Anyone remember Howard Johnson's

[dseag2]

When I was a kid we used to travel a lot because my dad was a salesman in the Southeast US. We used to stay at Howard Johnson's quite a bit. The rooms had vaulted popcorn ceilings with wooden beams, which I thought was so cool. But the best part was the restaurant with the fried clam rolls. The fried clams were in a buttered hotdog bun. (Amazing I am still alive.) I can still taste them to this day. Anyone else?

 

[Verisure]

Clam roll.

 

[dseag2]

Yep. I grew up eating only the best.

 

[Verisure]

Yep. I grew up eating only the best.View attachment 194160

That's the one alright. I used to go there when I lived in Albuquerque just for that clam roll! They were also popular for their ice cream but it was the clam roll that got me.

 

[PamfromTx]

Looks so yummy, @dseag2 and yes, I do remember the hotel's name.

 

[ohioboy]

As I remember them, they were numerous on turnpike plazas back in the 60's.

 

[palides2021]

I remember Howard Johnson's! There was one in our neighborhood. Brings back memories.

 

[Ruthanne]

I remember the one East of me. I have eaten there too. I liked the place.

 

[Fyrefox]

I used to love eating at Howard Johnson’s as a kid on family vacations, because they had a child’s menu from which you could order nursery-rhymed selections like a “Simple Simon Special,” or a “Pieman.” Wash it down with a “Wee Willie Water,” and you were good to go!

 

[Aunt Bea]

Another fan of the clam roll.

Howard Johnson tried offering their famous mac & cheese in the supermarket frozen food case.

 

[Chris P Bacon]

Yes, I remember Hojo’s very well. I always liked their color scheme and I dined from the children’s menu many an evening. Hojo Cola, I thought it was a special brand and I loved it! What nice memories your post brought back for me, thank you!

 

[Ken N Tx]

and what about

 

[Aunt Bea]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1194901621030007

 

[Verisure]

I used to love eating at Howard Johnson’s as a kid on family vacations, because they had a child’s menu from which you could order nursery-rhymed selections like a “Simple Simon Special,” or a “Pieman.” Wash it down with a “Wee Willie Water,” and you were good to go!

View attachment 194183

"Simon says, eat a clam roll!"

 

[helenbacque]

Known as HoJos at my house. Clam Rolls and lots of ice cream flavors.

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I remember seeing Howard Johnson's as we drove by. I never got to eat in one. It was the 1950s. And even though we were starving, Howard Johnson's was "too expensive We have perfectly good food food at home." So me and my empty tummy, never step foot in a HJ.

 

[Jules]

The last time - and I do mean the last time - we stayed at a Howard Johnson’s, it ended up being a dump. It was in our desired location and so we booked well ahead. Every now and then a chain needs to inspect their franchises.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

All of you seem to have such fond memories of Howard Johnson's.
Not me. Every summer during the 50s when I was growing up we would take a road trip for a week.
We always seemed to end up in a Howard Johnson's for dinner. My dad thought the food was like homemade.
Back then I wasn't a very good eater and always ended up with mashed potatoes and some kind of meat in gravy, What stands out the most about the meal was the green peas.
Those peas were has big as golf balls and just as tough. There is no pea on the face of the earth to this day as green as they were.
I swallowed them like pills to get rid of them.
The only thing that saved the day was the ice cream. I'm surprised that wasn't emerald green as well.

 

[moviequeen1]

Yes,there was a Howard Johnsons here in city a block from my church. Walgreens replaced it yrs ago I loved their peppermint stick ice cream with hot fudge sauce,devine!
The company had a off shoot restaurant called' Ground Rounds' loved going in there as well. The food was always good,it was a sad day when they closed

 

[jujube]

The last time I ate at a Howard Johnson Sometime in the early 1980's (all-you-can-eat clam strip night), 3 of the 4 of us were very ill afterward...... "coincidentally", the 3 who ate clams.....the 4th one ate chicken).

We filed a complaint with the health department but nothing came of it.

Never ate there again.

 

[WheatenLover]

I liked their chocolate milkshakes.

Interest fact about Jacques Pepin: "In 1961, after Pépin had declined an offer from John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy to serve as chef at the White House, Howard Johnson, a regular Le Pavillon customer, hired him to work alongside fellow Frenchman Pierre Franey to develop food lines for his chain of Howard Johnson's restaurants, where Pépin served as the director of research and development for a decade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Pépin

 

[fmdog44]

We vacationed almost every year in our car. After a couple years of Howard Johnsons I asked my dad if we could try a Holiday Inn. He agreed and never stayed at a HJ again.

 

[Alligatorob]

We have a Howard Johnson's motel just down the street, about half a mile from the house. Still open. Stayed there once, never again! Sleazy to the max. Better to sleep in the car!

 

[debodun]

There used to be a few around here and I remember stopping at one in Brattleboro, VT on our way to vacation on the coast of Maine. There was also one in Wells, Maine right on Route 1 that we patronized. That burned down in 1991. I heard the last one closed in 2022 in Lake George, NY (about 40 miles from my locale). Howard Johnsons was the Denny's of the 1950s and 60s. I was just thinking of that today when I happened to find this that went with a peg game that I sold years ago. Some HJs had a gift shop in conjunction with the restaurant:

 

[Mobilman44]

In the early '70s, while working at an "under construction" refinery outside Joliet (Illinois), some of us would hit Ho Jo's after work for some adult refreshment. What I remember most was all the women that would usually be there when we were. Seems they were all school teachers, and loved their drinks and smokes and other things.

This may sound silly, but it took me awhile to accept that teachers would do this stuff.