NOTE: HoJoLand.com leaves this article up to capture a moment in time (2006) when there actually was movement to relaunch HoJo's Restaurants. Unfortunately, this effort failed.
HoJoLand Exclusive:
A Look Inside The New HoJo's
Copyright, 2006. HoJoLand.com/Walter L. Mann.
(New York, NY) Much like Howard Deering Johnson, the man whose namesake would become part of Americana, David Kushner is also a man with a vision. The young,
clever venture capitalist has images of little Simple Simon's and Pie Men dancing in his mind. He realizes the value of the "Howard Johnson's" name in terms of food and beverage, and he feels HoJo's has a bright future. In 2005, Kushner, unbeknownst to all but a few, began working to secure the rights to the "Howard Johnson's" name for use in food and beverage projects. In 2005, Franchise Associates, Inc. (FAI), the company comprised of independent HoJo restaurant franchisees that sued Prime Motor Inns in 1986 to gain rights to use the name, lost the rights back to Prime successor Cendant Corporation. Enter David Kushner, the "orange knight," a HoJo fan's version of Dairy Queen's savior/white knight, billionaire Warren Buffett, a DQ lover who rescued the ice cream legend from extinction by purchasing it with his vast fortunes.
Much like Buffett, Kushner, who commutes daily to his New York City office from his home in New Jersey, had the vision to realize the pearl that HoJo's is, and the foresight to come to the rescue. Thus, Kushner formed The La Mancha Group, LLC., a corporation whose sole goal is to resurrect the HoJo's Restaurant and food and beverage line. Several months ago, HoJoLand.com asked Kushner, why the name "La Mancha?" His response, "to dream the impossible dream....to relaunch HoJo's." In a recent conversation with HoJoLand.com, Kushner detailed his plan to once again make Howard Johnson's a household name. "We feel it's imperative to have the right concept, to do it right from the start," said Kushner. Kushner feels it's critical to do as much research as possible, and yet, while Kushner is hard at work coming up with the right concept, he says HoJo fans won't have to wait too long to see the HoJo's rebirth begin. "We have hired a new ice cream guy and intend to start distributing Howard Johnson's brand ice cream to retail grocers as soon as possible," said Kushner. He expects to have the ice cream start appearing first in stores in Puerto Rico by this winter, and in U.S. grocers freezers by early 2007. Kushner says there is no doubt of the strong brand recognition the HoJo's name has, pointing to the successful yet limited current HoJo frozen food line manufactured by Fairfield Farms Kitchens, who occupy the former HoJo food manufacturing facility in Brockton, Massachusetts.
Kushner says his company has an excellent relationship with Fairfield Farms, and that he is evaluating the current product offerings and expects to make some changes to those offerings, including expanding the line to include soups such as HoJo's famous New England Clam Chowder, as well as other items. Kushner says that while there may be changes in the offing, staples such as "Howard Johnson's Macaroni and Cheese," their number one selling frozen food product, and the signature "TenderSweet Friend Clams" will remain. But what about plans for new HoJo Restaurants and Ice Cream Shops? Kushner, says they are on the way. "We expect to open some Howard Johnson's Ice Cream Shops by mid-2007, followed by full-fledged, all-new Howard Johnson's Restaurant's by the end of 2007." Kushner feels the new, full-service restaurants will be a "....step above Denny's." "We want people to come to the new Howard Johnson's Restaurants, and to get excellent quality food at affordable prices. We're shooting for an average $10.00 entree." But again, Kushner points out to be successful, the relaunch of HoJo's needs to be done correctly. You might ask just where is he doing research and getting ideas from.
Well, in addition to researching the restaurant industry and finding the right niche for the new chain, Kushner turned to someone who knows HoJo's inside and out-Howard Johnson, himself. According to Kushner, he recently sat down with Howard Brennan Johnson, the son of the chain's founding father, and the man who, after taking over the company from his father in 1959, led the chain to its greatest boom period. The dapper Johnson, now 74, is a product of Yale and the Harvard School of Business. He sold the chain in 1979 to Britain's Imperial Group for six hundred million dollars. These days, Howard Johnson lives in New York and in Florida, and, according to Kushner, seems to be
in excellent health and continues to be the smart businessman that he was when he ran the oranged-roof empire. "He was happy to hear we were relaunching the chain his father founded, and wished us tremendous success with the project," said Kushner. He says Johnson's shared some great history of the chain, and advice for the future. "We want him to be involved in some way, including opening our first, new HoJo's Restaurant," said Kushner.
But what will the new HoJo's Restaurants be like? Kushner says the new HoJo's will be a place where a family can go and enjoy great times. "We want kids who would normally go to a diner or fast-food establishment after, say, a baseball or soccer game, to want to go to HoJo's," Kushner said. Kushner said he respects what made the chain famous,"...our color is and will always be orange, and we intend on prominently featuring the iconic Simple Simon and The Pieman in our business." While the initial new HoJo's Restaurants may be "company-owned," Kushner says he expects to signs up franchisees for many more new HoJo Restaurants and Ice Cream shops. In fact, says Kushner, he already has over one hundred interested parties looking at HoJo Restaurant franchises.
The search for a "white knight" for HoJo's has indeed come to fruition. That "white knight" is a man named David Kushner. In the end, Kushner says, "we want people to walk into Howard Johnson's Restaurants and to be able to walk back in time and enjoy great food and ice cream, they way it used to be, and the way it should be."
