Howard Johnson's Inn & Restaurants

[Ashikaga]

The only Howard Johnson's Inn & Restaurant over here is in Beaumont. But it doesn't have the orange roof that Howard Johnson's was famous for. I read that the orange roofs are virtually extinct. Did any survive over there in Houston?

[MidtownCoog]

Wayside at 45?

[Ashikaga]

Wayside at 45?

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Howard Johnson's also famous for its 20-30 different flavors of ice cream. Someone on another forum told me the reason why hotel chains have changed their logos. He said that it was because most people now travelling make reservations in advance, and they know exactly where they're going. No eye-catching logo is needed to make a traveller pull in and spend the night.

Howard Johnson's logo simply states the name. The same with Ramada [inn]. Used to, you saw the two words Ramada Inn. And if you can remember back as far as I do, their logo had an eye-catching innkeeper holding a long horn which held a banner that said Ramada Inn. Now, the chain has a simple sign that has only the word Ramada.

But if I'm wrong about Houston, feel free to correct me. My there are some Ramada INNs still there with both words (but I doubt with the innkeeper holding the horn).

[Trophy Property]

Are they still or did they ever officially use the term HoJo as a nickname for their company. I seem to remember calling them that and I thought I remember them advertising as HoJo. howard johnson sounds much more elegant

[Ashikaga]

Are they still or did they ever officially use the term HoJo as a nickname for their company. I seem to remember calling them that and I thought I remember them advertising as HoJo. howard johnson sounds much more elegant

And I guess you could also say that Howard Johnson sound more "American". The names "Howard" and "Johnson" are full Anglo-Saxon names.

[Lone Star Rooster]

The old HoJo's location on Gulf Freeway (just inside Loop 610) is no longer a HoJo's--it's now a Red Carpet Inn. But, the old lobby building still sports the Orange Roof. It's the only one left in the Houston area that I'm aware of. Check it out here:

HoJo's Houston-Southeast

BTW, the rest of the autoage.org site is pretty cool if you're a HoJo-ologist like me. Lots of pictures documenting the chain's rise and fall.

True that, Ashikaga--hotel chains no longer show the same standardization or eye-catching logos they used to. I kinda miss these, though:

• Howard Johnson's orange roofs
  
• Ramada Inn's "innkeeper" signs (horn w/banner)
  
• Holiday Inn's "Great Signs," that looked like something straight from Broadway
  
• Quality Inn's old "gold medal"-looking signs, with the blue ribbon off to one side
  
• Shoney's/Bob's/Frisch's/etc. Big Boy
  

Road trips are little less fun these days without them!

[Sharpstown Bill]

True--and one more would be "The Best Western Inn's" with the rope surrounding the logo

[Lone Star Rooster]

Yup. Forgot about those.

Or, how about Stuckey's? There's only a few original locations left, and you folks in Houston are lucky to have one of the last holdouts nearby--on I-10 near Winnie.

[Ashikaga]

Yup. Forgot about those.

Or, how about Stuckey's? There's only a few original locations left, and you folks in Houston are lucky to have one of the last holdouts nearby--on I-10 near Winnie.

Oh, yes, I remember Stuckey's very well. When I lived in Houston, we would ocassionally drive to Port Arthur to visit my grandparents. There was a Stuckey's on IH 10 between Houston and Winnie (I think it's still there; someone correct me if I'm wrong). I remember all of the billboards that would let you know what exit to get off at (Pecan Pralines, Gas, Souvenirs, etc.). One time I remember getting a cup of coconut milk that actually had shreads of coconut in it. I also looked forward to my dad buying me one of the Adams brand magic tricks and novelties (fly in an ice cube, disappearing balls, etc.).

Yes, Lone Star Rooster, I feel the same way that you do. All of those billboards, hotel and restaurant logos were things that I looked forward to seeing when we would go on trips ("Are we there, yet?"). I always preferred chain hotels and restaurants to privately-owned ones. Now even International House of Pancakes has a simple-worded logo on its signs.

Try these: stuckeys.com & stuckonstuckeys.com

[Sharpstown Bill]

you can still see the remnants of a few Stuckey's on I-45 N on the way to Dallas..there's one outside Corsicana

[Subdude]

Isn't there a Stuckeys on I-10 close to San Antonio on the south side of the road?

[Ashikaga]

Isn't there a Stuckeys on I-10 close to San Antonio on the south side of the road?

Oh, there's a few still around. I think their website lists the ones that are still remaining. There also used to be another roadside chain called "Horne's", but I don't know if any were in Texas or not. Stuckey's had a trademark blue roof, Horne's had a trademark yellow roof, and Howard Johnson's had a trademark orange roof. I guess they all did that to catch people's eyes from a distance.

[Sharpstown Bill]

You bet! And there were also the cast-offs like Nickerson Farms--remember the honeybee hives in the back of the store?

[Lone Star Rooster]

Back in the peak expansion years of Stuckey's (1950's-60's), the chain's founder, Bill Stuckey, had an uncanny knack for locating his stores at just the right places. Rumor had it that he would be driving down the road, and wherever he'd have to stop to go to the bathroom, that's where he'd locate a new store.

[Ashikaga]

Back in the peak expansion years of Stuckey's (1950's-60's), the chain's founder, Bill Stuckey, had an uncanny knack for locating his stores at just the right places. Rumor had it that he would be driving down the road, and wherever he'd have to stop to go to the bathroom, that's where he'd locate a new store.

That sounds plausible. Would you say that the present-day Cracker Barrel restaurants are replacing yesterday's Stuckey's/Horne's/Howard Johnson's, etc.?

That sounds plausible. Would you say that the present-day Cracker Barrel restaurants are replacing yesterday's Stuckey's/Horne's/Howard Johnson's, etc.?

I personally know of three Cracker Barrel's on IH-10: Sulphur, Louisiana, Beaumont, Texas and Baytown, Texas. I would think that if there aren't any on IH-10 in Houston, then there should be at least one between Houston and San Antonio.

[Parrothead]

My dad used to take me on trips with him sometimes to Louisiana for his work. We'd always stay at an old HoJo because they still had the ice cream shop and what he claimed were the best hot dogs around!

[Ashikaga]

My dad used to take me on trips with him sometimes to Louisiana for his work. We'd always stay at an old HoJo because they still had the ice cream shop and what he claimed were the best hot dogs around!

I've also noticed that some of the chains are downsizing/economizing by not having full service restaurants and giving continental breakfasts. You now have Ramada Limited and Holiday Inn Express, etc. It sounds logical because if you think about it most travellers pull into one of those places late at night. They simply want to go to sleep, get up and leave in the morning, and maybe grab a donut/grapefruit and a cup of coffee and hit the road. Not too many people are there during the day or even in the early evening using a restaurant.

Really, the only places that should have all of those amenities are big hotels (Radisson, Sheraton, etc.) for travellers with money and bellhops to take their luggage to their rooms. One day on KTRH radio, they called up the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Houston and asked how much a basic room cost for one night: $200.

I think that it was Subdude who posted some good photos of a big Sheraton Hotel in downtown Houston.

[Lone Star Rooster]

That sounds plausible. Would you say that the present-day Cracker Barrel restaurants are replacing yesterday's Stuckey's/Horne's/Howard Johnson's, etc.?

Yup. The spirit is the same: give the traveling family a good deal for their money. And, make sure it's a place the kids like, too.

I ate at a Cracker Barrel the other night--nothing but kids and old folks as far as the eye could see. The kids are, of course, the new generation of customers, and the elderly are the ones who used to frequent HoJo's back in their glory days.

[Ashikaga]

Yup. The spirit is the same: give the traveling family a good deal for their money. And, make sure it's a place the kids like, too.

I ate at a Cracker Barrel the other night--nothing but kids and old folks as far as the eye could see. The kids are, of course, the new generation of customers, and the elderly are the ones who used to frequent HoJo's back in their glory days.

I just looked on Stuckeys.Com and I was surprised. There are only three Stuckey's on IH-10 in Texas: the one between Houston & Winnie in Anahuac and two in El Paso.

Back in the peak expansion years of Stuckey's (1950's-60's), the chain's founder, Bill Stuckey, had an uncanny knack for locating his stores at just the right places. Rumor had it that he would be driving down the road, and wherever he'd have to stop to go to the bathroom, that's where he'd locate a new store.

Well, if it were me doing that, there would be a Stuckey's at every mile marker.

Yup. The spirit is the same: give the traveling family a good deal for their money. And, make sure it's a place the kids like, too.

I ate at a Cracker Barrel the other night--nothing but kids and old folks as far as the eye could see. The kids are, of course, the new generation of customers, and the elderly are the ones who used to frequent HoJo's back in their glory days.

I just looked on Cracker Barrel's website. In addition to the one that I mentioned in Baytown, there's one in Houston, one in West Houston (I think that they meant Katy), one in League City, one in Conroe. I was wrong about there being one between Houston & San Antonio, there's not one even in the Alamo City. There's one in Buda, outside of Austin.

[Subdude]

My dad used to take me on trips with him sometimes to Louisiana for his work. We'd always stay at an old HoJo because they still had the ice cream shop and what he claimed were the best hot dogs around!

I was reading up on Howard Johnson's architecture last night, and the book mentioned that Howard got his start as an ice cream vendor. He made ice cream that was higher in butterfat than other kinds back then, and people really liked it since it tasted so rich and they had a wide variety of flavors. The restaurant and motel business just sort of grew from there. The book also mentioned the hot dogs were served in a unique wedge-shaped bun to make them seem more special.

[sevfiv]

this site has a lot of neat pictures:

http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/8a.html

[Ashikaga]

this site has a lot of neat pictures:

http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/8a.html

What a contrast! Ice cream & cocktails!

[Lone Star Rooster]

What a contrast! Ice cream & cocktails!

You've hit on one big reason why HoJo's is now only a shadow of its former self: trying to please everyone (from little kids to expense-account businessmen), and getting nothing right in the process.

[Ashikaga]

You've hit on one big reason why HoJo's is now only a shadow of its former self: trying to please everyone (from little kids to expense-account businessmen), and getting nothing right in the process.

Is there a bartender on this forum? Maybe he/she can tell us if there is some kind of a mixed drink that contains ice cream. Then HoJo could have pleased everyone if they had served such a drink.

[Ashikaga]

You bet! And there were also the cast-offs like Nickerson Farms--remember the honeybee hives in the back of the store?

Yes, log on to "stuckonstuckeys.com." On the left, click on "Competitors and Spinoffs." There you'll see Nickerson Farms, Horne's, Atkinson's, B. Lloyd's, and Saxon's.

Howard Johnson's had a distinctive orange roof. Stuckey's had a distinctive blue roof. Horne's had a distinctive yellow roof. My guess is so that people would be able to see it from far away and know that it was coming up and would exit and fill their cars up with gas and their stomachs with food.

[MidtownCoog]

There is an old Stuckey's leaving Galveston on the right side of I-45.

[gnu]

There is an old Stuckey's leaving Galveston on the right side of I-45.

yep..i think it's a realty office now.

there used to be one out I-10 east almost to Winnie on the north side of the road.

and those twin terry's restaurants (with the big T signs) near turtle bayou (~ I-10 at SH 61)

i frequented this one on US59 near Diboll the 70's and 80's

[Ashikaga]

yep..i think it's a realty office now.

there used to be one out I-10 east almost to Winnie on the north side of the road.

and those twin terry's restaurants (with the big T signs) near turtle bayou (~ I-10 at SH 61)

i frequented this one on US59 near Diboll the 70's and 80's

Now you just made me remember something. I completely forgot about those Terry's Restaurant's on both sides of IH-10. But I think that as far back as the late 1970s/early 1980s they folded. I thought I saw both of them boarded up, out of business. Maybe I'm wrong.

Yes, I do remember at least one Stuckey's, coming east from Houston just before Winnie, on the eastbound service road. Wasn't there also another one across the freeway on the westbound service road? Maybe I'm thinking about another place.

My opinion is that new roadside restaurant chains are taking over. Cracker Barrel comes to my mind. Stuckey's/Horne's are no longer as popular as they used to me. The Stuckey's website says that there are only two of them in Texas on IH-10, the one near Winnie and one in El Paso.

[Ashikaga]

The old HoJo's location on Gulf Freeway (just inside Loop 610) is no longer a HoJo's--it's now a Red Carpet Inn. But, the old lobby building still sports the Orange Roof. It's the only one left in the Houston area that I'm aware of. Check it out here:

HoJo's Houston-Southeast

BTW, the rest of the autoage.org site is pretty cool if you're a HoJo-ologist like me. Lots of pictures documenting the chain's rise and fall.

True that, Ashikaga--hotel chains no longer show the same standardization or eye-catching logos they used to. I kinda miss these, though:

• Howard Johnson's orange roofs
  
• Ramada Inn's "innkeeper" signs (horn w/banner)
  
• Holiday Inn's "Great Signs," that looked like something straight from Broadway
  
• Quality Inn's old "gold medal"-looking signs, with the blue ribbon off to one side
  
• Shoney's/Bob's/Frisch's/etc. Big Boy
  

Road trips are little less fun these days without them!

I always have to tell myself that even though these businesses are designed and built to appeal to one or more of the human senses, that they are man-made.

[jwphillips2]

Were there others than the one near Stella Link and Bellaire near the railroad tracks in the later 50ss?