The last surviving Howard Johnson’s restaurant has closed.

It was once America’s largest restaurant chain.”

6 thoughts on “The last surviving Howard Johnson’s restaurant has closed.

  1. Depending on which Hojos you were hitting, the clams could be excellent. I know they were strips rather than whole bellied but the quality could be quite good. A friend of mine who worked in one told me they were using Ipswich clams – which is the gold standard for friers.
    Probably because my old man was from the Boston area, my idea of the best possible fast food pig out was a enormous quantity of fried clams and good onion rings. Goodwins in Lynnfield (North Shore) was the king. But I never looked down on Hojos.

    1. I agree. Good stuff. Look down on it? Hell, no. I used to look forward to it!

      There was a HoJo in the Bronx, just off the Fordham campus, and my posse went there once a week, on the day when they served unlimited clam strips for some incredibly reasonable price.

      1. Fun fact: Jaques Pepin turned down the job of Kennedy White House chef in the 1960s to become R&D director for HoJo restaurants, hired by Mr. Howard Johnson himself. He might have had something to do with those clams.

  2. The important thing is that he’s still the chairman of the welcoming committee, which I assume he is.

  3. Famous for their salt water taffy. It was a mainstay on the OH/PA turnpikes back in the day. Also made an excellent grilled cheese sandwich. mmm

    Yielding back the balance of my time …

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