Over the weekend, my husband and I took a trip down memory lane. Get out a paper napkin and come along:
 |
| We visited the last remaining Arthur Treacher's in America! (Caveat: Apparently, another one reopened this month in time for Lent, also in northeast Ohio) This location celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Arthur Treacher's had over 800 restaurants from the 1960's - 1980's, serving their famous fish and chips. The name was taken from an English stage and film actor. During our dating years in the mid-80's, it was a treat for us as poor college students to eat at the chain. |
 |
| Though we no longer eat fast food, it's been on our bucket list to visit and relive the nostalgia. And I must say, it did not disappoint. The fish tasted exactly the same, crispy on the outside and moist and tender inside. The 'chips' were dry (we never cared for them), the coleslaw in those little cups had the perfect balance of sweet and acidic, and those hush puppies . . . well, deep fried cornbread speaks for itself. |
 |
| We couldn't help but reminisce about Sisters Chicken and Biscuits, which no longer exists. It was our favorite quick bite, being just around the corner from our first apartment together. The beauty of Sisters was the side dishes; items like baked beans and macaroni and cheese, not normally found on fast food menus. Sisters, an offshoot of Wendy's, only lasted from 1978-1987. |
 |
| If I had to guess, I'd say that Burger Chef was the first fast food I ever ate. I remember its exact location in Akron, but I don't recall going there much after about age 7. My father was not a fan of ordering at a counter, so our family didn't frequent 'burger joints,' as my Dad called them. |
 |
| I could also tell you the exact location of the Red Barn near my childhood home. Again, a place we never visited. However, my husband has a funny memory of the Red Barn near him. In his family of 5 children, they had a choice every birthday of having a friend party or going out to eat with just their parents (no siblings). One year, his younger brother chose to have a friend party at Red Barn and did not invite my husband. My husband specifically remembers watching the station wagon full of boys drive off without him, with his brother gleefully waving out the window at him. |
 |
If Rax was depending on my business to keep them in business, then this is where they failed. I probably ate there twice. It seemed like a copycat of Arby's, featuring roast beef sandwiches. The distinguishing feature was the sunroom window out front. Based in Ohio, I believe there are just a handful of Rax Restaurants left.Did you eat at any of these chains? What are some fast food places that you miss? |
I have heard of Burger Chef and Red Barn but have never eaten there. I did eat at Rax a few times in my late teens and yes, it was basically a copycat of Arbys. When I was growing up we had a local place called Kreckle's which is still in business. It is family owned and serves delicious burgers, fries and ice cream. It was as close to fast food as my parents would allow us.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that Kreckle's is still in business. And how fun that they also serve ice cream. My Dad was a foodie before there was the term. He just wasn't interested in fast food, though he did enjoy a Wendy's frosty, on occasion.
DeleteNone of these are familiar to me. I guess none of them were located near Chicago. We visited Ohio A LOT during the summers when I was a kid. We went there several weekends a year for Irish dancing competitions. I danced in Akron, Columbus, Dayton, and Cleveland. I think we stuck with what was familiar - McDonalds. We did frequently stop at Big Boy's restaurants when we were road tripping. Not sure if those are around anymore. We also ate at Denny's on occasion. We didn't eat out much.
ReplyDeleteThat brother birthday memory has ruffled my feathers on your husband's behalf. It's the middle child in me. (One of 5 here, two older sisters, two younger brothers). If there was ever any buddying up, I was left out.
I’m surprised that you didn’t have any of these in Chicago, considering that’s the Midwest, too. Yes, we did have Big Boy’s which we operated by different franchise owners, so a last name usually proceeded it. My husband didn’t get to eat out much either. Probably with 5 kids, it was just too expensive.
DeleteOMG, yes! Me too! when I lived in NYC (1970s), my roommate and I used to go to an Arthur Treacher's not far from our dorm in the Financial District in NYC. Seeing that photo of the food brought back wonderful memories of great food at a very affordable price! I especially loved their fries! Oh, and their coleslaw too!
ReplyDeleteSisters, I don't recall ever seeing one of those where I lived.
And yes, I clearly remember Burger Chef as well. We had one of those where I grew up in Bucks County, PA.
The Red Barn I don't recall either. But I almost gasped when I read the billboard with the price of .59 cents for a chicken dinner! A-MAZING!
And yes....Rax I remember as well! And you're right, it seemed like a copycat of Arby's. The exterior even looks similar to Arby's.
Gosh, I can't remember the last time I ever ate fast food. Perhaps, Two Guys Burgers and Fries? But that has to be at least over 13 years ago because I no longer eat meat. But I loved their fries. They were so crispy. Yummy!
Oh, and when I lived in NYC, I used to love going into Nathan's and grabbing a hot dog. They were so good!
Fun post, my friend! And it's ironic you posted on this theme because I may be posting something similar this week, or next.
Have a great week! And Happy Spring! X
I’m glad someone else loved Arthur Treacher’s, too! They were the only fast food fish until Long John Silvers came around. It was so fun to eat it again. We were like two little kids, digging in. I think Sisters was predominately an Ohio thing because of the Dave Thomas/Wendy’s connection. It was like a cheaper Bob Evans, but very good. I thought Red Barn was nationwide, but maybe not.
DeleteWe can buy Nathan’s hot dogs at the grocery store, but there are no restaurants that I’m aware of here. Ok, I’m looking forward to your post! Have a great week. XO
My dad loved Arthur Treacher's and Rax. We didn't have Burger Chef or Red Barn in my small town. We did have a Ponderosa Steakhouse which was considered by many to be fine dining. Are they still around anywhere now?
ReplyDeleteIt’s been awhile since I’ve seen a Ponderosa. I’ve also noticed Golden Corrals going out of business. I’ve never been to either, but my kids once had to eat at a GC on a school field trip and thought it was awful.🤣
DeleteI have not only never eaten at any of those places, I have never even heard of them! Maybe it's a Canadian thing? We did visit the States when I was a kid but only Montana and Washington state, maybe North Dakota, and once a road trip down to California. I don't recall seeing any of those there.
ReplyDeleteThey must have been only US chains, though with Arthur Treacher’s having over 800 locations, I’d think that would include Canada! When we’ve traveled out west, we’ve noticed that the restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores are all different than ours. We still don’t have In and Out Burgers that are popular in California.
DeleteI only remember Arthur Treachers, but honestly, not sure if we had them in Florida, or I just 'heard' about them. We had Long John Silvers which sounds about the same.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to Arby's as a kid or McDonalds...both are obviously still in business.
We also had Sambo's in our town and then I remember all the controversy about the name. I was just a kid, so it went over my head.
I can't get over your husband being left out of his brothers birthday. Also, his parents had weird rules for birthdays, right?
I’m shocked that hardly anyone seems to know Arthur Treacher’s, considering how many shops they had. Strange! Yes, Long John Silvers came around later and is quite similar. I’ve heard of Sambo’s, probably from vacations elsewhere.
DeleteI guess if you chose a ‘friend party’ it didn’t have to include siblings? The rivalry in that family was unbearable. My husband hasn’t spoken (beyond necessity when his parents died) to two of his sisters in over 20 years (for good reason, I might add).
I worked at Red Barn when I was in high school. I remember my friend and I rushing after school to change and get there in time for our shifts. Also that the manager's idea of testing a new employee was to have them work a 6 hour shift without any break on their first day! Lots of kids never made it past the first day! Mostly I remember all of the employees having to take lie detector tests because someone was stealing money! LOL! Can't imagine a job like that now! I haven't even thought about Arthur Treacher's or Burger Chef for a long time!
ReplyDeleteThat’s some interesting tidbits, Jeanette. I bet the uniform was awful? I’m certain laws were broken, between the no break on first day and the lie detector business. It sounds traumatic to me!
DeleteOh I also wanted to say that was a mean thing for your husbands parents to do!
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of dysfunction going on in that household. My husband just shakes his head now, as he thought it was normal when he was growing up.
DeleteNone of those chains ever made it to the UK. Our fast-food chains are KFC, McDonald's, Burger King and Subway. Jenny and I have never eaten at any of them, we either go to proper restaurants or we eat at home. We never ate out when I was a kid either. We like Dr Oetker's funghi pizza, which I gather is sold in the US. Employees having to take lie detector tests - that's crazy.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad loved to go out to eat, but it had to be a proper sit down restaurant. We ate out about once a week, but with only two children, it wasn’t as expensive as it is for big families. I’ve never heard of that pizza. It sounds interesting.
DeleteThe old Arthur Treacher's was about a half-mile from our house. Since it closed, about 5 short-lived restaurants have tried to make a go of it in that building. And yes, I remember Arthur Treacher himself (he was the 'side-man' for Merv Griffin, I think, and I also saw him in a couple of old Shirley Temple movies). My first summer job in college was as an early-morning janitor for a Burger Chef. Does Ponderosa Steak House count as fast food?
ReplyDeleteThis was so much fun to read! I remember all of these restaurants because OHIO! 🤣
DeleteI'm going to forward this post to my parents because they'll enjoy it as well.
I also hated Rax. Gag.
I'd drive to Cuyahoga Falls just to try Arthur Treacher's again.
Thank you for the blast from the past! 💕💕
Hi Craig! I’m glad to hear Michigan had Arthur Treacher’s. I was beginning to wonder, with all these other commenters never having heard of it. Yes, he was Merv Griffin’s sidekick and in Shirley Temple movies, possibly playing the butler. We read up on him before going. I’m not sure I count Ponderosa as fast food. Was it cafeteria style, where you go down a line with a tray? I never ate at one, but did go to York Steak House which was in a mall I worked at. My family also went to Sizzler, which I think was a similar chain.
DeleteKari! It’s nice to see another native Ohioan to reminisce with. Nothing impressed me about Rax. I was never interested in that fake roast beef! It’s funny how often we go to Cuyahoga Falls these days. Probably because they have so many breweries. That Front Street area is just so nice.
DeleteI never ate at any of these, that I remember. It sounds like they may be more regional. However, there was a fish and chips place that I remember in Wilmington, NC (Cedrics, I think) that had a similar sign. It's no longer there, but I liked their food when I was in high school.
DeleteI’m so surprised that people haven’t heard of these. There were so many of them in the Midwest.
DeleteI have never heard of any of these. Mine would be Pup n Taco, Pioneer Chicken and Zody's. Zody's had some restaurants inside them.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never heard of those, so I’m assuming they were all on the west coast.
DeleteI've honestly never heard of any of these! I don't recall any fast food restaurants that we would visit that are no longer here, but a few sit down ones that could possibly still be open somewhere across the country I miss are Shoney's and Noble Romans. We don't have a Hardee's anywhere near us anymore, though I wouldn't eat there if I saw one somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI ate at a Stoney’s once in Bluefield, WV. The family I was staying with on a mission trip took us there on the last night. We had Noble Romans! I remember one specific date in college that the guy took me there. There weren’t many Hardee’s around, except for the one in my college student center. I remember people stealing burgers by putting them in their hoodies. Not me! I only ate the pizza in the student center.
DeleteThe only one you mentioned that rang a bell was Rax but I don't think I ever ate there. The only one I miss is Steak 'n' Shake. They are still around but we just don't have any out here in the Northwest.
ReplyDeleteI took our Girl Scout troop there once for breakfast before a field trip to PetSmart. It was the only place open that early. I was surprised that they served breakfast because of the name.
DeleteI've heard of Arthur Treacher's but I never ate there and I do remember their jingle. Btw, Arthur Treacher was the announcer and sidekick on the Merv Griffin show years ago.
ReplyDeleteI don't know the other chains you mentioned--Red Barn maybe...?
I lived near the White Castle restaurant that was seen in "Saturday Night Fever." They had these delicious burgers. And I vaguely remember a burger chain called Wetson's that was in the New York area.
Great post! Now I've got the munchies!
That’s pretty cool that the White Castle in the movie was the one near you. I bet a lot of movies were shot in Brooklyn over the years. Hope you have a great weekend, Rob.
DeleteLots of fast food memories were in the post, Bijoux, but the only chain name familiar to me was Arthur Treacher’s and I’ve never eaten at one. Growing up in NJ, I can’t remember my family ever going to a fast food chain so either we never went or I don’t remember any. As an adult, I remember Long John Silvers and Roy Rogers and Chicken and Biscuits, which may be gone now. Years ago, my husband and I would occasionally stop at Burger King vs, McDonald’s and Wendy’s, but only for the Frosty. But, we no longer go to fast food places, with the exception of White Castle, whenever we visit family in NJ, as there are none here in NH. We have also made exceptions for Dairy Queen, but only for ice cream treats😋 never food, which wasn’t on the menu years ago. Several years ago on a cross country road trip we “discovered” Culvers and would go out of our way to look for one.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading all the comments, it seems as though all the different fast food chains were regional. From traveling, I’ve heard of some of them, like Roy Rogers. I remember eating at a Chick Fil A for the first time in 2006 in South Carolina. We had never heard of them. Now they are all over Ohio. You guys know where to find the ice cream! Culver’s is new around here, but we’ve never tried it.
DeleteAfter mentioning this post to my husband and asking him if he remembered eating out at fast food places growing up he said…there were hardly any back then!
ReplyDeleteThey were few and far between until the 1970’s.
DeleteI definitely remember Arthur Treacher's and Red Barn looks familiar. I can't say that I remember eating at either. That mean brother of your husband!!! No wonder he remembers that so well.
ReplyDeleteBut do you remember Parsley Place? It was a salad type restaurant that took over the Red Barn in Fairlawn. It’s where Sprint was for a long time.
DeleteHuh. I don't. That would definitely appeal to the health nuts, though, I imagine!
DeleteLike me! I ate there all the time when I worked nearby.
DeleteThe only one I remember is Arthur Treacher's. Loved the hush puppies! Long John Silver's is another fast-food fish 'n chips place that's very hard to find these days. There was one in Rapid City when we first moved there, but it closed down before we could go. Good thing there's a Friday fish fry on every corner out here!
ReplyDeleteI’m happy someone else remembers Arthur Treacher’s! The hush puppies were still yummy. I feel like all the Long John Silver’s have disappeared, too. We always say we’re going to go to a fish fry during Lent, but we never do,
DeleteI don't know if any of these were in the south, or if we just never went to them, but I hadn't heard of any of them before.
ReplyDeleteThe only fast food restaurant I can remember going to as a kid that isn't still around (at least not here) is Del Taco. It seems like places just got rid of what I really liked as a kid, but the place is still around. I loved McDonalds' apple bran muffins, but they don't serve them anymore. Wendy's megabar (I loved their pasta and sauce) was one of my favorite things as a kid, but they don't have that anymore.
It seemed like we mostly when to the chain buffets when I was a kid, like Ryan's and Quincy's, and I think those are all closed now.
I had not realized so many chains were regional before doing this post. We did not have Del Taco, only Taco Bell. I didn’t know about the McDonald’s muffins or the Wendy’s pasta bar. We didn’t have any chain buffets here when I was a kid. However, when I chaperoned my son’s band trip to Disney World, we stopped at a Ryan’s buffet in WV or VA on the way home for breakfast. I cracked up that the kids were getting ice cream cones in the morning, but the ice cream machine was running.
DeleteI've heard of AT, pretty sure Ron has eaten there, but if I ever went with him I don't remember it. None of the others were familiar. We had a Jack-in-the-Box not too far away when in high school and I ate there. Also, Roy Rogers way back was in the mall. Ron likes Chick-fil-A now occasionally, a couple things are ok there. And tortilla chips with nacho cheese from Taco Bell!
ReplyDeleteWe’ve never had Jack in the Box here, or Roy Rogers. It’s interesting how regions of the USA are so different.
DeleteI barely remember Sisters; they must have been only in Ohio and although we were in and out of Northwest Ohio for many years (TG grew up in the Toledo area) and actually lived in central Ohio from 1997-2000, I don't ever remember eating at one. I remember Rax well although I don't remember ever eating there either. Burger Chef, don't remember eating there but totally remember it! You brought tears to my eyes with the story of your husband watching the station wagon drive away without him. As a mom I would not have been able to do that, haaahaha! xoxo
ReplyDeleteSisters was so good! It’s bizarre to me that they didn’t last because the quality wa# so good for fast food. You weren’t missing much by never visiting Rax or Burger Chef. My mother-in-law was not a warm person, so the story was definitely believable! Ha!
DeleteI only remember Arthur Treachers. We had many in New England. We went to Carvel's for ice cream. My father didn't allow fast food.
ReplyDeleteI guess Arthur Treacher's was an East Coast thing, as most commenters had never heard of it. Thanks for stopping by. I could not find a blog site for you, but if you leave a link, I will visit you.
Delete