The 1980s were a remarkable era for family-friendly dining in America. Numerous restaurants flourished during this time, with a multitude of corporate and franchised locations springing up across the country. However, as locally owned boutique restaurants gain popularity in cities nationwide, chain restaurants seem to be dwindling. Here are seven iconic restaurants the enjoyed that enjoyed their heyday in the 1980s but are now nearly extinct.
Steak & Ale
- Founded in 1966 by Norman Brinker
- Filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008 and closed for good
- Had as many as 280 locations in the 1980s
- Announced in April 2024 that Steak & Ale is being revived
Howard Johnson’s
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- Began as a drug store/soda fountain
- The first restaurant in 1929 by 32-year-old Howard Deering Johnson
- HoJo’s was the largest American restaurant chain in the 1950s and ’60s, with more than 1,000 restaurants by 1979
- Today, after multiple company ownership changes, only one Howard Johnson’s restaurant is still in operation