Beefsteak Charlie's
Restaurant chains you wish would come back
- Thread starter 97prizm
- Start date
I miss Sizzler toast.
Round The Corner, which were along the Front Range in CO. You ordered your food using a red phone at your booth.
CB Potts, again along the Front Range in CO, which closed all their franchise locations last year. In college (early 90s), a big plate of Beef Nachos during HH was $3.75, and any one of their Long Island Ice Tea variants during HH was $1,79. Got me through senior year of college!
Chi-Chis - miss the Buffalo Chicken Fajita
Ground Round/Ponderosa - remembering the 10 oz Sirloin Steak w/Baked Potato in my youth
Fuddruckers & Zebbs (Western NY) - both chains with a burger bar. Used to love putting the liquid Nacho Cheese on my 1/2 lb. burger @ Fudds. I was really annoyed when the location in the C Terminal at DTW closed
Chick-Fil-A - oh wait, they're still around, but I stopped patronizing them when they dropped their Coleslaw
No love for Bennigan's? It sucked in the end, but was a good place for Irish-style food in its heyday
CB Potts, again along the Front Range in CO, which closed all their franchise locations last year. In college (early 90s), a big plate of Beef Nachos during HH was $3.75, and any one of their Long Island Ice Tea variants during HH was $1,79. Got me through senior year of college!
Chi-Chis - miss the Buffalo Chicken Fajita
Ground Round/Ponderosa - remembering the 10 oz Sirloin Steak w/Baked Potato in my youth
Fuddruckers & Zebbs (Western NY) - both chains with a burger bar. Used to love putting the liquid Nacho Cheese on my 1/2 lb. burger @ Fudds. I was really annoyed when the location in the C Terminal at DTW closed
Chick-Fil-A - oh wait, they're still around, but I stopped patronizing them when they dropped their Coleslaw
No love for Bennigan's? It sucked in the end, but was a good place for Irish-style food in its heyday
Fuddruckers is still around, I guess there's just none in your state. Last few years were not good for restaurants, it almost went under. Down to two in my state, I think at one point there were like at least 6 or more of them. I always order it medium rare but lots of time it's just well done.
Village Inn Pancake House with the flaming German apple
Shakeys (none in 200 miles for 20 years)
Golden Corral (none around here anymore)
Captains (steak and seafood)
A decent China Buffet (the last of the edible ones went under, used to be 5 in the area down to 1 not China buffet)
Dinner Bell
The Bamboo Hut, a Hmong restaurant with authentic curries, went under early pandemic
Ponderosa steak house
This area has never had a Red Lobster either.
Shakeys (none in 200 miles for 20 years)
Golden Corral (none around here anymore)
Captains (steak and seafood)
A decent China Buffet (the last of the edible ones went under, used to be 5 in the area down to 1 not China buffet)
Dinner Bell
The Bamboo Hut, a Hmong restaurant with authentic curries, went under early pandemic
Ponderosa steak house
This area has never had a Red Lobster either.
It's been weird around here. The closest Fuddruckers to my home closed, but that seemed to be more a matter of the mall where it was located basically shutting down a strip of restaurants to renovate the building. Not sure if it's coming back though. There were a few empty restaurants in that section of the mall. And there's been a restaurant space at that mall that has sat empty for about 5 years.
I'm not a huge fan, but my kid liked their 99 cent ice cream. It's Blue Bunny around here, although I'm not sure if it's different around the country. There's still another one and sometimes we stop by if we're in the area.
Lone Star steakhouse. Back in the day (1990’s) there was at least a 30 to 60 minute wait on weekends. Great steaks 
and All the free roasted in the shell peanuts you could eat while waiting, just drop the peanut shells on the floor….until someone fell, then sued and no more free peanuts! I suppose they’re all gone now 
and All the free roasted in the shell peanuts you could eat while waiting, just drop the peanut shells on the floor….until someone fell, then sued and no more free peanuts! I suppose they’re all gone now Well Five Guys still has free peanuts and I don't think you're supposed to drop the shells on the floor.Lone Star steakhouse. Back in the day (1990’s) there was at least a 30 to 60 minute wait on weekends. Great steaks
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Alot of chains I love are still around, but have discontinued my favorite mini items. I wish Chili's would bring back the Swiss Mushroom Burger (world's best hamburger hands down!!), and LJS's mozzarella sticks. LJS's legendary batter was delish on those cheese sticks!! 
Not all Steak-N-Shake have closed my favorite is still open, even the ones that closed can be bought for a $10K investment, but the big problem is hiring staff that will show uo to work
Mushroom Swiss Garlic burger at Steak -n-shake is good and get 1/2 price shakes during happy hourAlot of chains I love are still around, but have discontinued my favorite mini items. I wish Chili's would bring back the Swiss Mushroom Burger (world's best hamburger hands down!!), and LJS's mozzarella sticks. LJS's legendary batter was delish on those cheese sticks!!
Zantigo
There are a few restaurant chains that I miss from my younger days, mainly Steak & Ale...Arthur Treacher's...Zantigo. Do I want any of them to come back? No...not at all. If they could not make it thru the poor times, too bad. The ones I value the most are the family-owned places that had younger family willing to take over when the older owners either retired or passed. I still have to use Outback/Carrabba's occasionally because friends send me gift cards, otherwise I wouldn't. Sometimes Red Lobster. The new places I have gone to in the last 2 years have all been non-chains.
Druther’s Restraunt
Rax Roast Beef
Rax Roast Beef
there are still A FEW Rax around...
Locations
www.raxroastbeef.com
our local Steak and Shake Closed in '06...sat empty and for sale until last summer/fall.
Currently being rebuilt as a Starbucks...
unlike other areas, we aren't saturated with starbucks... local college had one in their Barnes and Noble/college bookstore (starbucks closed and replaced by local shop)
one of the 2 hospitals has one in their lobby, and just pre-pandemic a closed bank on the otherside of town (within a mile of I-75) was rebuilt into a starbucks, and it's had trouble staying staffed/open the whole time. they are Currently training folks for the new one on my side of town... (former Steak and Shake)
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