Have you heard about this movement?
I’ll throw my hand up and say I’m all for it. I loved the old Pizza Huts, I loved the table top Pac Man machines, I loved the all you can eat pizza bar, too. Red-dimpled cups. The tiny sizzling personal pan. Man, those were the days.
Some other nostalgic places I miss that have since given themselves the redesign/reboot:
Wendy’s and Their Early 20th Century Newspaper Tabletops (and stained glass restaurants):
Now I’m a sucker for McDonald’s french fries, but I loved me some Wendy’s burgers and fries. The restaurant had a different feel to it, too, from their unique menus to the railing you’d walk between in order to place your order.
Retro McDonalds
I used to have birthdays here, and I don’t even think they were doing play places back then. Food was good, cheap, and came in styrofoam that had the reputation of lasting longer than you, your kids, and their great grandkids. Supposedly.
Shoneys
All, hail, the Big Boy! Man I loved Shoneys, especially their breakfast bar, which I swear, to this day, had the best hash brown potatoes known to mankind. Everything else was great, too. Come to think of it, I enjoyed a lot of all you can eat places. Here’s another one:
Po Folks
Yes, they would run all you can eat specials, and I think we’d get the fried chicken and country fried steak all you can eat plates. How I don’t have diabetes today, is beyond me. I’ve been surprisingly lucky in that regard. Say, I need to re-up my life insurance while I still can.
Subway
Not only do I miss the old place, I miss their old prices and quality of food. Nowadays, you’re lucky to a five dollar inch long.
So how about you…which retro version of today’s food chains do you miss the most?
I hope Pizza Hut doesn’t bring back their retro prices. When I was a teen back in Thomasville you couldn’t take your date but about once a month because the pizza prices where high as a Giraffe’s ass. Seems like I remember the large or could have been the extra large being $20 back in the 70’s. Most of the time we would take a group and split up the ticket. The girls didn’t eat much anyway.
There is a classic pizza hut here in Dahlonega. However, they don’t have Pac-Man.☹️
In Athens, l lived on ATL hwy just past alps rd. There was a Shoney’s walking distance from our apt. I loved the quarter pound ground round. Also 5th qtr was right next door. Had it all close.
Shoney’s went down because Cracker Barrel crushed them as an alternative for the families traveling on the interstate highway system. That breakfast bar was the bomb back in the day.
Subway sold too damn many franchises, and their quality went to crap. Other chains and grocery stores stepped in and kicked their asses.
Pizza Hut’s business model got disrupted by the large delivery chains that didn’t have the overhead and the high-end pizza places … classic Sears.
Wendy’s could have been the Chick-fil-a of the burger segment but decided they wanted to be everything to everyone. It’s still my favorite fast food burger, but I still prefer CFA.
Man that Po Folks menu made me smile. Those are some great photos. I was to young to know what life was actually like in the early/mid 80s, but my memory makes me think it was pretty good.
I had a rush of nostalgia when I saw it, as well.
The Stuckey family heiress is trying to do the same thing.
I got to know Stephanie a little bit when I was Athens. She was super smart and pretty driven. I have been following her journey to bring back the family brand but it is an uphill battle.
Back in the day Blimpies > Subway. Godfathers > Pizza Hut. Pizza Inn was good all you can eat. Sonny’s BBQ used to be much better. Wendy’s got bought by PE idiots, lost their way and now closing 100s of underperforming stores. One rule of success in the food business…consistency. You can have mediocre food (McDonalds) but if you’re always the same then your core customers keep coming back.
I try to avoid fast food in general so I’m biased against most of the places mentioned, but Subway is the absolute worst. They should change their name to Shit Sandwich.
Pizza Hut had the best creamy Italian dressing ever. Hope this is a nationwide movement.
I want Shakeys.
To me, Steak n’ Shake has gone downhill. The burgers used to be a lot better. There’s something fast food tasting about them now and it still isn’t a quick meal. CFa used to be better also, everything tastes too artificial now. I doubt they care what I think though because it appears to be more popular than ever and it’s the only fast food my family will eat just about.
Doritos used to taste better too😂 I did visit BK recently, after their supposed revamp, and it was actually pretty dang good. McDonald’s fries still kick everyone ass though….if fresh! Like a lot of fast food, Wendy’s can be good if made properly. The Wendy’s food bar, however, should probably never be resurrected. Subway is trash. Blimpie’s was good, I think it’s really just who wins the location game as to who dominates the market, not my mouth….🤔huh?
In & Out, which is mostly on the west coast, is one of the better fast food joints. Fries are cut in the store, and they treat their employees well.
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