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In 1925, Howard D.
Johnson, Massachusetts drug store owner, added a line of homemade, double
butterfat hand-dipped ice cream to attract customers. Ice cream drew long
lines and quickly, Johnson capitalized on the concept and opened a
restaurant with three flavors of ice cream, vanilla, chocolate and
strawberry and a simple menu of hot dogs and hamburgers. However, ice cream
remained his hallmark along with his popular advertising marquee of Simple
Simon the Pie man talking with a small boy and his dog.
When the financial depression in the
1930's crushed the nation, Johnson could not get funding to expand, so he
created franchising. Three hundred franchises blossomed. By 1954, the
number grew to four hundred and soon Howard Johnson motor lodges emerged to
complement the growing Howard Johnson company that turned public in 1961.
The Ground Round
and Red Coach Grills were established by the company and
during the 1970's Howard Johnson's was the largest chain
in the US with nearly one thousand restaurants, all
billed as "The Landmark for Hungry Americans."
Gone are the
parlors that once served the famous twenty-eight flavors
of ice cream that drew families into the restaurants,
including my own. I always thought it special that my
Uncle Bill worked in the New Brunswick Howard
Johnson's. As kids, we stood in long lines during hot
summer nights, waiting for the cones that Uncle Bill
would pack extra high for us.
Today, the Howard
Johnson food empire numbers under 13 restaurants and 2
ice cream Parlors. On occasion, one might see remnants
of the food chain in frozen food cases. HoJo specialty
foods: Macaroni and Cheese, Tender Sweet Fried Clams and
Chicken Croquettes.
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Can you list all of
Mr. Johnson's twenty-eight flavors?
Banana,
Black Raspberry,
Burgundy Cherry,
Butter Pecan,
Buttercruch
Butterscotch,
Caramel Fudge,
Chocolate,
Chocolate Chip,
Coconut,
Coffee,
Frozen Pudding,
Fruit Salad,
Fudge Ripple,
Lemon Stick,
Macaroon,
Maple Walnut,
Mocha Chip,
Orange-Pineapple,
Peach,
Peanut Brittle,
Pecan Brittle,
Peppermint Stick,
Pineapple,
Pistachio,
Strawberry,
Strawberry Ripple,
Vanilla.
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