Twilight for a roadside icon…and the man who's keeping the light alive
Above: What may end up being the last HoJo's on the planet, the Butler's Lake Placid, NY.
(Lake Placid, NY) Ronald Butler is a man on a mission. He's just spied something wrong with the salad bar — his salad bar — at the Lake Placid (N.Y.) Howard Johnson's restaurant. The items in the buffet table haven't been changed recently enough for a man who's been ensuring freshness in his beloved eatery since 1956. Yet on this particular day, Howard Johnson's is busy as usual, and there aren't any members of the waitstaff available to replenish the supplies. So the longtime restaurant co-owner does what he does on so many days: dons some plastic gloves, rolls up his sleeves, grabs a gigantic vat of lettuce and goes to work. Before long, every tray in the salad bar has been refilled, every item from applesauce to water chestnuts fresh as fresh can be. Finally, Butler leans back from the long, food-laden table and smiles. Mission accomplished. CLICK HERE to read the entire article.
Story and article below photos by Benjamin Pomerance - From All Points North Magazine
"Howard Johnson's" Products Back In Stores, Kind of.......
(June 12, 2009) Ever since America's Kitchen, the company that manufactured and distributed the Howard Johnson's line of retail frozen foods went out of business. last year, people have seen HoJo frozen foods disappear from store shelves. Now, HoJo products are back, but not the kind you'd want to eat. We're talking about Howard Johnson's Fertilizers! Now available in Stop & Shop stores. Here's the website.
Click FaceBook Logo for HoJoLand on Facebook
HoJo fertilizer (left) is the only HoJo brand still available at Stop & Shop. Stouffer's (right) fills the HoJo foods void.
HoJology: Times Square
HoJo's 1959 Opening "Welcome" Letter Unearthed !
(June 14, 2009) The "grand lady" of all HoJo's, the former Times Square (46th Street) location, closed in 2005. Soon, apparel retailer American Eagle, will open it's flagship store in the former location. And while cosrtuction crews have unearthed lots of old brick from the former 100 year old-plus building that housed HoJo's, HoJoLand.com has unearther a 1959 letter from the Howard Johnson Company to the Rubenstein family, congratulating them on the recent opening of their HoJo's unit at 46th Street. Click on the photo to the right to see a larger version.
Patriot Ledger
HoJo's Article
(July 18, 2009) Read Jon Chesto's (of the Quincy-Mass. based Patriot-Ledger newspaper) article by clicking on the Patriot-Ledger logo.
HoJoLand FlashBack;
Former HJ Ice Cream Shop Caparra, Puerto Rico
HoJoLand Flashback
New Gino's Keeps Growing, Another Reason Why Now Is The Time For HoJo's
The familiar, red-roofed Gino's Restaurants that dotted the American landscape during the 1970's.
(Jan. 20, 2012) The re-launch of the Gino's chain seems to be a huge success, as the chain already has three new locations operating with more on the way. The current locations are in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Towson, Maryland; and Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Gino's is also stating that they have twenty-three other locations scheduled to open including Perryhall, Maryland, Coatesville,
Thanks To John Maimone
January 20. 2012: Gino's
Keeps On Growing, HoJo's
Should Follow Suit
Hot Shoppes Following Gino's Lead; New
"Hot" Orange Roof Eateries Returning
(Dec. 23, 2011). Hot Shoppes, Inc, which was founded by J. Willard Marriott and Frank Kimball, and became Marriott Corporation in 1967, is making a surprise return! Many feel Hot Shoppes was a clone of Howard Johnson's successful restaurants, with similar menus and even orange roofs. The last Hot Shoppes Restaurant (located in Maryland), closed in 1999. But like the recent rise from the dead of the Gino's chain, Hot Shoppes is poised to make a comeback.
Marriott's empire—with hotels throughout the world—started out as a root beer stand.
Above: an old Hot Shoppes Restaurant location. Hot Shoppes, owned by Marriott, is soon to rise from the dead.
According to a report in the Washington Post,, Marriott will be opening a new Hot Shoppes restaurant in its new Marriott Marquis hotel slated to open next to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in 2014, In an interview with the Washingtonian, Bill Marriott revealed that he personally was overseeing the resurrection of Hot Shoppes, a cafeteria-style restaurant which focused on old favorites like hamburgers (in particular, the signature triple-decker "Mighty Mo," which many cite as the inspiration for the Big Mac) and root beers. Marriott added that even the popular "orange freeze" will return. "The orange freeze is easy: orange sherbet and vanilla syrup," said Marriott. Even "The Mighty Moe" (a two-burger, triple-decker affair on a sesame bun with signature Mighty Moe sauce) will be brought back. One has to wonder, with the return of now-successful return of Gino's Burgers & Chicken, and with the word of the resurrection of Hot Shoppes,: what will it take for Windham Worldwide to realize that now is the perfect time to bring back HoJo's Restaurants? So many people have fond memories of the oranged-roofed Howard Johnson's eateries, and the key is to relaunch HoJo's before the last generation to enjoy HoJo's food, dies off. Do it now or it might be too late.
Pensylvania and the newest location to be announced is a unit at Orioles Park at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles. The chain seems to be doing "all the right things," including use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, to spread the word about the chains re-birth. The positive results shown so far by the Gino's re-launch is further evidence that old chains can come back. Hopefully the folks at Wyndham Wordlwide are listening, and will put forth extra effort to realize a relaunch of the HoJo food and beverage (f&b) brand, as an f&b relaunch could certainly benefit the HoJo lodging operations.
December 23. 2011:
Hot Shoppes Returning
A&E's "Mad Men" Takes Us Back
To HoJo's Glory Years
(Apr. 30, 2012) On Sunday, April 22, 2012,
viewers of the immensly popular "Mad Men"
TV series on the A&E Network, took viewers back to the glory years of America's orange roof icon, Howard Johnson's. The exterior scene was filmed at the Regency Inn and Suites located in Baldwin Park, in California's San Gabriel Valley. According to Zap2it, The Wyndham Group (which now owns Howard Johnson) did not know this high-profile product placement was in their future. "We actually didn't know that the brand was going to be featured on the show but were certainly pleasantly surprised," public relations manager Rob Myers said. CGI was used to bring back the original HJ feel. The interior scenes were shot at Rod's Grill in Arcadia, California. According to Arcadia's Best, Rod’s owner, Manny Ramirez says there are downsides to allowing filming at grill. Employees potentially lose pay, regular customers can feel alienated. To compensate Manny and allow him to pay his employees their regular salary without working, Manny says TV production companies pay him as much as $10,000.
Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and wife Megan (Jessica Paré) in a scene set at HoJo's in upstate New York.
Photo courtesy AMC Networks
A false styrofoam wall is propped up outside Rod's Grill in Arcadia, California to mimic the
HoJo's architecture of the 1960's.
Photo courtesy Arcadia's Best.
April 30, 2012: Lake George HoJo's May Face It's Final Year in 2012.
May 1, 2012: "Mad Men" Goes To HoJo's
Is The End Near For Lake George, NY HoJo?
(April 30, 2012) According to a post on the HoJoLand Group on Facebook, Jonathan Doucette states there is good news and bad news regarding the Lake George, NY HoJo Restaurant. The good news is even though everything is closed or turned off, they will reopen around memorial day. Bad news is, this may be their last season open. It looks like the brothers want to sell the restaurant and will possibly have the for sale sign up even during the summer. The Lake George HoJo is one of the three remaining HoJo Restaurants in existence.
The HoJo Restaurant in Lake George, NY.
Photo courtesy HighwayHost.org
This page is in no way connected to or represented in any way by Wyndham Worldwide, owner of the "Howard Johnson" brand.
