Bob Collins
You may recall a few years ago in this space, we lamented the loss of a once-great icon along America’s highways: the orange roof of Howard Johnson’s. There were only three left in the nation, and one of those was closing.
Now, we’re down to one.
They were restaurants back in the day when signs touting “28 flavors” of ice cream beckoned road-tripping Americans to stop in for a break. Mine was Swiss chocolate almond.
It was once the largest restaurant chain in America.
Kiss it goodbye. The Howard Johnson’s in Bangor, Maine, is calling it quits.
“It’s not worth it to keep it open. We tried for four years,” Sally Patel tells the Associated Press. “We felt bad to close it.”
Truth be told, the Lake George restaurant was already the last one with the orange roof. The Bangor location removed theirs years ago.
“We’re doing great,” John LaRock, the owner of the last HoJo, says. “We’re going to do some renovations this winter. Spruce it up, keep it going.”
