Thanks to Zak’s Auto Service for their support.
Here’s a look at fast food on Robert Street over the years.
Robert Street: 1973
In a 1978 column, Oliver Towne called Robert Street “Heartburn Highway.” He wasn’t done with the names, adding on “Ulcer Gulch,” “Junk Food Capital,” and “leading contender, if not world’s champion Fast Food Strip of America.”
He counted 36 fast food restaurants and decried, “The once-pastoral and rolling countryside has become a boulevard of garish signs, frustrating traffic jams and outlandish kitsch in architectural failures.”
Robert Street: 2025
The same stretch of Robert Street today is populated by a series of restaurants, though they’re not all fast food franchises:
- Embers is now Pineda.
- Kentucky Fried Chicken is now World Famous Momo.
- Burger King is now a new strip mall that includes Papa John’s.
While McDonald’s is across the street, there are also local options with Fireside and Thai Delicious…