Retrologist Roundup: Doughnut Day Edition. Plus, news about Dairy Queen, Steak and Ale, Sears and more
Also inside: A motel made famous by the Rolling Stones is popping up in Manhattan, and many more roadside headlines
Happy Sunday! I hope you enjoyed your “extra hour of sleep” as most of the nation returns to standard time. (Arizona and Hawaii avoid the biannual clock craziness and stay on standard time.) You can reward yourself by having a donut because fall-back day happens to fall on Nov. 5, which is National Doughnut Day!
If it seems like we just celebrated National Donut Day – note the different spelling – it’s because we did. There are two on the books – the first one happens on the first Friday in June. That holiday was created in 1938 by the Salvation Army, a nod to the “doughnut lassies” who were dispatched to the front lines of World War I in France two decades earlier to support the soldiers, or “doughboys.”
The lassies whipped up donuts, a welcome taste of home for the boys "over there." Their metal helmets were said to be perfect for making donuts in a pinch. It's a sweet story, and the Salvation Army uses the holiday as a fundraising opportunity each year.
The origins of the second celebration -- spelled National Doughnut Day -- are murky. The folks at Mental Floss got curious, too, and learned there may also be a veterans’ connection. Food-holiday historian John Bryan Hopkins found traces of the November celebration as far back as the 1930s, Mental Floss explains, and the Nov. 5 date, so close to Veterans Day, suggests it was also meant as a salute, perhaps by a business, to honor the “doughboys” who had served in World War I.
At any rate, I present what I think is the sweetest sign for the occasion, blending clocks and donuts – Donut Time in Oakland, California. The business, actually called Donut Corner, is long gone, but the sign, though it no longer keeps time, marches on. [MAP]
Notes From the Road
SKYLINE KING: Things are looking up for the Empire State Building. The tower is 90 percent leased and bringing in buffo profits from its observation deck. Prominent tenants doubling down on the tower include Starbucks and LinkedIn. [New York Post]
CANDY PRESERVED: One of Chicagoland’s famed candy factories, the Mars Wrigley Factory in Austin, is up for landmark protection. [Book Club Chicago]
ROTTEN (TO THE CORE) NEWS: A significant portion of the beloved but long-abandoned Red Apple Rest in Tuxedo, New York, has been demolished. This restaurant was once a popular stop for travelers on their way to the Catskills and back, a cherished memory from Borscht Belt summers of yore. I always made a point of stopping here for pics, and last did so in September for what turned out to be my final visit. No word on what will happen here, but the building was said to be structurally unstable, necessitating the demolition. [News 12]
DAIRY QUEEN — OF MEAN? More and more, it seems Dairy Queen corporate is playing hardball with legacy stores, forcing design (and menu) changes upon them — or else. And the latest example of this trend is the threat to the signage at the Dairy Queen in Shelbyville, Indiana. This store is the last one with a Curly the Clown sign, and the operator says corporate wants Curly — along with the iconic blue projecting neon sign — gone by year’s end.
The company introduced its first DQ restaurant with Next Generation design in 2019 and has seen long-time stands close in response to its standardization efforts.
A Merritt Island, Florida, Dairy Queen, in business since 1965, closed its doors after owners complained about corporate mandates.
The company last May snatched the franchise of a Carbondale, Illinois, store that had the old neon rooftop and opened in 1952 when the franchisee refused to make mandated changes to the menu and building, including getting a new sign. The operator reopened the store as an independent ice cream shop in July.
Meanwhile, a Dairy Queen stand in Lombard, opened in 1953, has a similar neon sign designated a historic landmark in the village.
Perhaps others have fallen, too, as there has been a rash of additional DQ closures of late that have been reported to me.
DQ did not respond to the Indy Star’s request for comment, and I plan to take a deeper look at just what’s going on here.
The legacy stores are, to me, the ultimate brand ambassadors of Dairy Queen, and corporate should be doing everything to support them, not force standardization upon them. They also offer a limitless source of free publicity for DQ, from, say, posts like those on my Instagram. My most successful post ever — a collection of classic DQs — reached millions of people and garnered over 68,000 likes. Photos of Grill & Chills won’t do that.
My friend, the writer and historian Martin Treu, author of “Signs, Streets and Storefronts,” summed it up nicely to the Star:
“They’re important remnants of the past and they're important remnants of Dairy Queen history ... whether they think so or not," Treu said. “They’re community landmarks. ... They keep a piece of history of the street that's been changing. For a lot of people, they’re nostalgia. And it's part of American design history.”
Why would corporate want to destroy these stores?
It doesn’t make sense to me. I very much doubt they undermine overall profitability or hurt their image, so … what gives?
THERE’S STILL MORE LIFE IN SEARS? What’s this? A Sears has reopened for business? I told you a while back that might be happening in Burbank, California, and it finally has. KTLA finds the early verdict among shoppers is mixed. [I’ve also heard reports of a second Sears reopening, in Union Gap, Washington, on Monday. Stay tuned.] For the record, there are only about a dozen Sears stores left, down from a peak of 3,500. [KTLA]
THE RESTAURANT THAT CRIED WOLF? The return of cherished names in South Florida Jewish delicatessens — the Original Wolfie’s Deli and Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal House — is on hold after the new restaurant, in Sarasota, closed after a mere two days, citing staffing issues. [Business Observer]
I visited the old Rascal House in Sunny Isles, Florida, back in 2006, a couple of years before it closed, and missed the original Wolfie’s, in Miami Beach, entirely.
I wish the new team well, and hope to visit soon.
YE OLDE GOOD NEWS! Steak and Ale, the Tudor-style steakhouse chain that closed in 2008, is making a comeback. The first new restaurant will be at a Wyndham hotel on Nicollet Avenue in Burnsville, Minnesota, according to Eat This, Not That! There has been big demand for this, with a Facebook page advocating for the chain’s return garnering over 50,000 followers.
Excerpt of the article below:
It will feature several nods to the original Steak and Ale eateries fans knew and loved, like the Tudor-style decor, original logo, and salad bar. The menu will also include some classic fan-favorite menu items like the Kensington Club, Hawaiian Chicken, Steak Oscar, and baby back ribs, as well as some old favorites that have been reimagined, per FSR.
This upcoming Minnesota restaurant will start serving guests in April 2024, but that will only mark the start of Steak and Ale's comeback. Roy Arnold—CEO of Kansas-based Endeavor Properties and the same franchisee who is opening the Wyndham hotel location—scored a 15-location deal in the Midwest. Arnold also has the exclusive rights for expanding Steak and Ale in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, FSR reported.
RESTAURANT FELLED: Bertha’s Mussels, a mainstay of Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood, has closed after 51 years. I’m sure the ghost that is said to haunt the place will stay put. [Baltimore Banner]
FROM MONTAUK TO MANHATTAN: The iconic Memory Motel, made famous in a “Rolling Stones” song that references the Montauk mainstay, is opening a pop-up in Manhattan’s East Village. [Dan’s Papers]
SIGN ME UP! A gorgeous neon sign for the long-shuttered Lanai Liquors in San Mateo, California, is for sale for $8,500. For the right person, this is one heck of a score. [Craigslist] [SF Gate]
I’d also be grateful if you could hit SHARE to get the word out!