Groceteria.com

There is a former Howard Johnsons restaurant in Merced,CA. It is currently a Carrows and is located at 720 Motel Ave. The Carrows sign should be near the highway directing you to exit.

That was a Howard Johnson's? My dad's ex-wife worked there, I never knew it had been a HoJo's! (I currently work next to an abandoned HoJo hotel and restaurant, but it's too scary to explore)

Perhaps you can make an effort to get some photos of the HoJo's near you!

This is one picture of the abandoned HOJO next door to where I work. It's been closed for over 20 years. You can see bits of orange peeking out under the blue paint of the restaurant area. This hotel also had a Red Coach Grill on the top floor.

Daniel wrote:This is one picture of the abandoned HOJO next door to where I work. It's been closed for over 20 years. You can see bits of orange peeking out under the blue paint of the restaurant area. This hotel also had a Red Coach Grill on the top floor.

it's a shame my friend from Michigan isn't out here... we'd jump at the chance for some good UrbExing!

May I suggest:

http://www.orangeroof.org/

It has a list of pretty much every HoJo restaurant and motel location ever in the US and photo features on a good number of them. Plus there has been some cross-contribution between our two sites :)

Daniel wrote:This is one picture of the abandoned HOJO next door to where I work. It's been closed for over 20 years. You can see bits of orange peeking out under the blue paint of the restaurant area. This hotel also had a Red Coach Grill on the top floor.

Let me guess - there must be something off to the right that everyone wanted to see? Just noting the way each room's window was tilted to face the same way (toward the end of the building).

Yes, that would be Lake Erie... When the hotel was opened, brochures boasted that every room in the hotel had a view of the lake. Some people have gone in there, but there really isn't much of interest inside. After the hotel closed, it was bought by someone who wanted to renovate it but went bankrupt before they could finish. Consequently the building is gutted and there isn't anything resembling the rooms or restaurant left. From websites I've seen that have photos, the lobby area is intact and that's all.

I had the fortune of eating at the Bay City, MI HoJo's (which was actually a re-opened location!) on a few occasions. In fact, on one occasion, I actually met Rich Kummerlowe and Dan Don'tknowhislastname of Orangeroof.org there! I also had dinner there on my 18th birthday (March 10, 2007), about two months before the location closed. As of this writing, the former restaurant is still vacant.

Still curious to see how long those two in New York will hang on...

Groceteria wrote:May I suggest:

http://www.orangeroof.org/

It has a list of pretty much every HoJo restaurant and motel location ever in the US and photo features on a good number of them. Plus there has been some cross-contribution between our two sites :)

Indeed, is a neat site.

Will have to let 'em know an addition to the City of Industry, Puente Hills Mall site.

As mentioned, the site originally was inside the mall. It did so well, that they eventually built a free-standing site outside the mall facing Azusa Avenue.

It did well over the years...and then became a string of other restaurants, including Bennigan's and Red Robin.

It is currently an Asian bank.

There is a recording of a Howard Johnson's restaurant advertisement from the early 1970s that can be heard in an MP3 file posted by a former employee of ABC Radio named Ted David.

Visit http://teddavid.org/ABCAnncrsDemo.mp3 Start listening at 25:58.

The ad refers to the "orange roofs." It refers to fried clams, which apparently was a "signature dish" of Howard Johnson's restaurants. It says that the chain is one of the largest users of fried clams in the world. A jingle of Howard Johnson's is heard, "Someone you know wherever you go."