America's last Howard Johnson's restaurant has closed

[brooklynite]

CNN

Open for most of the past 70 years, the restaurant was located in Lake George, New York, a popular summer vacation spot near the Adirondack Mountains. The restaurant closed its doors in recent weeks and the property is up for lease, according to a local affiliate.

"Lake George is officially dead," a Howard Johnson's fan wrote on Facebook, adding several pictures of the abandoned restaurant. "Cobwebs on the door. Right before Memorial Day rush up here."

The longtime roadside staple had about 1,000 restaurants in the 1960s and 1970s, and it was once America's largest restaurant chain. Instantly recognizable for its orange roofs, the diners served 28 types of ice cream and became a part of American culture. "Mad Men" recreated the restaurant to film a scene.

But Howard Johnson quickly found itself in the shadow of McDonald's (MCD) and other fast-food chains that maximized efficiency and better managed supply chains. Marriott (MAR) bought a crippled Howard Johnson in 1985, selling hundreds of the brand's hotels and about 200 restaurants to Prime Motor Inn. That company sold the restaurants to other chains, and they lost the "HoJo" name.

Interesting that nobody tried to resurrect the restaurant brand as "retro chic".

[cloudbase]

1. Back in my high school days,

a bunch of us were politely asked to leave HoJo on all you can eat fried chicken night. They met their match against teenage boy appetites.
I really liked their clam strip sandwich.

[Solomon]

15. That's the thing i really miss them for

the clam strips!

[WinstonSmith4740]

16. My college field hockey team didn't get asked to leave...

But we did run a poor waitress ragged trying to keep up with us when we stopped there after a game. I sure hope our coach tipped well.

[Beartracks]

2. I love the retro chic idea. Someone should indeed do that.

[msongs]

3. and those awful fried clams float off into the sunset nt

[DBoon]

4. "Ahhh! there's a HOWARD JOHNSONS! Wanna eat some CLAMS?"

said Billy the Mountain to Ethel the tree, in Frank Zappa's epic song

[VGNonly]

5. You got your HoJo closing

[The Revolution]

6. I didn't even know that was a restaurant

I've heard of the hotels, though I don't think I ever stayed in one.

[Wingus Dingus]

7. Kinda sad--a part of my childhood was going to Howard Johnson's for the

occasional Sunday dinner out. I did like the fried clams, BTW.

[regnaD kciN]

10. Their fried clam rolls were wonderful...

I remember many evenings in Wellesley with my parents, having clam rolls at Howard Johnson’s after shopping for books at Hathaway House, records at the Music Box, or virtually anything at Woolworth’s.

All of them long gone.

[AdamGG]

14. Ate at the Wellesley Center HoJo's many times

Grew up off of Wellesley St. in Weston in the 70s about a block from the town line where it switched from being Weston Rd. Ate there many times with my parents and the weekend event for me and my friends, from the time we were about 11, was to ride our bikes into Wellesley Center, eat at HoJo's and cause minor mayhem.

Used to love the Bailey's ice cream that was near the corner of Weston Rd. & Washington St. and I think it was Olken's sporting goods or something like that on Washington St. Went to many movies at the Wellesley Playhouse on Washington St., where in the 70's the owner would let you in for a pre-1964 quarter if you had one, because he collected them.

HoJo's wasn't spectacular, but better than Denny's and most things that would pass as diner chains today. I think every highway rest stop in Massachusetts was a HoJo's back then. Definitely nostalgic for the orange booths and would welcome someone bringing it back as a retro chic chain, though people under 50 might not get it.

[DemocraticPatriot]

8. Never ate there...

but I was alive back then... and there was at least one in the area...

(I did eat smelt at a 'Big Boy' at least once, another restaurant that has disappeared here)

[regnaD kciN]

9. It's official...my youth is dead.

[Tomconroy]

11. It's a little known fact that the famed French chef Jacques

Pepin invented the 3D burger.

[LeftInTX]

12. I never heard about this fried clam sandwich!

I was too busy eating banana pancakes, club sandwiches and their ice cream. The ice cream came in chilled metal dishes.

[Warpy]

13. Fast food drove out sit-down restaurants because wages lost purchasing power

HoJo's was a pretty no frills place, but until the late 70s, it was a place most families could take the kids once or twice a month to give Mom a break from constant kitchen drudgery. Purchasing power took a dive in the massive inflation of the lat 70s and has never recovered.

I went to the original one in Wollaston, Mass, before it closed because it was too small to turn enough of a profit.

Most mid range, sit down places are in trouble these days. It's not just fast food, it's also competition from the freezer aisle at the supermarket. Mom needs a break these days, she can just shove 5 different meals for 5 different people into the microwave and all 5 picky eaters will be happy.

I think most of us who grew up in the 50s and 60s remember them somewhat fondly. Rubber clams and a hot brownie for dessert were my usual choices. Good luck tasting any of it through the thick clouds of tobacco smoke.

[LisaM]

17. I liked their hot dogs.

They came in a buttered, grilled bun that I later learned was a New England bun. And my sister and I both liked the Jello, all cubed up with a generous dollop of whipped cream (from a can, but I liked it). I liked the orange sherbet too.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. I drove by it yesterday and the sign said "Under New Management"

The previous manager was arrested for sexual harassment against his female employees. Very sad. BTW, Rachael Ray started her career back in the day as a teen when she helped her mother who was working there at the time. She's a Lake George native, graduated from the local high school just up the road.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. My first introduction to Howard Johnsons was along the New York State Thruway,

in the 1950s. I was perhaps seven years old, travelling with my older sister who would have been 8, and our dad. We would have been driving from Utica, NY down to Long Island to visit family. I also recall that drive before the Thruway, and how much longer it took.

Anyway, on the trip with Dad we stopped several times at a Howard Johnsons. I remember them fondly, and know I stopped at them at times in the years since. I'm sorry they are now all gone.

[Rhiannon12866]

20. Local article: Lake George summer starts with one icon still closed

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) – With Memorial Day weekend behind it, the village of Lake George is preparing for a busy summer season. Downtown Canada Street may be lively, Shepard Park full of visitors and the lake soon abundant with swimmers – but one longtime icon of village life will be dormant.

The Howard Johnson’s Restaurant in Lake George – the last surviving location of what was once the largest restaurant chain in America – remained closed over Memorial Day weekend. A banner on the fence overlooking Route 9 declares the restaurant up for lease, after a recent stretch of years that includes changing management, sexual abuse, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A representative from Exit Realty Empire Associates told NEWS10 on Tuesday that the property has seen interest, since going up for lease last December. Nothing has come to fruition thus far, but that doesn’t mean that the faded icon of a restaurant will stay closed through the whole season – it all depends on when the right leasee comes along. It was not clear whether its future would involve keeping the “HoJo’s” name.

In the meantime, the doors are closed on Howard Johnson’s. The restaurant’s listed phone number was disconnected when called on Tuesday. A real estate posting by Exit Realty Empire Associates prices the property at $10, a type of listing that can often represent a call for offers from interested parties.

The restaurant has seen its share of turmoil. In 2017, then-operator Jonathan LaRock was arrested on counts of sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child, after a 17-year-old employee contacted police following her first – and only – day on the job. LaRock was sentenced the following year, after an investigation found that he had harassed at least 15 employees, ranging in age from as old as 43 to as young as 15.

Following LaRock’s arrest, manager Bill Sullivan stepped up. Sullivan operated the business for the rest of its run, speaking in 2018 to the passion of nostalgic regulars who remember Howard Johnson’s fondly. The property is owned by the DeSantis family, and has been since it opened in the 1950s.

The Howard Johnson’s name also extended to hotels. Some of those are still active, including one just down Canada Street from the restaurant, which has experienced a recent flood damage history that was put to rest in March.


Short article, no more at link: https://www.news10.com/news/north-country/lake-george-summer-starts-with-one-icon-still-closed/

[TlalocW]

21. I always wanted to go to one

Just because of the cultural impact it had.

I'm still reeling from the fact that there are only 3 KMart stores left.

TlalocW

[LeftInTX]

22. Meh...

You didn't miss much. It was more or less a coffee shop

They had a bunch of flavors of ice cream which was their main selling point

I haven't eaten at one in over 40 years.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g48016-d1797292-Reviews-Howard_Johnson_s_Restaurant-Lake_George_New_York.html#photos;aggregationId=101&albumid=101&filter=7&ff=264003943

[Phoenix61]

23. I was a member of their birthday club when I was a kid.

We went there every year for my birthday. They had a cake stand that played happy birthday. I’d always get the coconut cake. It was wonderful! I still miss their peppermint stick ice-cream.

[rownesheck]

24. The media

is probably trying to figure out how to make this Biden's fault.