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Vintage Fast Food Restaurants That You Are Definitely Missing

Fast food has become ingrained in American society ever since Ray Kroc turned McDonald’s into an absolute food empire. Nowadays, you can’t drive down the street without seeing three or four chain restaurants outside of your window. Today, we are going to pay homage to the fast food restaurants of yesterday. Listed below, you’ll find 18 defunct fast food restaurants that might get your mouth watering for the past!

1. Gino’s Hamburgers

Gino Marchetti may have made his mark on the gridiron, where he became a Hall of Fame football player, but he wanted to feed people, as well! Gino Marchetti opened up Gino’s Hamburgers in 1957. Within a decade, there were 300 of the burger joints throughout the country. Marchetti would sell his franchise in the ’80s and that would be that for the original line of Gino’s Hamburgers.

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2. Beefsteak Charlie’s

Growing out of Manhattan, Beefsteak Charlie’s was prominent in the early 1900s.  The slogan that Beefsteak Charlie’s lived by would also end up running them out of business. The mantra that Beefsteak Charlie’s proudly put on all of their marketing materials was, “You’re gonna get spoiled!” the company went out of business in 2010, presumably due to profit loss from offering exorbitant amounts of food and free booze.

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3. Burger Chef

Let’s just say this for Burger Chef, they came up at a time when McDonald’s was running everyone out of business — and they almost made it. Burger Chef was an early rival to McDonald’s and they were actually one of the first companies to introduce toys with their kid’s meals. Bad business practices ended up putting Burger Chef in the grave and the company was sold in 1981.

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4. Howard Johnson’s

Also known as HoJo’s, Howard Johnson’s made a statement during the ’60s as one of the top chain restaurants in the nation. At its peak, Howard Johnson’s could be found in more than 1,000 locations throughout the country. The company is well known for their patented orange roofs and large weather vanes.

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5. Bob’s Big Boy

We’d recognize Bob’s Big Boy mascot just about anywhere. Known for offering huge burgers along with their iconic ’50s fashion, Bob’s Big Boy was a major player throughout California and into the Midwest. Nowadays, you’ll only find a handful of the nostalgic restaurants around the country.

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6. Official All Star Cafe

These eye-popping restaurants popped up overnight in 1995. Early investors of the restaurant chain included Joe Montana, Ken Griffey, Shaq, and Wayne Gretzky. Owned by the same people behind Planet Hollywood, the All Star Cafe didn’t have quite the same kind of success. The final All Star Cafe closed in 2007.

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7. Ponderosa Steakhouse

Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouse was once one of the most prominent steak-focused chains in the United States. Nowadays, you’d struggle to find one in your state. There are currently only 20 Ponderosa restaurants still standing. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to get your meal somewhere else.

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8. VIP’s

A Midwestern staple, VIP’s cropped up in Oregon before spreading throughout the rest of the country. The first VIP’s opened up in 1968 and they were initially marketed as coffee shops. Eventually, VIP’s would grow into the largest chain in all of Oregon with more than 53 locations. Now, VIP’s is just a memory having sold their locations to Denny’s.

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9. Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse

Based out of New Jersey, this restaurant chain had little to do with the iconic cartoon. Instead, Charlie Brown’s offered semi-casual fine dining in the early 80s and 90s. The corporation behind the chain would go out of business but a few locations are still in operation to this day.

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10. Naugles

Naugles came into being in 1975 as one of the earlier Mexican fast-food restaurants on the market. Naugles liked to focus on fresh food that came fast for a clean kitchen. By the ’80s there were more than 225 Naugles in the country but by 1995 the chain was closed. Nowadays, Naugles is on life support after Christian Ziebarth, an entrepreneur, re-opened two locations on her own in the state of California.

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11. Horn & Hardart

Horn & Hardart’s was ahead of its time as it offered automation to a degree that you wouldn’t have deemed possible. As the ultimate fast food joint, you merely walked up to a giant machine before inserting enough change to make your purchase. Your food was made fresh and pushed through a small glass window. Despite being one of the first ‘automats’ in the world, Horn & Hardart would be out of business by 1991. Now, this style of restaurant is all over Europe and Japan.

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12. Sambo’s

Established by Sam Battistone and Newell Bohnet, Sambo’s came to life in 1957. The company was under fire almost immediately due to the fact that their name was also a derogatory racial term, though unintentional. Sambo’s would get up to 1,000 locations at their heyday but scandal would cause them to shut down in the early ’80s.

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13. Isaly’s

Isaly’s is one of the oldest chain restaurants on our list. Isaly’s was founded back in the 19th-century ad they became known for inventing the famous Klondike Bar.  The name of the company is an acronym which states, “I shall always love you, sweetheart.” Of course, the founder was also named Isaly so take from that what you will.

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14. Kenny Rogers’ Roasters

Country music and fried chicken sounds like the perfect combination and that’s how Roasters came to life. Founded by Kenny Rogers in partnership with John Brain, this chicken chain had great food that would end up being featured in an episode of Seinfeld. Unfortunately, Roasters didn’t make it in the end with the last of their locations being sold to Nathan’s in the late ’90s.

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15. Lum’s

Lum’s opened up in 1956 in Miami Beach. Their early focus was on delivering a delicious beer-steamed hotdog. By 1969, Lum’s had grown to over 400 franchise locations — including spots in Hawaii, Europe, and Puerto Rico. Lum’s would still manage to fail, filing for bankruptcy in 1982.

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16. The All-American Burger

The All-American Burger is one of the most delicious fast food chains that nobody has really gotten the chance to eat at. Sporting ’50s decor, All-American Burger would have a revival after being featured in the ’80s film, ‘Fast Time at Ridgemont High’. Unfortunately, the film boom wouldn’t last and the chain would be closed by 2010.

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17. White Tower

White Tower opened up in reaction to the prominent rise of White Castle but their results were very different. White Tower shamelessly emulated the White Castle design aesthetic while dishing up their own brand of fast-food hamburger. White Tower would eventually be sued out of existence by White Castle. Still, for a brief period of time WHite Tower was a prominent competitor with over 200 locations to their name.

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18. Steak and Ale

One of the first restaurant chains to offer affordable steaks and a free salad bar, Steak and Ale sported a medieval exterior with delicious food and fast service. With low prices and free dessert, Steak and Ale did everything that they could to remain competitive with the changing market. Still, Steak and Ale wouldn’t make it as the company closed down in 2008. Nowadays, there are rumblings of a revival but nothing definitive.

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Daughter Overwhelms Parents Restaurant With Customers By Posting On TikTok

Renee Yates

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A seven-second video posted on TikTok by Jennifer Le has saved her parents’ Vietnamese pho restaurant from going out of business. In the video, Le showed the empty restaurant and her dad looking sad at the register. She then asked for social media’s help to keep the restaurant in business. The restaurant is in California and was doing ok before the pandemic, but has since had trouble getting customers to dine in.

The video went viral, and within hours, it had garnered millions of views and shares. People all over the world were touched by Le’s message and began sharing the video on their social media accounts. The response was overwhelming, with people expressing their support for the restaurant and their willingness to help.

As a result of the video, the restaurant was flooded with customers, many of whom had never heard of the place before. The increased business allowed Le’s parents to keep the restaurant open and the phones are ringing off the hook. The family was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and expressed their gratitude to everyone who had shared the video and visited the restaurant.

Le’s video is a perfect example of the power of social media to effect change. In just seven seconds, she was able to capture the attention of millions of people and inspire them to take action. The video also highlights the struggles faced by small businesses during the pandemic and the importance of community support in keeping these businesses afloat.

Le’s video has since become a source of inspiration for many people who are struggling with similar issues. It serves as a reminder that even the smallest actions can have a significant impact, and that we all have the power to make a difference in our communities.

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Massive Sandcastle Built by Auckland Brothers Impresses Scores of Beachgoers

Kevin Wells

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When you have run out of Christmas ideas, nothing beats going to the beach and letting your creative juices flow. That’s what two brothers in New Zealand did this past Boxing Day and ended up with an amazing and eye-catching sandcastle.

After building a massive sandcastle on Boxing Day, two Auckland boys gained praise from other people around Mt Maunganui’s beach area that day.

Jared and Paul Brandon spent 10 hours that day building a two-meter-high sandcastle, beginning with a sketch of the structure “on a piece of A4 paper” and beginning at high tide. The pair plans to turn this into a Boxing Day ritual.

On Christmas Eve, the brothers started strategizing on how to top last year’s one-meter-high tower on Boxing Day 2021.

Because Jared and Paul are “very competitive,” they wanted to outdo their performance from the previous year. Before beginning their construction, the two searched online for sandcastle designs after visiting Bunnings to get tools, buckets, as well as a footrest.

Both residents and visitors have expressed admiration and astonishment at the beautiful creation.

Jared chuckles, “A guy is assessing how tall it is currently with his beach umbrella.

Jared informed the media, “This one is 2 meters, so we needed a few footstools to climb up tall enough and also used a builder’s level so it didn’t topple over.

The 150-liter pail was the biggest we were able to use, and the traditional household bucket was a fairly small one. We purchased them both from Bunnings.

Paul explains, “There are a few techniques, such as two portions of water to one portion of sand.”

Then came the spatulas to shape the windows, then toothpicks for creating the roof piles, as well as the straws for blowing off the “extra sand.”

The previous night, the two worked on it until 8 p.m., and unlike last year, it is still standing.

“Time went by incredibly quickly; it seemed like we were only at the beach for five hours, instead of ten.” “Paul spoke to the press.

He claims that while working for a California hotel plus learning how to construct sandcastles as a kid-friendly activity, he acquired the skill there about eight years ago.

“Now that he’s used that knowledge and developed it, he taught me. Therefore, for the previous four to five years, whenever we had the time, we would construct a sandcastle once a year ” says Jared.

The two, who are both camera operators, intend to go much further next year and are hoping to enlist the aid of a larger family.

We will attempt to teach my sister as well as my brother-in-law to assist us as they appear interested this year. “We are striving to dredge up more relatives to get involved in creating a village in 2023.”

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Man Finds $47,000 Historic Ring

Renee Yates

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England is very much metal detector country. The land outside the big cities is stuffed full of artifacts and leftovers from ancient times, ranging from before the Romans’ arrival to the Middle Ages and more. So, it’s not surprising, with the blessing of local farmers, that many a fellow with a metal detector is out there spending a Saturday or Sunday scanning through a fallow farm field to see what might be found. As it turned out, David Board was one of those hunters, and he just happened to come across a very small gold ring in one of his ventures.

Located outside of Dorset, Board was busy scanning a pasture field and had been doing so for hours. The sun was late in the sky, and Board was about to wrap up when his machine pinged a definite metallic substance under the soil he was waving the sensor over. Sure enough, pinpointing the location and then digging specifically into that spot, Board unearthed a very small gold ring.

It was in the farm soil, the ground typically tilled for planting, but this particular field had been used for cattle instead. So, five inches underground, the ring remained until Board found it and pulled it back into the daylight. At first, he chalked up the discovery to just another piece of metal from old times, he cleared off the dirt, pocketed the ring and kept going. Then, at the end of the day, Board went home and washed off his finds in the sink. It was only then that he realized what that ring actually was.

While the method of metal detecting in England gives archaeologists utter heart attacks every time they hear a similar story, the finds are generally split between the metal detector and the farm owner, unless the farm owner just waives off the matter and lets the hunters keep whatever they find. Whichever the case in this instance, the ring was no small trinket. It turned out to be an exceedingly well-crafted and rare gold wedding ring from the Medieval period and in very good condition. To be auctioned off later this year, the find is expected to net between 30,000 to 47,000 British Pounds.

The only surprise to anyone hearing the story in England these days is why the local farmers still allow detectors to scan their fields without any stake in the finds.

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Gold Miners Dig Up a Lot More than Ancient Gold

Kevin Wells

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Gold miners are used to finding all sorts of things from ancient times. It’s not uncommon to find relics of prior miners, old habitats, animal remains and even dinosaur fossils as they dig deep into the earth or excavate large areas. However, it’s not an everyday occurrence to find a practically intact mummy of a baby mammoth.

Based on the estimates possible on first evaluation of the mummified baby mammoth found on June 21 by operations at the Klondike gold deposit, way up in the northern part of Canada, miners discovered a baby female mammoth assumed to be probably 30,000 years old. An occasional dinosaur or mammoth bone is uncommon but a regular occurrence. However, finding a complete set of remains of a baby mammoth is extremely rare and a big news in the world of paleontology and biology. Even better, the specimen is practically complete. Most times the remains have been tampered with by other animals or hunting and scavenging. Then nature moves things around even further and separates parts. In this case, however, the baby mammoth was complete, intact and well-preserved.

Named Nun cho ga but the local tribes, the find essentially means big baby animal, no surprise. All the skin and hair is intact, which makes the find extremely valuable in terms of understanding exactly how junvenile mammoths looked and probably behaved mechanically as well as physically. In terms of scientific information, the find is huge. It’s similar to finding an entire painting by a famous artist versus just having a brush he or she might have used.

Locked away in permafrost for centuries, the baby mammoth was literally preserved in the earth’s freezer, untouched by bacteria or the elements for an amazing amount of time. Scientists evaluating the specimen guess that the juvenile likely passed away earlier, maybe from sickness, as its pack was moving since there were no predatory marks on it or scattering of remains. Or, also likely, the animal may have gotten stuck in a deep mud pit or quicksand and was quickly buried, protecting it from rot or degradation.

The last time anyone found a North American baby mammoth in good condition was in 1948, some 70 plus years ago. That one was named Effie, and was located inside a gold mine in Alaska. Additionally, another more recent find was in 2007 in Siberia. That find was estimated to be much older, at 42,000 years of age. It was comparative to the same size as Nun cho ga, which means the two together will provide some interesting comparative notes and years of study going forward. It’s enough to make a dinosaur scientist get giggly.

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Pennsylvania Nurses Get a COVID Booster for Student Loan Debt

Shannon Jackson

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Becoming a nurse is no easy day in the park. Aside from all the clinical hours required and bookwork in classes, a candidate still has to pass their state license exams as well as figure out how to pay for the education costs. It’s quite common for a graduating nurse, whether an LN or RN, to have thousands of dollars in student loan debt. That was already a significant barrier to recruitment before COVID-19 arrived. Things only got worse as experienced nurses left the field in droves after the pandemic’s burnout.

However, Pennsylvania is hitting the problem head on. The state decided that it was going to provide a pot totaling $55 million to help reduce or eliminate student loan debt for eligible nurses. Funded by a combination of state dollars matched to federal American Rescue Plan funds for overall economic stimulus, Pennsylvania directed its internal share to help boost nursing in-state again as well as keep nurses in their careers with financial stability.

Essentially, any nurse who worked during the pandemic, was licensed by the state, and cared for COVID-19 patients will be eligible to get a $7,500 payment for student loan relief. The funds are one-time, non-recurring, but they still represent a huge wave of debt relief for affected nurses. 24,000 plus nurses responded with applications before the deadline ended, which has exceeded the estimated fund allocation available, no surprise. To deal with this surge in eligibility, the state administrators will split the funds on a prorata basis between the impacted state areas and regions, based on the number of nurses who applied. Then, within each regional pot, nurses will be selected by random on who will get the one-time payment.

Those who are selected won’t see the funds themselves. To ensure the payment is used correctly, the money goes directly to the student loan servicer provided by that nurse in their application. The first recipients will see their student loans lowered this month, in August 2022. To help deal with the demand, an additional $15 million in federal dollars was redirected to the fund as well. The allocation for an awardee is $2,500 each year for three years. This allows an easier outflow of funds versus a demand surge all at once. Which will be a considerable amount of accounting work on the state side.

The hope is that with the eventual success of the program expected in nurse retention, the same model can be used again to bolster sagging industries seeing a brain drain in Pennsylvania, as well as stabilize people being crushed by student loan debt.

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