What restaurant franchise closed after
causing the biggest Hepatitis-A outbreak in American history? What doomed hamburger chain invented a version
of the Happy Meal six years before McDonalds? Some of these were successful for a while,
and some bombed from the start, but here are 15 restaurants that just absolutely tanked. 15 Howard Johnsons
At one point, Howard Johnsons restaurants were serving more American families than anyone
outside of the U.S. Army. The distinct orange roof was as much as
signature look as McDonalds golden arches, but several changes in ownership slowly killed
the company, which also operated a chain of hotels under the same name.
When Marriott divested from the fast food
industry, the restaurants were left to die slowly. The final one closed in October of 2017. 14 Sambos
As the story goes, Sambos was named using bits of its founders names Sam
Battistone and Newell Bohnett. Supposedly, the connection to the racist
childrens book Little Black Sambo was coincidental despite them decorating
the restaurants WITH SCENES FROM THE BOOK.
Still, the chain became hugely successful,
operating over eleven-hundred stores at its peak. The chain collapsed in the 1980s, and
sold most of its locations to Dennys and other chains. Today, there is only one location remaining
in Santa Barbara, California. 13 Kenny Rogers Roasters
Country singer Kenny Rogers opened his infamous line of rotisserie chicken restaurants
in 1991, grew to over 400 locations, went bankrupt, and closed all but one by 1998.
It is now best remembered as being a plot
device in a pretty good episode of Seinfeld. But believe it or not, Kenny Rogers Roasters,
after a couple of ownership changes, is a hugely-successful and fast-growing chain
in Asia. There are over 150 locations across Southeast
Asia, including one in the Beijing Capital International Airport. 12 Lums
It might not be hard to imagine how a restaurant based around hot dogs would go
out of business.
But Lums steamed their hot dogs in
BEER, so they did okay for a while there. Unfortunately, the owners of the successful
Florida franchise extended themselves too far, buying the Caesars Palace Casino on the
Las Vegas Strip in 1969, and selling the Lumshot dog franchises. The franchise and its new owners were
bankrupt by 1982. 11 Chi-Chis
When Chi-Chis opened in the American Midwest in the 1970s, it enjoyed incredible
success as one of the only Mexican-themed chain restaurants in the region.
But by 2003, the chain had gained competition,
and lost a lot of originality. And then they caused the largest Hepatitis-A
outbreak in American history at a restaurant in Pittsburgh, infecting 660 people and killing
4 with contaminated green onions. Today, Chi-Chis only exists as a brand
of salsa sold by Hormel. And nine locations in Belgium, for some reason.
10 Childs
Childs is one of the first casual dining chains in the United States, ever. It brought restaurant-style dining which
was once a uniquely high-class at prices normal people could afford. It was one of the first chains to maintain
a consistent look between branches for branding recognition. Childs peaked in the 1920s and 1930s,
but began to tank after owner William Childs began to shift the menu to his own vegetarian
preferences.
In 1961, it was bought and phased out
by the Riese Organization, owners of T.G.I. Fridays, Applebees, and Dunkin Donuts. 9 Steak and Ale
Norman Brinker is the man behind Jack-in-the-Box and Chilis. But hes also the man behind the far less-successful
Steak and Ale.
Steak and Ale was one of the first restaurants
to feature a self-serve salad bar, and in 1966, it served an 8-ounce steak for a $1.95. But Steak and Ale signalled a boom in
the fast-casual style of dining, and it couldnt keep up with its new competition. Its last 50 locations closed in 2009,
but the owners of Bennigans have bought the rights to the chain, and are planning to revive
it. 8 Ginos Hamburgers
Ginos Hamburgers was opened by NFL.
Hall-of-Famer Gino Marchetti, and became one
of the first fast-food restaurants to use sports as a major selling point in 1957. The chain did well, until it was bought
by Roy Rogers in 1982, which converted most of the locations and then tanked THOSE
locations as well. The chain was revived in 2010, and now
operates two locations in Pennsylvania under the name Ginos Burgers and Chicken. 7 Roy Rogers
Unlike many of these franchises, Roy Rogers actually somewhat survived its nosedive.
But in 1990, the franchise operated 648 locations. Today it barely has 50. Most of the other 600 locations were sold
to Burger King, Wendys, and Boston Market. Others were converted to Hardees.
The chain may be making a comeback, though,
as 8 East Coast franchises opened in 2015 and 2016 alone. 6 Burger Chef
In a lot of ways, Burger Chef was a better McDonalds. The chain pioneered a new technology that
could cook burgers faster than anyone: 800 per hour. They even pioneered the idea of a Fun
Meal in 1973 a kid-sized meal with a small burger, fries, dessert, drink, and
toy.
McDonalds invented the Happy Meal
six years later. The company behind Burger Chef optimistically
opened over A THOUSAND locations across the United States between 1958 and 1972. But that overexpansion did them in as
a company, and the whole operation was sold to Hardees and phased out in 1981. 5 Minnie Pearls Chicken
Minnie Pearls Chicken came up in the 1960s as a competitor or imitator to
newly-established chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, and unlike KFC, it had the name of a famous
country starlet attached to it.
The company behind the chain started selling
franchises faster than they could open them. They had sold 300 stores, but only opened
five. At that point, they took their stock public,
and announced two NEW franchise ideas one chain named after a gospel singer, and Minnie
Pearls Roast Beef. Soon, the companys practice of expand
first, run a business later, caught up with it.
Not only were individual businesses not especially
successful, but they were artificially inflating stock prices by misreporting franchises fees
for locations that never opened. They became the subject of a federal fraud
investigation, and that was the end of Minnie Pearls Chicken. 4 G.D. Ritzys
G.D.
Ritzys was a Columbus, Ohio-based chain of 50s diner-themed burger joints. The restaurants grew out of a management
dispute with a number of local Wendys franchisees, who eventually split and opened their own
chain together. The first location opened in 1980, but
all the local restaurants were closed by 1991, leaving only three operating franchises in
West Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky. Plans are currently in motion to re-open
a Ritzys in Columbus at the site of a former used car lot.
3 Shrimp Boats
For some reason, this Southeastern US. Seafood chain went by two names: The Shrimp
Boat thats BOAT, singular; and Shrimp Boats thats BOATS, plural. Adding the S was apparently an attempt
at re-branding but why? And the history of this franchise is even
more confusing than that. Most of the franchises were independently
owned, and simply re-branded to become Shrimp Boats, which means this was barely a chain
at all.
It was more like just a bunch of seafood
restaurants that happened to share a name. Five of them still exist, and the only thing
they seem to share in common is the sign. 2 White Tower
White Tower was a blatant rip-off of White Castle, developed after its creators investigated
the White Castle franchise, and then hired one of its operators. They even designed the restaurant with the
twin castle towers.
Despite the obvious infringement, White
Tower was fairly successful, expanding even during the Great Depression and eventually
opening 230 locations. Eventually, White Castle won a court ruling
against their blatant copycats, forcing them to change their design. The company eventually imploded, and now the
last White Tower sits alone in Toledo, Ohio. 1 All-Star Cafe
At most, there were only ever 10 locations of the Official All-Star Caf.
But youd never know it, because there was
an ALL-OUT BLITZ of advertising about it in the 1990s. It was basically a Planet Hollywood or
Hard Rock Caf, but for sports. Shaq, Ken Griffey Junior, Wayne Gretzky, and
Joe Montana all invested in it and advertised for it. But despite the star power behind it,
the All-Star Caf opened in 1995, and closed its final location in 2007, for a total of
12 years in business..
