OT: Ever wonder what happened to Roy Rogers?
John Taber
Plan for Roy Rogers has family ties
By DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press
12/22/2003
FREDERICK, Md. -- A family that helped launch the first Roy Rogers
restaurant has bought the company's name and franchising rights in
hopes of rebuilding the fast-food chain.
Only 63 Roy Rogers outlets remain, compared with 648 at the company's
1980s peak, but brothers James N. and Peter H. Plamondon, of
Frederick, hope to double the number of stores within five years.
"I think you'll see a lot more Roy Rogers popping up - that's the
hope," said James Plamondon, co-president of the Plamondon Cos.
Roy Rogers has restaurants in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The brothers' father, Peter Plamondon Sr., was an executive in the
restaurant division of Marriott International Inc. 30 years ago when
the Bethesda company and cowboy movie star Roy Rogers started the
roast-beef sandwich chain. The elder Plamondon helped Marriott open
the first Roy Rogers, in Bailey's Crossroads, Va., before leaving to
become a Roy Rogers franchisee with 16 restaurants, James Plamondon
said.
Marriott sold the Roy Rogers business in 1990 to Canadian cigarette
maker Imasco, which began converting the restaurants to Hardee's. When
that strategy failed, some were turned back into Roy Rogers stores and
others were sold to McDonald's, Boston Markets and Wendy's.
Imasco sold Hardee's in 1997 but held on to Roy Rogers, finally
selling it to the Plamondons for an undisclosed price. Imasco was
acquired last year by British American Tobacco.
Plamondon said the brothers' "Roy Rogers Rides Again" growth plan
rests on the same menu as the brand's existing chain: roast beef,
fried chicken and hamburgers for adult appetites served in restaurants
with more choices and slightly higher prices than McDonald's and
Burger King.
Food-service consultant Jerry McVety, president of McVety &
Associates, of Farmington Hills, Mich., said the Plamondons face a
tough challenge from casual-dining chains such as Chili's and
Houlihan's that have emerged in the past two decades.
"There are people who are more likely to go to that kind of restaurant
because, if for no other reason, they do offer adult drinks," McVety
said. "When you're taking an old concept and trying to resurrect it,
it's twice as difficult as coming up with a new one."
Ron Newman
jwt...@juno.com (John Taber) wrote:
> Roy Rogers has restaurants in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland,
> Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
I didn't know we had any left in Massachusetts. They used to be at
service plazas on both the Mass Pike (I-90) and I-95/MA 128, but they
all closed when the state awarded that contract to McDonalds.
Stéphane Dumas
see Burger Chef revived from the ashes as well
Stéphane Dumas
"John Taber" <jwt...@juno.com> a écrit dans le message news:
5ff262ea.03122...@posting.google.com...
>
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2003/12/22planforroyroger
A.K.
wrote:
>In article <5ff262ea.03122...@posting.google.com>,
> jwt...@juno.com (John Taber) wrote:
>
>> Roy Rogers has restaurants in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland,
>> Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
I know of the NY Thruway rest stop ones (Clifton Springs, Indian
Castle, Pattersonville, Junius Ponds, New Baltimore, Plattekill and
Ulster) and the one in Shirley on Suffolk CR 46 between Sunrise Hwy.
(NY 27) and Montauk Hwy. Are there others in NY?
Chris Sampang
>Castle, Pattersonville, Junius Ponds, New Baltimore, Plattekill and
>Ulster) and the one in Shirley on Suffolk CR 46 between Sunrise Hwy.
>(NY 27) and Montauk Hwy. Are there others in NY?
I think Riese Restaurants operates locations in the NYC area, including one
across from the Ed Sullivan Theater at 44th and Broadway.
- Chris
Sherman L. Cahal
news:rnewman-45C189...@news.newsguy.com...
The West Virginia Turnpike used to have Roy Rogers at all service areas. I
miss them!
william lynch
at she...@cahaltech.com wrote on 12/22/03 10:59 PM:
Why is it that everyone that I know who used to live back east
says that they served Triggerburgers?
william lynch
calv...@aol.comet wrote on 12/22/03 10:03 PM:
Is that the building that Letterman is always shooting or
throwing things at?
Jeff Kitsko
news:rnewman-45C189...@news.newsguy.com...
> In article <5ff262ea.03122...@posting.google.com>,
> jwt...@juno.com (John Taber) wrote:
>
> > Roy Rogers has restaurants in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland,
> > Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
>
> I didn't know we had any left in Massachusetts. They used to be at
> service plazas on both the Mass Pike (I-90) and I-95/MA 128, but they
> all closed when the state awarded that contract to McDonalds.
I didn't realize there were any free-standing Roy Rogers left in
Pennsylvania. The one at Station Square lasted until the early 1990s as did
the one in Westmoreland Mall. I thought the only ones left were on the
Turnpike.
--
Jeff Kitsko
Pennsylvania Highways: http://www.pahighways.com/
Ohio Highways: http://www.ohhighways.com/
Jeff Kitsko
No, I think that is one next door to the Ed Sullivan Theater. On a side
note: I ate at the Roy Rogers in question right before I went to the show
when I was in NYC in February.
Hi, I'm TV's Oscar The Grouch
--
I think. Therefore, I am not a conservative!
----- http://members.iglou.com/bandit ------
Check out my blog blogga blog at http://bandit73.pitas.com
john cline ii
"Stéphane Dumas" wrote:
| Let's hope the fast-food chain rebuilding will be a success and I
wish to
| see Burger Chef revived from the ashes as well
Since CKE, parent of Hardees and Carls, Jr., owns the Burger Chef
concept and trademark, that seems very unlikely.
A couple of years back, Hardees had a feeble attempt at selling Big
Chefs again. The re-creation was ghastly, not at all like Burger Chef.
john cline ii who misses most of all the Super Shefs..
Jeff nor Lisa
> http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2003/12/22planforroyroger
> .html
> > FREDERICK, Md. -- A family that helped launch the first Roy Rogers
> > restaurant has bought the company's name and franchising rights in
> > hopes of rebuilding the fast-food chain.
I tried bring up the URL but couldn't.
I always enjoyed Roy Roger's roast beef and preferred them
over McDonald's for fast food.
IIRC, Roy's was started by Marriott as a successor to their
"Hot Shoppe Jr" fast food outlets. They continued selling
the "Pappy Parker" fried chicken the Jrs sold. They became
quite large after a while, in Phila they brought up the
Gino's fast food chain. In the Phila area at least, a Roy's
could have three layouts--a new one of their design, a former
Gino's, and a former Hot Shoppe Jr.
After Roy's contracted (essentially gone from Phila), Boston
Market took over many outlets. However, Boston Market struggled
and I think it continues to do so. (I like them, but none of my
friends do). It's owned by McD's now.
There's some Roy's on the NJ Tpk rest stops, and one next
to Grand Central Terminal in NYC.
There used to be a restaurant chain in NYC and Phila called
Horn & Hardarts that was extremely popular in its day. (They
had the Automat machines). When their business declined, the
NYC division became a Burger King franchise instead. That was
a terrible letdown from the food H&H used to serve, but tastes
changed and they had no choice. Today, someone has licensed
the H&H name for coffee stops.
In Phila, a closed Gino's outlet was rebuilt into a 1950s
style diner. The owner bought a diner, moved it to the site
and spliced it onto the Gino's building, making it a reasonably
sized restaurant. It's called the "Trolley Car Diner". Outside
they have a genuine old trolley car serving as an ice cream stand.
Sir Ray
conjunction with Nathan's) - they used to have an location right in
Penn Station, but that (Alas) closed a few years back.
I also hope this revival takes off, as our fast-food choices (on Long
Island) are quite limited - for a period of time, except for a handful
of Roy Rogers, we had no other burger chains here besides McDonald's,
Burger King, and Wendy's (well, a few White Castles too).
Checkers started to open some outlets around here in the late 1990s,
and then we got a lone Arby's outpost off the LIE near Union Turnpike.
I'd love to see a Roy's revival (I used to love their chili - thought
it was better than Wendy's - still like the horseradish on fries when
I go to the Roy's near Penn Station, but their burgers can be a bit
dry, seeing as how it's not the most efficent outlet).
And we could use also Jack in the Box back (the last one around here
must of closed near a decade ago), and some more Arby's, and even some
of the West Coast chains (Carl Jr's and In 'n Out, to start). And a
Del Taco, and, and....
Pat OConnell
> "Stéphane Dumas" wrote:
>
> | Let's hope the fast-food chain rebuilding will be a success and I
> wish to
> | see Burger Chef revived from the ashes as well
>
> Since CKE, parent of Hardees and Carls, Jr., owns the Burger Chef
> concept and trademark, that seems very unlikely.
>
> A couple of years back, Hardees had a feeble attempt at selling Big
> Chefs again. The re-creation was ghastly, not at all like Burger Chef.
Burger Chef was based in Indianapolis, and I ate at them throughout
college. Hardee's bought them around 1982, and the food immediately went
downhill. Pity.
--
Pat O'Connell
[note munged EMail address]
Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints,
Kill nothing but vandals...
MRSparkle
"john cline ii" <jwciit...@earthlink.net> wrote...
>
> "Stéphane Dumas" wrote:
>
> | Let's hope the fast-food chain rebuilding will be a success and I
> wish to
> | see Burger Chef revived from the ashes as well
>
> Since CKE, parent of Hardees and Carls, Jr., owns the Burger Chef
> concept and trademark, that seems very unlikely.
>
> A couple of years back, Hardees had a feeble attempt at selling Big
> Chefs again. The re-creation was ghastly, not at all like Burger Chef.
Didn't they have something called a frozen burger (help me I was a small
kid) that was basically a flavor ice or something?
I remember breaking a glass ashtray as a kid playing table hockey in the
restaurant...and getting denied that as dessert
MRSparkle
"John Taber" <jwt...@juno.com> wrote...
There is one in Cincy off of SR 32 at its last intersection with OLD 74 just
before you head west down the hill
towards Newtown.
Allston Parking Refugee
> I didn't know we had any left in Massachusetts. They used to be at
> service plazas on both the Mass Pike (I-90) and I-95/MA 128, but they
> all closed when the state awarded that contract to McDonalds.
http://www.geocities.com/royrogerslocations/massachusetts.html (an
unofficial site that seems to be up to date) says there's only one
Roy's in MA -- on Mashapaug Road in Sturbridge (near I-84 Exit 1).
-Apr
Pete from Boston
One remains, at Exit 1 off I-84 (Mashapaug Road).
Polkajig
>
>http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2003/12/22planforroyro
I read about it in Morris County, NJ's Daily Record almost a month ago, which
was almost exactly identical to the article that John found from Delaware's The
News Journal.
Greg Pniewski
Bernardsville, NJ
Grover
>kid) that was basically a flavor ice or something?
I only remember Burger King having something like that in 1977 or so. It was
called an "Ice Burger", or more accurately "Ice Brrr! Grrr!"
In the DC area, most of the Roy Rogers became either McDonald's or Boston
Market. One remains in Manassas on VA-28 and Hardee's Drive. Yes, that is the
name of the street, suggesting that the restaurant changed names over time.
Pete Jenior
"MRSparkle" <troym...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:3fe88a8e$0$30505$a04e...@nnrp.fuse.net...
house. I've heard its the only one in Ohio.
-Pete
Kevin Lagasse
> > Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
> >
Only three remain in Connecticut:
Newington- 3206 Berlin Turnpike (nothbound side of highway)
[(860)666-6463]
North Haven- Exit 12 off of I-91 (southbound side of US 5)
Manchester- Exit 63 off of I-84
The only Massachusetts location I know of:
Sturbridge- Exit 1 off of I-84
There used to be one off of I-87 southbound in Yonkers, NY near the
exit for the Cross County Parkway. It's now a Burger King.
Doug Krause
Kevin Lagasse <KML...@AOL.COM> wrote:
>The only Massachusetts location I know of:
>
>Sturbridge- Exit 1 off of I-84
There was one in Westfield on US 20 up until a year or so ago.
It has been torn down in part because of a new bridge being
built.
road warrior
Care to carry this over to the Yahoo! group "remembering retail"? We
have had a lengthy discussion about local fast food joints, and it has
drifted to topics like Roy Rogers. It's a really great group that a
few of us from mtr inhabit (including my new and unannounced entries).
Daniel Westfall
King. I wish these guys the best of luck in their efforts. Legend has
it that we had one here in Parkersburg near what will eventually be the
Division Street exit off US 50. It went empty as long as I could
remember before the eye doctor next door bought it and turned it into
part of his complex. As Stephane mentioned, Burger Chef would be nice
to see again. Anyone remember Borden Burger? It's been gone from here
by about 25 years when McDonald's first came into the area in the
mid-70's.
Dino
Ron Newman
dinos...@webtv.net (Daniel Westfall) wrote:
> Anyone remember Borden Burger?
Yep, it was a re-branding of BBF which stood for "Burger Boy
Food-O-Rama". BBF was a popular local chain all over Columbus, Ohio,
but it declined and died under Borden's management.
SP Cook
> The last I seen of RR was along the WV Turnpike which now houses Burger
> King. I wish these guys the best of luck in their efforts.
The Turnpike took a survey and it said that customers wanted national
brands in the service areas. At the time, they had Roy Rogers and the
pretty much WV only Tudor's.
> As Stephane mentioned, Burger Chef would be nice
> to see again. Anyone remember Borden Burger? It's been gone from here
> by about 25 years when McDonald's first came into the area in the
> mid-70's.
IIRC, the orignial chain was BBF, which was pretty much a McDonald's
clone. It was first into a lot of smaller markets around Columbus,
which was HQ. Often the only fast food chain in many Appalachian
towns in the late 60s-early 70s. It then became Borden Burger.
Borden ran it into the ground and it became a part of Burger Chef.
Burger Chef was eventually acquired by Hardee's. Franchisees were
given a period of time to either become Hardee's or switch to
something else. Hardee's owns the Burger Chef trademarks and tried to
bring back several things as a summer special, but it didn't work.
Now Hardee's has been acquired by the Carls Jr chain and is rapidly
becoming simply the eastern name of that chain.
As to Roy Rogers, it was a northeastern chain. Hardee's bought it and
switched the food to their menu. It didn't take and the chain was
spun off and returned to is own menu.
SP Cook
Arif Khokar
> ObRoads: when it opened the Princeton, WV, BBF-then-Borden-Burger
> was located at the then-end of US 219 at one of the intersections
> where US 19, US 21, US 219, US 460 and WV 20 all converged.
>
> The last time I was in downtown Princeton, the building was
> still there, still with the distinctive design, and housed
> a laundromat.
Does this laundromat happen to be near Mercer elementary school?
Angry Male
back from the in-laws in Syracuse to our home near Rochester.
(Clifton Springs is between Exits 44 and 45 on the Thruway).
Unfortunately, being located in a Thruway rest stop comes with higher
prices.
Otherwise, the restaurants are a rare sight. There used to be one 2
blocks from where I grew up on Long Island which is now a McDonalds
(on NY 231 in North Babylon - a mile down the road from another
McDonalds).
All hail the Fixin's Bar!
Arif Khokar
> Right around the corner, yes indeedy, at the intersection of
> Honaker and N. Walker.
It's still there. I don't remember it ever being a restaurant, but I've
only been in the area since '82.
Arif Khokar
Mike Reaser wrote:
> I moved to Blacksburg in the fall of '82, and I'm pretty sure it
> was a something-else (already a laundromat?) by the first time I
> visited my grandparents after "settlin' in".
I'm not positive. My family moved to Princeton in the spring of '82. I
was only 7 back then.
> IIRC, the BBF opened in either '68 or '69; we were on our summer
> visit "home" while living in DC, and happened to be there for the
> grand opening. It was *quite* a big deal, because the only other
> "fast food" in town was the KFC on South Walker (on the right hand
> side leaving Courthouse Square)
KFC was located on Courthouse road (I guess the roadway designation
changed since '68). The Old Bluefield Princeton road "crossing" of
Stafford drive had already been closed (though you can still see it
continue and join Courthouse road past Stafford drive.
> and the Burger Chef on Stafford Dr.
> Oh, and Kinney's out at the intersection of Athens Rd., Thorn St.,
> and Stafford Dr.
Those I don't remember at all.
> Of course, in 1968 Princeton High School was a couple of blocks
> away up N. Walker, while Princeton Junior High was on Straley Ave.
> in the building where my father attended High School (class of '52).
> By the time you moved there, the gym at the old school had burned,
> the Jr. High was sharing time with the High School on North Walker,
> the "new" school was being built (?)
I had heard references to the fire there when I was in elementary
school. As for the current high school, it was under construction. I
got to go there on a field trip when I was in 3rd grade. My memory of
it is rather fuzzy but I do remember that the hallway between the
cafeteria and the library was still under construction. I did not
graduate from there till '92 though.
> and the parts of the *old*
> school that survived the fire had become Straley Elementary.
>
> The KFC was one of the original ones, with the architecture that
> just screams "Hi! Can you tell what *I* used to be?".
Hehe, yeah I know. KFC actually closed down in '83 or '84 before
reopening in it's current (newly built) location in Pine Plaza on
Stafford drive (near Ingleside Rd) about 2 or 3 years later, IIRC.
> It sold
> both KFC as well as their late-60's-early-70's try at "fish-n-chips".
> The last time I was up there (April, 1997) the building had been
> painted green and I *believe* was a radio/electronics shop.
There was a video store (Vidiots) there till recently. Now it houses a
hair salon. I don't remember what color it's painted, though (though
the next time I look, I'll pay attention to the color).
> And this Trip Down Memory Lane has been brought to you by... :-)
Thanks :) It's nice to read about how the area was like before I moved
down here.
Kevin Lagasse
It's right off of Exit 1 from I-84 in Sturbridge, MA. We've got three
of them left in Connecticut: Newington (US 5/CT 15 northbound, a.k.a.
Berlin Turnpike [across from my place of work so I frequent it]),
North Haven (Exit 12 from I-91) and Manchester (Exit 63 from I-84).
I am NOT Gene Wood!
> >
> >
> >http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2003/12/22planforroyro
> ger.html
I wonder if Michigan ever had any Roy Rogers...? Anyone?
-- Bobby, who things Michigan needs more Wendy's, Hardee's, as well as
Stuckey's, Taco John's, and wouldn't care less if Blimpie dropped off
the face of the earth
Adam Prince
The owners of the company found out that you are a resident and to spare
themselves the harassing phone calls, they decided not to open any in
Michigan.
"I am NOT Gene Wood!" <wachov...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c0697d58.04011...@posting.google.com...
Chris Bessert
>
> I wonder if Michigan ever had any Roy Rogers...? Anyone?
I dunno. This is a roads newsgroup. You might want to look for a
fast foods newsgroup, Yahoo! Group, etc. However, you're more than
welcome to post any roads-related (e.g. things relating to roads)
items here, if you'd like.
> -- Bobby, who things Michigan needs more Wendy's, Hardee's, as well as
> Stuckey's, Taco John's, and wouldn't care less if Blimpie dropped off
> the face of the earth
That's... great. Thanks (again) for sharing.
Later,
Chris
--
Chris Bessert
Bess...@aol.com
http://www.michiganhighways.org
http://www.wisconsinhighways.org
http://www.ontariohighways.org
I am NOT Gene Wood!
> Bobby Peacock wrote:
> >
> > I wonder if Michigan ever had any Roy Rogers...? Anyone?
>
> I dunno. This is a roads newsgroup. You might want to look for a
> fast foods newsgroup, Yahoo! Group, etc. However, you're more than
> welcome to post any roads-related (e.g. things relating to roads)
> items here, if you'd like.
So other people can post OT, but I can't ?
Arif Khokar
> So other people can post OT, but I can't ?
Take it from me, you can. I'm the only one of the group who doesn't
waste time complaining about people who complain about my posts about
speed limits. Now quit your whining and post some more off topic stuff :)
Chris Bessert
> Chris Bessert <Bess...@aol.com> wrote:
>>Bobby Peacock wrote:
>>
>>>I wonder if Michigan ever had any Roy Rogers...? Anyone?
>>
>>I dunno. This is a roads newsgroup. You might want to look for a
>>fast foods newsgroup, Yahoo! Group, etc. However, you're more than
>>welcome to post any roads-related (e.g. things relating to roads)
>>items here, if you'd like.
>
> So other people can post OT, but I can't ?
Never said that.
Here's my take: This is a roads newsgroup. If you want to be a re-
spected poster and not an immature little kid who no one likes, you
might want to try posting on-topic for awhile. Then, every so often
if the urge hits you, participate in an off-topic thread. Your prob-
lem is that you ONLY post off-topic stuff about gas stations, motels,
shopping malls and fast food restaurants. Sure, such threads pop up
here every so often, but more as a SIDE DIVERSION from the regular
road-related topics, not as the only things we discuss here.
The reason so many people cringe at your posts is that you mostly
post off-topic and much of the "information" you pass along is untrue
and factually incorrect. This defeats the entire purpose of a topic-
driven NEWSgroup! Most of the on-topic stuff you contribute is along
the lines of "Me too!" and "That sounds cool." Do you see why people
here are so frustrated? Imagine if EVERYONE posted "Me too" and
"That sounds cool" to every thread! I shudder to imagine...
Like others here, I *do* take it personally when someone comes here
and drastically increases the crap-to-content ratio. I value this
forum and would like to see it continue as a ROADS-related NEWSgroup.
Bobby, you've lamented in the past that most of the fast food/motel/
game show newsgroups have denegrated into topic-less flamewars and
posting of viruses and porn links. Do you want to see m.t.r become
like that? I don't. And because of that, I will cease discussing this
with you... as I'm sure this whole discussion has been completely in
vain.
To everyone else on the newsgroup, I profusely apologize.
I am NOT Gene Wood!
restaurants. Geez.
Pete Jenior
> and drastically increases the crap-to-content ratio.
It's only a newsgroup, Chris. Don't get too excited about it...
-Pete
Chris Bessert
I know, I know. But still, I do value this forum as I've made several
friends and aquaintences here over the past seven(!) years and have
learned SO MUCH about this topic. Yes, it's only a newsgroup, you're
right, but a few bad apples can spoil an entire bushel and I'd hate
to see another mass exodous from m.t.r due to the likes of Bobby.
And, unfortunately, seeing his response to my last message to him
clearly tells me he didn't understand a word I said. Like I wrote,
"I'm sure this whole discussion has been completely in vain," and,
indeed, it was. I just wish he'd grow up, already... :^(