Outside of true tragedies, there are few things worse than your favorite restaurant closing.
We all have our lists of places we miss.
And even for those that didn’t close completely…
Many beloved brands have shrunk over the years and aren’t available to us anymore.
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But for today, we’re focusing on a handful that are truly gone.
Here are the 11 greatest restaurant chains that closed their doors for good.
How many did you love?
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Technically “Howard Johnson” but many of us called it Howard Johnson’s or HoJo’s.
Whatever you called it, those distinctive orange roofs were a welcome landing spot for travelers in search of comfort food and ice cream.
If you’re younger, you may be thinking it’s just a hotel.
And you’d be right!
In the past, the hotels and the restaurants were often located right next to each other for convenience, but now only the hotels remain.
The last restaurant closed in 2022, but at its peak, there were over 1,000 Howard Johnson’s and it was the largest restaurant chain at the time!
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ESPN is still a big name for sports fans.
But starting in the late ’90s, ESPN tried to parlay the love of Sports Center into a restaurant with dozens of TV’s and an arcade.
You could watch the game, drink a beer, have dinner, and beat your friends at pop a shot or air hockey.
Unfortunately, it never really took off as a dude destination and its locations closed down over the next couple decades.
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While there are still some Kenny Rogers Roasters in Asia, the last one closed down in North America closed in Canada in 2011, 20 years after the first one.
Its rotisserie chicken now mostly lives on in our memories due to its sign keeping Kramer awake on Seinfeld.
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Named after his famous song, Jimmy Buffett licensed the name to Cheeseburger in Paradise Bar & Grill from 2002 to when it closed in 2020.
It only got up to 23 locations, but for Parrotheads, it holds a soft spot.
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For those of us in flyover country, Chi-Chi’s was SO good as the place to get a delicious sit-down Mexican meal.
The first Chi-Chi’s came around in 1976, and the last one closed in the US in 2004.
This one may have a happy ending, though … Chi-Chi’s could be back in 2025!
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Fish and chips competitors Arthur Treacher’s and Long John Silver’s were founded the same year: 1969.
While Long John’s is still around, Arthur Treacher’s is basically dead.
At one point, it had over 800 stores, but now there’s just one or two standalone restaurants in its home state of Ohio and a handful of Arthur Treacher’s attached to other restaurants or as ghost kitchens.
Still, for fans who live nearby or are willing to drive…
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We have a picture of a Planet Hollywood because Official All Star Cafe was a spin-off.
Recall that investors in Planet Hollywood were a who’s who of Hollywood folks like Sylvester Stallone, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Well, this sports restaurant concept with “stadium cuisine” included athlete investors like Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Shaq, and Andre Agassi.
Like an athlete, it had a short career, going from 1995 to 2007.
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Alright, this one’s an exception because it’s not fully closed.
Weenie Beenie’s a small chain from Arlington, Virginia that only ever had six locations. And it still has one in Arlington.
The food’s so good (the half-smokes the DC area is known for as well as breakfast all day) that the Foo Fighters named a song after it (frontman Dave Grohl is from the area).
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• For fun lists, healthy living tips, and bar conversation topics, make sure to follow The Coconut Mama. Click here to access The Coconut Mama’s profile page and be sure to hit the Follow button here or at the top of this article!
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Beefsteak Charlie’s is another regional chain…a rare one for the New York metropolitan area.
It was famous for not only its unlimited salad bar but also its unlimited beer, wine, or sangria!
The chain was in its prime in the ’80s when it had over 60 locations.
But it fizzled out in the 2000’s.
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ShowBiz Pizza Place has an interesting history with Chuck E. Cheese, the other pizza place with games for kids.
It kinda split out of Chuck E. Cheese, competed for a while, and then merged back together.
You won’t see Showbiz Pizza Places anymore because they all rebranded to be Chuck E. Cheese locations.
So in a way, you can still go there!
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Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1963, and they made some important innovations. Just a few:
– Free ice cream sundae to children on their birthday…which, as you can imagine, made them pretty popular!
– The “Zoo” sundae, which was so large that employees had to carry it in on a stretcher, accompanied by ambulance sirens.
Farrell’s grew to 120 locations by 1975, then began a long and gradual decline until the last location closed in 2007.
There was an attempt to revive the brand in 2008 which lasted until the final location closed down in 2019.
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So there you have it – 11 fantastic restaurant chains that closed down.
Each with their own story to tell.
Each a tragedy to lose!
And of course, the big question:
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Which were your favorite?
Did we miss any great ones?
Let us know in the comments section so we can make this list even better!
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