Beloved Midwest restaurant chain closes, along with 'Ohio's Best Diner'; plus, a Chicagoland without Victory Auto Wreckers? 'Tis true! | Retrologist Roadside Roundup
Plus: Wes Anderson-esque hot dog stand closing; Toys 'R' Us comeback continues; New Mexico's oldest McDonald's remodeled; Pizza Hut bites into NYC; neon sign news; and much more!
Penguin Point, a chain of restaurants that first opened in 1950, is no more. The company announced on Facebook that the six remaining restaurants in the chain were to close this past Sunday. Penguin Point had retrenched to its home state after a period of expansion.
In my travels, I only got to visit one, in Elkhart, Indiana, and that one closed back in January.
The announcement came as a complete surprise for many – including the staff who found out this morning that they would be out of a job.
With a packed drive-through and huge lines inside, it seems just about everyone wanted to get one final meal from the restaurant.
David Cappes said he can’t believe all the remaining stores are shutting down.
“I had never had any idea that the whole chain in the whole state of Indiana were closed down. And I have sons that live out of state and that's going to be sad for them,” said Cappes.
Also caught up in the closures is Mr. Happy Burger, which opened in 1961. The store, in Logansport, Indiana, had opened 62 years ago this month.
Reports the Pharos-Tribune:
WSBT 22 says the new owner of Penguin Point struggled to continue in business after COVID-19. Penguin Point HR Administrator Tracy May confirmed to WSBT 22 that 94 full and part time employees learned of the closure Friday afternoon. She said in the WSBT 22 article that the workers, some of whom have been with Penguin Point for over 30 years, will qualify for unemployment.
The chain operated 23 stores at one point and in 2018, the remaining 13 stores were bought by U-S Assets, WSBT 22 says in their article. This number was at seven by last November, according to WSBT 22. Mr. Happy Burger was opened by retired local entrepreneur Bob Shanks, who won the highest honor the Indiana governor can give, the Sagamore of the Wabash, last August.
Below is a nice profile of Mr. Happy Burger.
Chicagoland’s Victory Auto Wreckers, famed for long-running commercials, to close
I grew up in the New York City area, and watched copious amounts of television in the 1970s and 1980s. When my local cable operator added Superstation WGN-TV Channel 9 to the lineup in 1984, when they still beamed out the raw Chicago feed, I devoured its lineup and can today flex my Chicagoland nostalgia muscles like any proud Gen Xer who actually grew up in the Windy City. So when I heard the news that Victory Auto Wreckers in Bensenville (near O’Hare, as the ad helpfully points out!) is closing after almost 80 years, I was hit with a surprising wallop of melancholy.
Its iconic ad, first shot in 1985, constantly ran on WGN and other stations, featuring a hippie-type fellow (played by then-Victory employee Bob Zajdel) with a chunky leather wristwatch who gets extremely frustrated by his jalopy of a sedan, whose driver’s door comes right off when he tries to open it.
But his frustration turns to jubilation when a generous worker from Victory Auto Wreckers shows up with cash in hand to take that hopeless gas-guzzling lemon off his hands.
Victory Auto Wreckers’ owner Kyle Weisner told Dean Richards during an interview on WGN Radio Sunday that the longtime auto salvage yard will stop accepting cars on Nov. 18, before closing its doors for good on Nov. 30.
Victory Auto Wreckers, located in Bensenville, has been in business since 1945. Weisner’s family has owned it since 1967.
A later version of the ad is voiced by Richards, interestingly, so it’s appropriate that Richards broke the news.
Above is the commercial from one of my favorite YouTube accounts, FuzzyMemories.
Here’s raw footage of the filming of the iconic 1985 version of the commercial.
There’s even a cartoon version, below!
Hathaway’s Diner goes away after almost 70 years in downtown Cincy
I happened to write this just a few blocks from downtown Cincinnati’s Hathaway’s Diner, which I had just learned has closed after 67 years, so it was easy for me to head over for some shots.
The store was behind in taxes and had reportedly worked out a deal to pay them — its vendor’s license had been pulled — but the Cincinnati Enquirer reports business was down, the owner said, due to fewer people working downtown as well as competition from food trucks.
The Food Network named it the “Best Diner in Ohio” back in 2019. The restaurant opened in the Carew Tower in 1956, when it was the tallest in Cincinnati. “The diner itself has gained a larger-than-life reputation by feeding generations of locals, from solo diners to curious foodies to longtime regulars, as well as a long list of famous folks, including Elvis Presley and President Eisenhower,” the Food Network reported.
Duk’s Red Hots in Chicago to close after almost 70 years — to get new look and name
I was shocked to learn that one of Chicago’s iconic hot dog stands is closing after a management change. After reopening following a facelift, it will abandon the classic name.
This place has such an amazing vintage look, and the West Town grub spot has lasted so long — almost 70 years — that it’s hard to believe it will really be rebranded.
[Carol ] Chavez, who has managed Duk’s for 20 years, said she was a “little shocked” by the news, which she learned about over the weekend from ]owner] Dukatt’s son.
Chavez announced the changes Sunday in a Facebook post that has since been shared almost 300 times and racked up dozens of heartfelt comments from longtime Duk’s patrons and former employees.
Chavez said Wednesday she’s not entirely sure what the plan is for the new restaurant, but she’s heard it will continue to sell hot dogs and street food — albeit with a needed facelift. A message left at the office of Dukatt’s son was not immediately returned Wednesday.
I wrote about Duk’s in an Instagram post a few years ago:
Step right up, folks, and get your tasty red hots at Duks!” OK, so there was no carnival barker outside this 1950s Chicago hot dog stand commanding passersby to pull over, but it’s so easy to imagine such a greeter wearing a straw hat and waving a cane — or maybe a hot dog.
The whimsical architecture is straight out of an old-fashioned state fair. The chasing light bulbs make a wonderful mechanical racket, too. Duks puts you in a festive mood. It’s one of the iconic spots in a region that takes its hot dogs seriously, for around every corner in Chicagoland, there seems to be a place to get the savory treat.
When they opened the first of what became for a time a chain of hot-dog stands, Donald Marsalle and Mervyn Dukatt, inspired by the marketing potential of combining their first and last names, respectively, opened up Donald Duk’s Red Hots.
The signage even featured a Disneyesque Duck in chef’s hat. And so it was called Donald Duk’s until the Walt Disney Co. caught wind of the infringement and pointed out that, well, this “Duk” was not birds of a feather with the real fellow in the Magic Kingdom. (The story is relayed on Vienna Beef’s website.)
Before you could wish upon a star, Donald’s name was gone. Much everything else stayed the same, however, and remains so to this day, more than 60 years later.
Oh, Duk’s inspired a Wes Anderson parody, the The Royal Tenenbeefs! Watch below.
DULY NOTED!
CHUCKING THE ANIMATRONICS! Chuck E. Cheese is jettisoning its animatronic band, Munch's Make Believe band, at all locations except a restaurant in Northridge, California, where the gang will be preserved in the interest of nostalgia. This is part of a broad refresh of the brand, including a new storefront. It’s in keeping with today’s efforts among chains to modernize while keeping tokens of the past for those looking for them. [USA TODAY]
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE MCDUST: New Mexico’s oldest McDonald’s, opened in 1959 and was frozen in its mansard state for 43 years, is getting McBoxed. [KOB4]
TOYS ‘R’ US TIME OF YEAR! Boutique Toy “R” Us stores have opened inside of Macy’s department stores by the hundreds, but only one location is a standalone store: The one at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey (photos from my June 2022 visit above). But that’s about to change: A second standalone TRU is reportedly set to open at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. WHP Global, which acquired TRU’s intellectual property in the United States after the original chain closed, has said it plans to open 24 “flagship” stores here. [USA TODAY]
HAVE A NEW YORKER IN NEW YORK: Pizza Hut recently announced they are opening 10 new locations in New York, and we have a sighting at 85th Street and 37th Avenue in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. Will New Yorkers, rightfully proud of their pizza, bite? The first Manhattan location — an “Express” takeout store — opened in 1989, and the first sitdown experience in Manhattan was in Washington Heights, opening last year, according to amNewYork.
POINT ME IN THE DIRECTION OF ALBUQUERQUE! New Mexico was the last state in the Four Corners not to get an In-N-Out, but that will change in 2027. [KOB4]
‘‘ROYAL’ FAMILY SELLS: The Royal Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, has been sold, ending 120 years of family ownership. The restaurant, with its blade neon sign saying “restaurant,” has been at its present location since 1965. [Zebra.org]
ADIOS, AMIGO: The U.S. 61 restaurant, South of the Border, is closing. (The name is a reference to its location in St. Francisville, Louisiana, just south of the border with Mississippi. The restaurant features an Art Deco building and a stunning neon sign. [magnoliastatelive]
SIGN OF CHANGE: Milt’s Coffee Shop in Bakersfield, California, is no more, and is now called the Old River Grill, but its sign is being donated to the Kern County Museum. [KGET]
WASHING AWAY HISTORY: A historic car wash in Columbia, South Carolina, has closed and was being demolished. The Constan Car Wash has an interesting footnote in Columbia history. Between 1964 and 1974, it was home to a live tiger, which became a curiosity and led to the creation of a zoo in town. The tiger, called Happy, became the first animal to move into the Riverbanks Zoo. [WLTX]
VIVA THE PALMS CASINO RESORT SIGN! The Neon Museum in Las Vegas has unveiled the gleaming restoration of the Palms Casino Resort neon sign, the 24th such restoration in the Neon Boneyard. [artdaily]
ATLANTA’S QUEEN BEE: Michelin Guides recently began to review Atlanta restaurants, and they have honored the Busy Bee, a restaurant founded in 1947 whose cuisine has been called “the South on a plate.” The Busy Bee won the “the 2023 Bib Gourmand Award, which highlights restaurants with the best food at an affordable price point, reports Because of Them We Can.
HOPE FOR STARLITE’S FUTURE DIMS: The transformation of Denver’s Tom’s Diner into Tom’s Starlight, preserving and protecting its Googie building, was hailed as a win and recently received an award. But the business itself is now for sale. [Westword]
NEON SIGN LIGHTS UP HIDDEN HISTORY: A wonderful neon sign hung on the side of a long-gone restaurant in Kansas City. It had been there so long, few knew much of anything about the business, Dixie Lan Bar-B-Que. The city, concerned for its fate, placed it in the caring hands of a neon-restoration shop. And now, after more than four decades, the sign’s family backstory is coming to light. [Kansascity.com]
BACK AT THE RANCH: One of San Antonio’s most stunning signs belongs to the Ranch Motel, which has reopened and now comes with pickleball! (It wouldn’t be 2023 without pickleball.) [San Antonio Current]
DISCO-ERA DEAL: The 1976 Skate World Sign from Springfield, Oregon, is for sale — $10,000 and it’s yours, along with a link to the glory days of roller-rink culture in America. “For those who grew up in the '80s, the sights, sounds, and neon lights of Skate World undoubtedly hold a special place in their hearts. From birthday parties to weekend hangouts, it was a haven for fun, friendship, and first crushes,” is how That Oregon Life puts it. Just take my money! :)
SIGNS ENSHRINED: Make sure to add Tucson’s Ignite Sign Art Museum to your list of places to visit. Celebrating its fifth anniversary, the museum is “home to hundreds of historic signs, many from Tucson’s past — celebrated five years of neon and Americana this month,” reports This Is Tucson.
HAVE YOU EATEN AT FORD’S, LATELY? The vintage Ford-themed restaurant, Ford’s Garage, is making its first foray into New York state, opening a location on Long Island. The chain is a Ford licensee, and its first location, in Fort Myers, Florida, is said to be near Henry Ford’s summer home there. Above is a location I photographed last week in Norwood, Ohio. [Greater Long Island]
CARIBOU BLUES: The first location of the Caribou Coffee chain, in Edina, Minnesota, is closing. It opened in December 1992. [MPR News]
HOORAY? The Hollywood Sign turned 100 on Halloween. But the Washington Post writes that LA is in “no mood to party.” Boo!
COMFORTING NEWS: The family behind Saxon Shoes, the 70-year-old shop in Richmond, Virginia, staple, is selling to an Alexandria-based chain, Comfort One, but the Saxon name will stay, reports ABC 8.
BUSY BEAVER: Buc-ee’s keeps expanding from its Texas turf, now sinking its chompers into the Piedmont area of North Carolina, reports FOX 8. It would be the second one in the Carolinas, following the opening of one in Florence, South Carolina, a few years back.
SIGN SPOTLIGHT!
I spent the past few days exploring Cincinnati and parts of Indiana and Kentucky as part of an amazing trip related to my job. I’ll have more in the newsletter soon! Above is one of my favorite shots — a restored Holiday Inn Great Sign at the American Sign Museum. Stay tuned!
There’s just something about Chicago… classic, Midwest city. I miss the Chicago 90s as a kid. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Ferris Buellers Day Off… Rainforest Cafe, Home Alone… simple times.