From 800 franchise restaurants in the US, it’s now down to 1 left.
The iconic Howard Johnson restaurant will be whittled down to only one in the United States, after it had more than 800 franchises at one time. The second last HoJo restaurant, located in Bangor, Maine, will close down in a couple of weeks’ time, on September 6.
It will mark the end of its fried clam strips, ice cream and other menu staples that nourished baby boomers and leave the once-proud restaurant chain teetering on the brink of extinction, reported the Associated Press.
The Bangor restaurant is run by the Indian American couple David and Sally Patel. It opened in 1966.
The closing will leave only one Howard Johnson restaurant, in Lake George, New York.
Before falling on hard times, Howard Johnson took restaurant franchises to a new level. The orange-roofed eateries once numbered more than 800, with the New England-based restaurant chain predating the ubiquitous Howard Johnson hotels.
Howard Deering Johnson started the business in 1925, when he inherited a soda fountain outside Boston. That evolved into a chain of restaurants featuring comfort food and 28 flavors of ice cream. The orange roof with a blue spire represented a dependable place for travelers to park the family car, grab a meal and spend the night.
In Bangor, the Howard Johnson Restaurant and Lounge in its heyday was popular with travelers and locals alike, including horror and science fiction author Stephen King. King, who lives in Bangor, said he used to eat there often and enjoyed the patty melts and milkshakes, reported AP.
Owners David Patel and his wife, Sally Patel, kept their restaurant going for the past four years as business slowed and hours were scaled back to just breakfast and lunch.
“It’s not worth it to keep it open. We tried for four years,” Sally Patel said Tuesday, noting the hotel side of their business remains healthy and will be unaffected by the restaurant closure. “We felt bad to close it.”
Fortunately for HoJo fans, the Lake George restaurant appears to be on solid ground and is open year round.