Bennigan’s is one of the worst restaurants?! Bennigan’s was great. I loved it, especially the monte Cristo course I have to admit that that’s all I ever had there. the very first time I was there, I ordered the Montecristo not sure what to expect because I never had one. I was just a kid then And ever since then it’s been my favorite sandwich and I’ve never had it as good as the one that they made at Bennigan’s and I always got that whenever we went there. I also liked Arthur Treacher’s, ,Howard Johnson’s and Chichis I love their taco salad and the chimichangas and of course the fried ice cream
@dukey199414 ай бұрын
My parents would take us out for the day on a ride and we would always stop at Howard Johnson's for breakfast. I loved it. This list stinks.
@bunkyman80974 ай бұрын
@dukey19941 When I was a kid, A Friday night at Howard Johnson's for fried clams a treat! They were so good!
@margaretzeaiter89554 ай бұрын
I loved the Monte Christo at Bennigans!! It was a great restaurant and I’ll never understand why it failed…
@susans22194 ай бұрын
Yes thank you! I so miss Bennigan’s and their Monte Cristo. Sadly the only place that I can find that makes them is Cheddar's. Its good but just not the same. Bennigan’s was great because it was somewhere where a group of people could go to and they had something for everyone. However, I did not enjoy when they tried to go to a southwest theme briefly in the 90's.
@canoone19754 ай бұрын
Bennigan’s was fantastic. The concept got a little long in the tooth, but the quality of my local Bennigan’s never dropped until the very end.
@Gwaithmir4 ай бұрын
I dined at Howard Johnson's many times. The food and service were always excellent.
@Solitaryman704 ай бұрын
Best Breakfast ever!
@margarettickle96594 ай бұрын
Cracker Barrel's pride in their food and service went way down too. So disappointing.
@HerrinSchadenfreude3 ай бұрын
I legit didn't know they were a "restaurant". We stayed at one of their hotels in Baton Rouge on the way to LA from NY and the roaches were literally putting shoulder to the door to break in and rob us. We fled like it was a mansion in Amityville. My dad and I were still laughing about that until he died over 20 years later. Never set foot in one since.
@prodigalpriest4 ай бұрын
I remember Howard Johnson's fondly. I especially loved their clam strips and the ice cream offerings. Arthur Treacher's was another blast from the past. Loved their fish.
@lhutchinson70534 ай бұрын
I fondly remember Howard Johnson's and loved and missed their cheeseburgers for a long time afterwards, always hoping I'd find one still operating.
@Diosprometheus4 ай бұрын
I loved Arthur's too. The fish and chips were always good.
@SewardWriter4 ай бұрын
Howard Johnson taught me to love fried clams.
@csweet5914 ай бұрын
Ummmm….Chi-Chi’s rocked. I don’t want to forget about it. I want it back!
@sroevukasroevuka3 ай бұрын
I worked at chi chis as a cook., and prep cook.
@rond14753 ай бұрын
@@sroevukasroevuka the best drinks
@sroevukasroevuka3 ай бұрын
@@rond1475 great margaritas.
@erikness42314 ай бұрын
Who the hell didn't love Shakeys? The first pizza i ever had and still drive over an hour to the last one in Washington to remember how good it was.
@markcollins26664 ай бұрын
Still alive and well in the Philippines, with over 460 locations.
@danieldaniels75713 ай бұрын
I liked it too
@kimberlypatton2053 ай бұрын
Our Shakey’s in my W. Tx big town was the most excellent and popular restaurant here… from its lunchtime buffet ( which was “the place” ) to go for a workday lunch , to the game room and the cartoon room. It was a place we went to at least 2 or 3 times a month with our growing children and you simply have not had a pizza until you eat one of Shakey’s “Deli Pizza”! What a masterpiece! It was a pizza piled high with all the great things you could ask for! Huge slices of pepperoni, fresh mushrooms, tomato slices etc etc! The restaurant was also a significant contributor to community functions and it closed around 1998 or so. I still miss it to this day!
@JaxonSmithers3 ай бұрын
Shakeys had great pizza. This guys videos are always questionable 🙄
@pam89623 ай бұрын
It was awesome so much better than pizza hut
@cyberbeer654 ай бұрын
I don't know about anyone else, but I want all of these establishments back!
@fanaticat14 ай бұрын
Me too
@lancerevell59794 ай бұрын
Ditto!
@rllapte4 ай бұрын
@cyberbeer65 Though impossible, yours is the best answer, at least philosophically. Even some of the ones we liked deserved to die. Ruby Tuesday, a top tier establishment into the early 90s, offered a standard American menu featuring great steaks and excellent service. The salad bar similar to Steak and Ale but better. It's not gone yet but it won't be long. Lum's was a casual favorite of mine for both culinary and sentimental reasons. Long gone. Of course, many, many other old favorites. If you have reached senior years like me, the list of lost favs is in the dozens. Sad, sad, sad.
@JoeDirtisawsome4 ай бұрын
why? the food sucked.
@rllapte4 ай бұрын
@@JoeDirtisawsome It's a magic pixie dust hypothetical in which some of the once beloved chains will return in their original glory and others will still be popular with diehard fans. It's a case of accepting the bitter with the sweet (restaurants that were once fabulous but declined over time) in a completely make believe scenario.
@kcvinwehoLA4 ай бұрын
I loved Arthur Treacher’s as a kid. Still think they were the best fish chain.
@FeralRC4 ай бұрын
Only 2 locations are left now. One is in my hometown of Cuyahoga Falls, OH. It's still very good.
@davidcreager19454 ай бұрын
I love Arthur Treachers ! A local pizza chain where i live, sells Arthur's , yummy
@bunkyman80974 ай бұрын
Agreed, Arthur Teacher's was the best!
@Sparkina4 ай бұрын
I loved dining at Arturo’s Bistro, as I refer to it
@MrJsbach1234 ай бұрын
Me too
@maryannefeyer63324 ай бұрын
I would love to see Bennigan’s, Chi-Chi’s, Lum’s, and Bonanza come back!
@Thunder_62784 ай бұрын
Who the hell thought this up? Almost all of these I wish I could return to. This must of been made outside the U.S.
@Bethany-gk1ei3 ай бұрын
Or by someone who wasn’t even alive when these places were in operation.
@goodoldbubba66203 ай бұрын
Agreed.
@georgebrusstar25394 ай бұрын
"NOBODY" wants back? Speak for yourself. Because you're certainly not speaking for me.
@steveduerr63674 ай бұрын
Agreed
@kimberlypatton2053 ай бұрын
Thank you.
@Orlando_Steve3 ай бұрын
I liked Bennigans.
@MattaBinElba3 ай бұрын
I want SANDYs back. If it is what I think it is
@Atomykpimp3 ай бұрын
Bennigan’s is still around today in some states as of 2024.
@puffchick41974 ай бұрын
Food was better in the 80’s than now
@ctll6264 ай бұрын
It was better cuz it was mostly home cooked. Dining out was an occasion.
@technodrone3134 ай бұрын
ok boomer
@Shorty_Lickens4 ай бұрын
Almost every chain restaurant in my area has gotten terrible. And some of the mom n pop joints are worse too. Makes me sad.
@sandraday69553 ай бұрын
well it was actual food not 90% chemicals with a bit of food mixed in.
@technodrone3133 ай бұрын
@@sandraday6955 ok boomer
@Sparty-pi3jq4 ай бұрын
Chi Chis was both fancy and "exotic" to me as a kid! I loved the fried ice cream.
@CindyMarie-ru9ww4 ай бұрын
Yes I did too 😋
@margarettickle96594 ай бұрын
Yep and the taco salad. Yum
@SewardWriter4 ай бұрын
That fried ice cream still lives in my dreams.
@debraball26413 ай бұрын
Occasionally I can find 'Fried Ice Cream' flavored ice cream and relive the experience. Their chicken fajitas were decent. And I loved the corn casserole.
@thunderroad72893 ай бұрын
That fried ice cream was amazing . I miss that lol
@Scott.Newmaster4 ай бұрын
Bonanza was good until the end. Competition got to them. Also noticed that most all of the failures were after some major corporation buying them.
@elultimo1024 ай бұрын
That happens to many successful businesses. The greedy conglomerates buy them out and run them into the ground.
@ogcowboy57434 ай бұрын
@@elultimo102 Yes, I think you are correct, those corporations just want to increase the profit margin and suck the life out of the management and employes. So they cut corners on quality, Increse prices, reduce portions and under staff the restaurants all to increse profit. The dark side of Capitalism.
@lancerevell59794 ай бұрын
This is because the beancounters take over, cutting quality by cutting corners, trying to increase profits. They just drive it into the ground 😮
@Alanb_694 ай бұрын
20 worst restaurants according to who? You? Were you even alive when these restaurants were around? I mean, they were not 5 star restaurants, but most of these restaurants had at least a few things on the menu I liked. I believe many other people feel the same way by looking at the comments.
@Bethany-gk1ei3 ай бұрын
Absolutely! There is still a Bonanza in Lebanon, Virginia (about an hour from me). I really need to go back there, their Chicken Monterey is 🔥!
@dalebirkenstock25803 ай бұрын
The funniest thing about this is the same channel also did a video called "80s restauraunts that we want back" and over half of the restauraunts on that video are also on this one.
@carole2403xqv14 ай бұрын
It's Arthur Treee-churs Fish and Chips.. Loved their jingle-- "It's Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips --the meal you cannot make, the meal you cannot make, the meal you cannot make at home!! " Arthur Treacher was the side kick announcer on the Merv Grifiin show in the 1960's -"Here-s Merrrrrr---Vin! He was the British version of Ed McMahon. He was also in tons of 1930's movies as a Jeeves the Butler type and Co -starred with Shirley Temple in "The Little Princess."
@kimberlypatton2053 ай бұрын
Yes! Very good! And so close to what you get in the UK!
@Diane_Phoenix3 ай бұрын
I have a recioe guven to me by a friend who was the manager of our local Arthur Treachers. Soooo close to the original!!
@Novakane784 ай бұрын
I loved Bonanza ! We went there every week when I was a kid. One of the fondest memories I have of my grandfather.
@gregwillis77674 ай бұрын
Howard Johnson's was an American Institution! Every visit to our Nation's Capital required at least one visit, both going and coming!
@TheSleepingonit4 ай бұрын
It sounds like the reviewer expects every restaurant to be on the Michelin guide of gourmet restaurants or was born in a house with a 5 star chef working full time in it
@markcollins26664 ай бұрын
No... the recurring theme here is inconsistent food, and poor service, something that major chains need to plan on, before they open.
@Shorty_Lickens4 ай бұрын
The channel is called "America Before" and I think its more about nostalgia than objectivity.
@onesunnyday56993 ай бұрын
They regurgitate & shuffle the same closed chains & put different labels on them. First, they are the places we want back, then they are places we never want to see again. The content changes to reflect the title.
@robertbroughton14434 ай бұрын
GD Ritzy's, Sambos, and Chi Chi's all had good food. I worked at a GD Ritzy's on the westside of Evansville, Indiana. For a fast food restaurant, they had a good variety to choose from, and it all tasted good. Growing up in Cincinnati in the 70's my family's once a month treat was going to Sambos in Delhi Township. We used to go to the K mart there, and then to Sambos. Mom used to get us kids (1b, 2s's) hamburger platters, she would have the liver, and onions platter, and she got our dad a fried shrimp platter to take home to him. He was unable to go with us due to his disabilities inflicted during the Korean war (US Army). Chi Chi's became our favorite Tex Mex restaurant in the mid 80's.
@danieldaniels75713 ай бұрын
Loved pancakes at Sambo’s as a kid
@JaxonSmithers3 ай бұрын
Used to always go to Chi Chi’s for my birthday in the late 70s in Richfield Mn. Great food during that period. This was the original Chi Chi’s.
@rhondaalan84363 ай бұрын
Sambo was an Indian boy
@larrylaffer32464 ай бұрын
I miss Bonanza. Mine closed last year.
@chiarac38334 ай бұрын
I loved going there as a kid! They had one at the mall where I took skating lessons. After class, mom took us there for dinner. I loved it omg...
@davidtoups46844 ай бұрын
We had a Bonanza near us. I remember going there as a kid. I thought the food was great! It closed in the early 90's I believe.
@BaFunGool4 ай бұрын
Last time at Bonanza when Paul McCartney published Red Rose Speedy in Meriden CT.
@sheriheffner20983 ай бұрын
They had Bonanza Restaurants everywhere. Our family loved going there.
@Tennesseemomtho3 ай бұрын
You must live close to me because ours closed last year also. It was in the Kroger shopping center on Hensley Drive.
@marylist12364 ай бұрын
Tree-cher
@marylist12364 ай бұрын
There was also a Ponderosa Steakhouse
@beckycaughel75574 ай бұрын
@@marylist1236 yes, I like Ponderosa . was it the best steak you could buy anywhere no but for the price it was a good place
@marylist12364 ай бұрын
In Kalamazoo, Michigan, we had H. Salt esq Fish & Chips
@ZombieHunter374 ай бұрын
So many of these delicious restaurants gone and what do we have now? Places like Mcd's and Chipotle. SMDH
@chiarac38334 ай бұрын
Mickey D doesn't fall in the same category as Chipotle. The food at Chipotle is made fresh, Mickey D is frozen. Taco bell and burger King or checkers are bottom of the barrel...
@ZombieHunter374 ай бұрын
@@chiarac3833 Dude Chipotle taste horrible. In fact if I had to chose I'll take Mcd's over them any day. Everything Chipotle makes taste like soap.
@chiarac38334 ай бұрын
@@ZombieHunter37 perhaps you're going to the wrong location. I've never had bad Chipotle and I'll take whatever they're serving over the pink slime at Micky D's any day...
@elultimo1024 ай бұрын
@@ZombieHunter37 Maybe too much cilantro----It does taste like soap to many of us.
@ZombieHunter374 ай бұрын
@@elultimo102 Yea they use way too much of that stuff. Everything thing there taste like Dawn.
@rossnorris23514 ай бұрын
I loved Bennigan's. They had great food. Especially the Fried Mushrooms.
@margarettickle96594 ай бұрын
I don't know all of the restaurants here however may I say that's one person's opinion. I find the restaurants today ridiculous. The meals today look like work of art but their exorbitant prices for food that tastes like paint and canvas.
@MrRezillo4 ай бұрын
Hojo's doesn't belong on this list of worst restaurants! They had a fish fry night: all you could eat of fried haddock, fries and coleslaw. Waiters would come around with carts doling out more food whenever you wanted. I really miss that. It's a shame they're not around anymore, or if they're around, greatly diminished.
@john150084 ай бұрын
Is it just me, but are these appraisals mostly arbitrary?
@Solitaryman704 ай бұрын
That’s how the greedy corporations took over the good restaurants that didn’t want to sell.
@meedwards54 ай бұрын
I would actually call this video click bait.
@markevans82624 ай бұрын
Shakey's was awesome in the '60s and '70s.😟
@kittysuttonauthor2 ай бұрын
I met my husband at Shakey’s on State Line Road, Kansas City Kansas across from KUMC. We were married for 49 yrs. He died in 2020, but Shakey’s will always hold a place in my heart!
@barcham4 ай бұрын
I miss Ho-Jos. Used to love their all-you-can-eat BBQ chicken days and they were always a known quantity when on a road trip. I miss Chi-Chis too. Here in Quebec, they had great food and their Chi-Chi golden margaritas were fantastic. And we had no worries about food quality because we have much stricter regulations here in Canada than in the US. Victoria Station also did well here in Montreal where their prices were competitive with other similar restaurants.
@yardleyj93914 ай бұрын
Bonjour Montréal ❤
@marniekilbourne6084 ай бұрын
I always liked Chi-Chi's. I often chose it for my birthday dinner and went fairly frequently.
@deniseherud4 ай бұрын
lol me too!! my parents would be so frustrated bc they hated mexican food, and that was always my birthday choice😂👅
@DanT2714 ай бұрын
Arthur "TrEEchers"
@chiarac38334 ай бұрын
We used to call it Arthur Tortures lmao!
@emmytolkein33204 ай бұрын
I worked at Arthur Treachers in the late70s. Loved the fish & malt vinegar
@DavidLLambertmobile4 ай бұрын
ATs was decent 🍤 . I liked the 🇬🇧 decor. Traditional.
@debbieskitchen24 ай бұрын
Chi Chi's was my favorite Mexican restaurant. I don't want to forget it and still buy the salsa sold at Walmart. My Mom loved the fried Clams at Howard Johnson's.
@Tomatohater644 ай бұрын
Steak and Ale was great; we always went to the one on Route 19 South in Pittsburgh. Never had a bad meal there.
@jrebecca01954 ай бұрын
I enjoyed the one in Cherry Hill, NJ.
@margarettickle96594 ай бұрын
The Lobster Bisque was out of this World
@666rivers4 ай бұрын
Ironically I actually used to work at the one off alt US 19 at the intersection of Gulf to Bay in Clearwater, FL, back in the mid-1980's, during "New Coke" era (I remember because they let us drink soda fountain drinks for free). I also worked at Lums (my 1st 2nd and 3rd job, on breaks from school) and Bennigans, the latter of which was a sibling of Steak & Ale, as all our checks originated from "LBJ Boulevard" in Texas somewhere. They had amazingly high standards at both places, providing a great deal of training material and explicit instructional manuals showing how they wanted to have stuff done at Steak & Ale. In fact, I lived with a guy who was training to eventually be a manager there. We got held up by armed robbers who forced their way in after closing, but as I did prep during the day I wasn't there. One of the guys, himself a manager-in-training, who was there at the time of the incident told us this story about a similar robbery that had gone wrong and one of the workers wound up getting that weird hook that served as an exterior walk-in freezer door handle shoved through his nose up into his skull, and another employee wound up getting their head crunched in the bread hook-equiped stand up Hobart industrial mixer, in an effort to induce access to the safe that no one on hand apparently could supply, whereas no one was actually hurt at our little drama. Their approach to prime rib was like a Holy Sacrament: Only the anointed few were worthy to pursue the process, and it always turned out great. A decent salad bar- not quite up to Brown Derby standards, (my 4th job, Lol), but everything reasonably expected was there. Bennigans had some of the best appetizers you can imagine, and there was a lot of creativity that went into the menu... They went a bit hard into Cajun style stuff in the late eighties and I am not sure where they went from there, but they had great happy hour drink specials to go with those apps if you were into the Sauce, as it were... Possibly part of the turn off might have been the sort of yuppy polished-brass fern bar type vibe they were trying to generate, with leather-bound menus and whatnot, but Cheers was a going concern I assume was a sort of thematic mentor of sorts, and that show was tremendously popular. In many cases I have to assume that food prices and trends with drinking and driving had a huge effect on people wanting to go out to eat, as everyone knew the Bottom Line was how much booze got passed through the back door: Managers would come up to the line and taste our French fries just to make sure they were salty enough to make people Thirsty, if you know what I mean... DUI laws and whatnot really put the kaybash on the bottle or two of wine with dinner crowd...
@fanaticat14 ай бұрын
I went to the Steak & Ale om State Route 35 in Middletown NJ. I loved the food and was sad when it closed!
@senmicman62724 ай бұрын
I also wish Steak and Ale would come back. Always went to Pittsburgh North Hills location.
@markstephens22344 ай бұрын
Arthur Treachers opened a restaurant less than a mile from my house in Steubenville, Ohio back in the late 1960's. On grand opening day, they offered rides all day long in a vintage English double-decker bus. It was a bright sunny day that I'll never forget. The wide steak fries and lemon turnovers were to die for.
@crankychris24 ай бұрын
Here is the worst places still in business: Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, all owned by YUM! brands. You can't make this stuff up!
@jodi28473 ай бұрын
Speak for yourself. I dunno anyone who doesn't love these places.
@tommissouri48713 ай бұрын
In the '60s, after church, my parents would get a barrel of Kentucky Fried Chicken and we'd head out up the Great River Road. We'd stop about a half hour up the river, eat lunch, and then just enjoy the ride through the country. In the '70s, KFC was still good, but facing competition. In the late '80s, I was headed north from South Florida. In a hurry, so I grabbed a large box of KFC nuggets (liked them better than McDonald's) and jumped on the highway. I didn't think I was going to make it to a rest area with the cramps I was getting. It was like a colon flush. I tried some KFC later, both chicken and nuggets, with the same results. What used to be good was faster reacting than Taco Bell. In my old age, if I feel constipated, KFC is usually good for clearing that up.
@antilogism3 ай бұрын
KFC was once great food. Not sure what happened to them.
@20alphabet4 ай бұрын
How can you make the claim nobody wants these restaurants back? Shakey's had great chicken and mojo potatoes. Sambo's filled the American coffee shop niche very well, as it's initial success and growth proved, but succumbed to wokism, and Howard Johnson's was generally very good with great ice cream. Yet you claim, not only that they're from the 1980s, but that nobody wants them back! I almost made the mistake of subscribing to your channel.
@onesunnyday56993 ай бұрын
They do an episode with the same chains but change the title to "places we want back." It's just to make content.
@debrariccio-dc2sj4 ай бұрын
It's pronounced Tree-chers not trechers !!!
@JamezzJamess3 ай бұрын
Some of these I have never heard of the ones I do remember were gross and under rated just plain yuck
@joeweatlu51693 ай бұрын
I don't think the guy who made this video really heard of any of these restaurants personally.
@dukey199414 ай бұрын
Bennigan's was awesome. Love their apps and drinks. Not sure who chose this list. I miss them to this day. They have one in Elgin, IL which is awful (but that's because it doesn't hold true to the original Bennigas).
@flyinbrianz224 ай бұрын
You know, if you have a few hundred restaurants in a couple of states, that doesn't count as a national chain. A major majority of the restaurants I've never heard of.
@danieldaniels75713 ай бұрын
I remember most of them
@daveerhardt18793 ай бұрын
That's Soupy Sales on that Gino's Hamburger ad!
@angel1969894 ай бұрын
I love Bonanza and the one in the town I live in didn't close until 2020 when covid hit northern Maine. It was always packed no matter what time of day you went there after they opened
@LightOfReason74 ай бұрын
I loved Bonanza as a kid; it was the first place that I could get free refills. Bennagins was one of my favorites mushroom provolone burger was excellent. Shakeys is like Chuckie Cheese, not too good. Pizza sucks, you go for the kids
@margarettickle96594 ай бұрын
I liked Bonanza a lot
@stevenkaskus61734 ай бұрын
Shakey's use to have good pizza especially their linguicia sausage pizza 😋
@stevenkaskus61734 ай бұрын
Howard Johnson's was a staple ee looked for while on vacation with my grandfather on the East Coast and when he visited us in CA we went to them there too. MY younger of my two sisters loved the fried clams and we always had to go so she could satisfy her cravings.
@rogerstephens80194 ай бұрын
I used to go as a teen with my buds on a weekend to SHAKEYS pizza parlor in CLARKSVILLE ,TN. and I would order the beer OLD WORLD DARK by the pitcher ! I was only 16 so you can imagine the anxiety while dining on pizza and chugging black beer !😂😂😂Good times !!
@Zayrina4 ай бұрын
whoever put this together does not know sh*t.
@ThomasWehle4 ай бұрын
Thanks for the memories. If any one is interested in going to Druthers, the one left is in Campbellsville Ky. I am a graduate of Campbellsville University ( then College) and my son lives near the restaurant. The decor is almost the same as the 80s. When we visit Druthers there is always people who come from other states. They want to see the last Burger Queen/Druthers.
@lenajacobs5014 ай бұрын
I would love to see it. My teacher took us to Dairy Queen for breakfast when I was a lil girl. This was back then when it was cool to go home over the weekend with your school teacher provided they got permission from your parents. Teachers use to do that alot back then and it was soo much fun. Anyway she took me and another student there for breakfast I still remember what I had. Waffles and eggs and aslice of bacon with some orange juice. This was back in the early 90s. To see this last one would be awesome.
@lp-xl9ld4 ай бұрын
You call this "worst restaurants from the 80s" but you say Wimpy's shut down in 1977?
@mattskustomkreations3 ай бұрын
I know they still had them in France in the mid-80s. Very popular when I visited Paris in 1985. I had never heard of them, and thought the name humorous / stupid, even knowing the Popeye connection.
@garethleitner95474 ай бұрын
I loved Shakey's pizza! And they had a great selection of German beers. The player piano was cool, too.
@yardleyj93914 ай бұрын
I paused the video at 2:30, because I think that the comments teach me as much as the vid, if not more. Thanks to all of you.
@r0kus4 ай бұрын
Since I was a full adult in the '80s, I have several observations. 1) Sambo's was better than Denny's. Claims of racism against it were based in ignorance. The story the restaurant used as its theme had nothing to do with someone who was black -- the MC of this children's fantasy was about an Indian boy who outsmarted a tiger. Anyone who looked at the decor of a Sambo's would see the Indian theme, with nothing to do with American blacks. Admittedly, the book has flaws, but those were based on a British imperialist's attitude toward India. 2) By the time the chain begain, Arthur Treacher (TREE cher, long E) was best known as Merv Griffin's sidekick on Merv's afternoon talk show (an Ed McMahon role). 3) The Big Mac was an inferior, lower quality and less meaty copy of Bob's Big Boy burger.
@michaelcarroll76214 ай бұрын
I used to work at a Big Boy and you are absolutely correct, even down to the "special sauce".
@ItsJustLisa4 ай бұрын
When my family moved to Minnesota when I was in high school, our neighbor was one Mrs. Howard Johnson, a widow named Harriet. She told us about how she had lifetime free food at any Howard Johnson’s restaurant because of her husband. Apparently if you could prove that you were really a Howard Johnson, you became part of special club with all of the perks. As his widow, Harriet had those perks too, but there was only one HoJo’s in St. Paul. She didn’t go often, but would take her grandchildren there when they visited. I had realized that Chi-Chi’s had started here too. It was less than 5 years old when I moved here. I liked Chi-Chi’s and missed it when it closed its locations. Perhaps we didn’t have the inconsistency problems other places did because the chain was based here.
@jebbbig4 ай бұрын
Steak and Ale was always excellent when my wife and I would visit usually every other week
@susantegner37414 ай бұрын
York steak house was always a treat! I loved it.❤
@zbow19744 ай бұрын
bonanza was damn good when it was here in kentucky.
@jetstreamx154 ай бұрын
Just cause they went their way doesn't mean we wish them to not ever return..quote unquote
@Benevolent_Timelord4 ай бұрын
While I respect and honor the reason why Sambo's closed, I hardly think it's a restaurant "nobody wants back." The food was actually very good, especially their breakfasts. The name was it's on;y stigma and if they had just changed their name and offered an apology, the chain would still be operating.
@janismitchell31224 ай бұрын
I used to go to Sambo's with my co-workers after we got off work from a night club. They never failed to serve great early morning breakfast
@billykl27903 ай бұрын
That was a stupid reason to change its name then close
@LARSAKER-tr1mw4 ай бұрын
I HATE TO DISAGREE BUT I. ❤❤ LOVED SHAKEYS ( PIZZZA ) 🎉🎉🎉❤❤😅 WHEN I WAS A. KID/ CHILD. PIZZA WAS. NOT. THAT. BAD. BUT. THE. PLAYER. 🎹 PIANO
@ravenpoe70934 ай бұрын
Shakeys was the place to go for groups after a game or celebration. Chuck E Cheese is bad pizza and for kids. Shakeys had better pizza, had MOJOS and chicken so was good for everyone
@WilliamFlerx4 ай бұрын
I liked Shakey's ,there are still a few left in California
@michaelschmidt41994 ай бұрын
The pizza was very good at the Shakeys I worked at. Of course we were trying to dump the franchise an we were sourcing most of the ingredients ourselves and not from corporate. We insisted on top quality ingredients and I think it showed in the product. We got out of the franchise deal around 1979. I left in 1989. Restaurant it still going today.
@youtubelicksmytaint74824 ай бұрын
Riverside?
@272731004 ай бұрын
I can't speak for everyone else, but I soooooo want Ponderosa and Damon's back. They were the go-to's for family dining, especially on weekends.
@Orlando_Steve3 ай бұрын
We used to go to Ponderosa as a family. But to be honest, their steaks were ass. There is still one in Orlando if you want to go.
@TeeGar4 ай бұрын
Walgreens owning a restaurant makes sense. They serve food that gives you diabetes, then you have to go to their pharmacy to buy your medication.
@samuraikaoss14554 ай бұрын
If you ate at wimpys, could you pay on Tuesday?
@Bigrailindad3334 ай бұрын
Chi chi’s/ Sandy’s /Arthur treachers and it’s pronounced like teachers.Beningans/Bonanza/Steak and Ale my friends and I all loved these restaurants! If you never have eaten there then you have no say in the matter!
@Yeahno-ey3rb4 ай бұрын
I remember York Steak House was my family's go-to place for after church/Sunday Mass when out of town family came for a visit. I don't remember being anything but happy with the food and having an enjoyable time
@alk3myst4 ай бұрын
Born on 1971, I loved many of these growing up and I admit many of them started going downhill mid-80's or in general becoming inconsistent depending on which restaurant you went to. Like an Arthur Treachers near my house was always excellent, but the one by the mall was as if they tried to fail with the fish.
@princevultan65894 ай бұрын
Bonanza was awesome. My family went once every two weeks. We always had a damn good meal there.
@DavidLLambertmobile4 ай бұрын
Bonanza & Ponderosa chains were + in PA; 1970s 1980s..by the 1990s they drifted away. 🥩
@andyleclerc36004 ай бұрын
HoJo's? Not want it back??? You gotta be kidding! My kingdom for one more dush oc their chocolate chip ice cream with the cookie, and the blueberry toastees!toasters! And BONANZA was amazing in its heyday. I miss that one as well!
@kennethwilliams76974 ай бұрын
Howard Johnson's ha the best clam strips on planet earth! I would order clam strips every time we went to HJ. No one has had the same quality of clam strips since. It's called Authur Tree-churs Fish & Chips.
@TurloughKabumpo4 ай бұрын
Great video, I remember most of these restaurants. One note, Arthur Treacher's rhymes with teachers :)
@jenniferh56494 ай бұрын
I had my first legal beer at a Chi-Chi's. We went to lunch there on my 21st. I still have the pic of me in the sombrero holding an empty pitcher somewhere. Me and my Granny went to Burger Queen when I was a little kid. She liked the chicken combo box. I would always get a cheeseburger.
@gerald-gs2vh4 ай бұрын
I remember most of these restaurants and many of them I visited. I can say I had a good time in each one, with none being disfavored. Some I miss a lot because of the memories I had at them. I do miss the 80's. It was the decade of getting married, having 2 boys, buying my first house, and opening my first bar. What a decade that was!
@carloscoleman56344 ай бұрын
Make up your mind, I just watched a video from you yesterday saying the exact opposite about these same restaurants.
@MrJestyler4 ай бұрын
Bonanza, steak and ale, Howard Johnson’s. Would love these places back. These restaurants were popular in their day but as with most places they have a lifespan. Look at red lobster very popular but may or may not make it. I know lots of people that want these places back so not everyone’s opinion
@Solitaryman704 ай бұрын
I wish GREEDY Corporatists had a lifespan!!! I HATE THEM 🤬😡
@Solitaryman704 ай бұрын
If Red Lobster is owned by some Greedy Corporation and not Mom and Pops, let them go away then, WHO CARES 😡
@shortboss3564 ай бұрын
Sir I believe you needed to talk to other people. Most of the Restaurant you don't care for were great.
@FeralRC4 ай бұрын
2 takeaways from this video: Restaurants fail due to inconsistency and competition. Northeastern Ohio apparently was a hold out for many failed restaurant chains. The second takeaway is a personal observation. Great work with this channel. You have me hooked.
@Orlando_Steve3 ай бұрын
No they fail because of corporate bean counters interfering in the restaurant operations and menu trying to squeeze a few more shekels of profit at the expense of quality and service.
@ZuperNEZ3 ай бұрын
Is no one talking about how the video suddenly ends in the middle of talking about the last restaurant?
@billshull94684 ай бұрын
Its not Arthur Tretchers
@pamvarner80444 ай бұрын
Don’t try to reason with a robot.
@12lfme123 ай бұрын
I miss most of these, especially Chi-Chi's and Lums
@AJDIYNetwork4 ай бұрын
I liked bennigans ;).
@beckycaughel75574 ай бұрын
Me too especially the Monte Cristo
@kathrynalexander28824 ай бұрын
There hasn't been a decent taco pizza (yeah, it's a thing) since Shakey's closed.
@danieldaniels75713 ай бұрын
Pizza Hut had a good one in the 1980s
@MIkeKDBA4 ай бұрын
The Wag's in my area growing up had the best coffee. I always wondered how they seemed to make it better than anyone else.
@paulsmith4944 ай бұрын
I loved Arthur Treatures and Howard Johnson Had the best ice cream and Hamburgers
@alanr4447a3 ай бұрын
Funny how "Bonanza" steakhouse was co-founded by Dan Blocker, who played "Hoss" Cartwright on _Bonanza,_ while there was a very similar restaurant chain actually called "Hoss's", which seems to have gone through its own rise and fall. I first saw that chain on a road trip to another city, where it was extremely popular. A few years later a Hoss's opened in our own area, and was again very popular. It featured a long waiting-line corridor, with a sign above at one point citing that there was a ten-minute wait from that point. We went back there again later, and there was no more long waiting line, and you could just breeze past the point where it said there was a ten-minute wait. It closed within a couple years from that time.
@nbenefiel4 ай бұрын
We still miss ChiChis. We always had the kids birthdays there.
@MooseBme4 ай бұрын
I liked and miss Chi-Chi’s!
@willduke16563 ай бұрын
I love the 60's and 70's Decor and architecture.. so much class and style..
@kenttyler12434 ай бұрын
There is still one Sambo's left, you can find it in Santa Barbara CA
@ravenpoe70934 ай бұрын
Some Shakeys are still around.
@ronaldheesch37234 ай бұрын
what cities? shakeys was always my favorite
@ravenpoe70934 ай бұрын
@@ronaldheesch3723 L.A area and Orange County. Covina, Sylmar, Downey, Lakewood, Torrance, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Anaheim and a bunch more
@MrCarter41214 ай бұрын
Love their MOJO potatoes
@iamthestorm10044 ай бұрын
La Habra CA Redlands CA
@Chorizosabroso4 ай бұрын
@@MrCarter4121 the la puente location on Hacienda has the mojos and chicken down to an art. youl find me there there stuffing my face with spaghetti and mojos on any given weekday during bunch o lunch
@wanniluv86714 ай бұрын
I worked at Chi-Chi's and was even on the cover of one of the Marketing Press releases.. Great Memories and food..❤❤
@bradleymcavoy34324 ай бұрын
I actually think Bonanza or a Ponderosa could work today, it wasn’t a horrible business model! If it was family friendly like it was but more upscale there could be plenty of success! 😎 There’s a lot to unpack here but White Castle is barely around and same with Fuddruckers! Plus I also miss Bob’s Big Boy ( Burgers) and Farrell’s! Both were Fun when I was a kid! 🤩
@davidcarter64914 ай бұрын
I loved Howard Johnson’s we always stopped there on the way to grandmas house!
@robertowensiii15674 ай бұрын
I wish they would bring back Howard Johnson's, I remember buying boxes of frozen Chicken and Shrimp Croquettes and Clam Strips in the supermarket! 😊
@kimberlypatton2053 ай бұрын
When my late husband and I were first married in 1979, we would go to Sambo’s across the street nearly every night after I got off from work for the breakfast of ham & fried eggs! Great memories!
@Pooby10004 ай бұрын
Several of these places had very distinct looking buildings that I recognize as now being different businesses with only minor changes made to the building itself.
@fishhead_productions3 ай бұрын
... inconsistent food quality... my new favorite phrase!
@JaneDoe-ov1hb4 ай бұрын
I have such fond memories of Shakeys growing up as there was one right down the street from where my grandparents lived!🍕 I really liked Bennigans as well especially when they had coupons.When we went on road trips we frequently stayed at HoJo's motel & ate at their restaurant too Victoria Station was great since I 💚 trains!
@billhinkle53444 ай бұрын
My family used to Shakey's Pizza Back in the late 70's in Bakersfield.
@blackstrawberrysky4 ай бұрын
Ritzys still exist in my hometown of owensboro ky. I have judged their burgers and fries but their pb&j is awesome
@davidhoffman81224 ай бұрын
I loved Shakey's!!!! We had one on Dover Delaware and Okinawa. The Okinawa location had a great "corn and shrimp" pizza. It may sound weird but it was delicious!!!
@krisandersen86954 ай бұрын
I remember Shakey's Pizza in Atlanta. I was fond of it as a kid, but in the early 80s it closed down. Two weeks later, the building became home to a Strip bar called SHE.
@krisandersen86954 ай бұрын
{Interestingly, it's popularity was much higher as a strip joint.)
@chiarac38334 ай бұрын
@@krisandersen8695did they serve pizza? Asking for a friend...
@krisandersen86954 ай бұрын
@@chiarac3833 uhmmmm...... if you knew who to talk to, you could get quite a lot of things that weren't on the regular "menu".
@elultimo1024 ай бұрын
@@krisandersen8695 😝😁😆
@caoyujian60653 ай бұрын
I miss Bonanza and Ponderosa so much :(
@robsenzig57204 ай бұрын
Interesting. Some of these restaurants I had totally forgotten about as well as having never heard of.
@Mondomeyer4 ай бұрын
Anyone remember Sam's Starvin' Boy?
@dragoncubes10744 ай бұрын
Where?
@Mondomeyer4 ай бұрын
@@dragoncubes1074 From F is for Family. It's a parody of Sambo's.
@dragoncubes10744 ай бұрын
@@Mondomeyer I must have missed that one. Thanks for the clarification.