13 Fast-Food Chains Only True ’80s Kids Will Remember
Growing up in the 2000s, my dad would tell me about the good old days when America was “still great” and how the '80s drive-thru restaurants shaped his teenage years.
Back in the 1980s, the internet had not ruined human connections. Kids played in the neighborhood until the street lights came on. American families would converge at the parlor to see Star Wars sequels like The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. Children bonded over Nintendo games, while adults fraternized over politics, entertainment news, and sports.
The best part of living in the '80s was the family trips to different restaurants. Most of these restaurants are no longer in business, but the memories they left linger. Here, we picked the most distinctive and popular fast-food chains the 80s had to offer.
McDonald's
McDonald's is one of the few fast-food chains established before the 1980s that is still operational in the 21st century. It is also the largest fast-food chain in the world.
McDonald's was founded by the McDonald's brothers, Maurice and Richard, in 1940. The American restaurant started as a barbecue joint. Later, when there was a high demand for burgers, it added them to its menu.
McDonald's most popular dishes are hamburgers, French fries, and cheeseburgers.
The fast food chain is, however, lacking healthy meals. It has been criticized and sued because of the negative effects of its products.
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor
It was not just the food offered at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor but also the exclusive experience it delivered. Farrell's had a popular tradition of gifting birthday celebrants free ice cream sundaes. Customers were also greeted with great fanfare whenever they ordered the Zoo Sundae. Farrell's employees would provide the meal by merry-go-rounding the restaurant and blaring ambulance sirens while they were at it.
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour offered burgers, ice creams, sandwiches, sodas, milkshakes and malt. Instead of printing the menu on laminated card stocks, they used tabloid-style newspapers.
Another exciting food item was the pig-trough meal. If the customer finished the meal, Ferrell's employees would announce the achievement to everyone in the restaurant and honor the person with a pinball button that reads, “I made a pig of myself at Farrell's.“
Farrell's was a place to take your family on holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays. In 2019, it closed its last restaurant in Brea, California.
Naugles
Naugles offered a blend of Mexican and American fast foods. The Southern California restaurant was the best spot for night eats. Naugles was the first fast food company to offer a 24-hour drive-thru service.
At Naugles, you could get combo meals for as low as $1. They sold burgers, burritos, tacos, and other foods.
1995 witnessed the end of Naugles. However, the fast food chain re-emerged in 2016, thanks to Christian Ziebarth, a blogger. He posted about how much he cherished Naugles and wished they would resurrect. The blog post went viral and birthed the second coming of Naugles.
Chi Chi's
Chi Chi's added a festive touch to the American dining industry. According to the company's slogan, “Life always needs a little salsa.”
The restaurant's decor featured bright colors and Mexican themes. They offered Mexican-inspired dishes such as salsa, tortillas and margaritas.
The food chain is no longer in business.
Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers Roasters advocated for healthy meals. Their slogan was “less fat…less salt….less calories.” They replaced deeply fried chicken junk foods from most American restaurants with wood-fired rotisserie chicken.
The American chicken-based restaurant was founded by Kenny Rogers, the popular country artist, and John Y. Brown, an ex-governor of Kentucky who also served as a former KFC CEO.
The fast-food restaurant is no longer operational in the United States but is functional internationally, with locations in Dubai, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and India.
Arthur Treacher's
Arthur Treacher's was named after Arthur Veary Treacher, an English actor who played a butler and manservant in shows like Thank You, Jeeves and Heidi. According to the Vice President of Arthur Treacher's in 1975, the fish recipe the restaurant used belonged to Arthur. The actor served as the company's spokesman in its early years, and the fast food chain's cozy interior is Britain-themed.
Only two Arthur Treacher's locations are active today, but there are plans to open a third.
Showbiz Pizza Place
Many fast-food restaurants opened in the 1980s but differed from the Showbiz Pizza Place. The American fast food chain offers pizza (of course), pasta, burgers, barbecue, etc.
The American restaurant chain was not just a pizza restaurant but also an entertainment hub. '80s kids loved it because of arcade games and animatronic characters displayed at Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants. Rock-afire explosion bands played while families celebrated birthdays and milestones.
Robert Brock and Creative Engineering (CEI) founded Showbiz Pizza Place. Brock's major aim was to incorporate arcade games and animatronics into the food business, just as it did in bowling alleys and bars then.
The Showbiz Pizza Place declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1984 and stopped operating under its original brand name in the mid-1990s. It was rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese. In 2014, the fast food chain was sold to Apollo Global Management.
Lum's
Lum's was well-known for selling beer-steamed hot dogs, ice-cold apple juice in a frosted mug, and grilled cheese sandwiches. The fast food chain was founded by Clifford Perlman, a U.S. Army vet, in 1955. He raised $6000 with his brother to buy a 16-seat dinner at the center of Miami Beach.
Lum's was successful because it offered quality meals at a time when junk foods were the rave of the moment. They also prepared diverse American dishes using traditional cooking methods.
In 1971, John Y. Brown, the then-chairman of the Kentucky Fried Chicken, bought the Florida-based family dining chain.
Sandy's Drive-in
Sandy's Drive-In was a restaurant where young people and families visited for fun and food. It offered an exclusive American drive-in dining experience featuring shiny cars and music.
The midwestern fast food restaurant was created by four men: Gus “Brick“ Lundberg, Paul White, W.K. Davidson, and Robert C. Wenger. They severed their business ties with McDonald's in a bid to start a new fast-food chain that was people-oriented.
Sandy's stood out in the way it treated its workers. Its employees had the freedom to have fun while making their daily bread. One of the four founders, Lundberg, was popular for fostering deep connections with his employees, whom he visited regularly. In addition, the operators of these restaurants had full ownership and were not obliged to obtain supplies from the organization.
Hardee's purchased Sandy's in 1971.
Burger Chef
Burger Chef revolutionized the American fast food industry by adding combo meals consisting of hamburgers, toys, and drinks to their menu list. Such meals include fanburger (consisting of a hamburger, puzzle, and drink), fun meal (containing a hamburger, riddle, and puzzle), and cackle burger (having a hamburger, drink, and a small toy).
McDonald's copied the combo meal idea and named it Happy Meal. Burger Chef sued McDonald's in 1972, and they lost the legal suit.
Gino's Hamburgers
Gino's Hamburgers was founded in 1957 by American footballers Gino Marchetti, Alan Ameche, and Joe Campanella. The American restaurant was popular for its hamburger meals, which included burgers, milkshakes, sandwiches, and French fries.
People often confused Gino's Hamburgers with Papa Gino's pizza chain because the former was less popular in its baby phase.
Gino's Hamburger executives were popular for their philanthropic contributions to American youth. The company's co-founder, Gino Marchetti, sponsored many educational and athletic projects.
Biff Burger
Earl and Bruce Branes founded Biff Burger in 1956. The American food company was popular for its flame-broiled burgers, prepared using the Roto Red broiler, which the Branes brothers designed. The roto-red broiler was designed to broil and toast the beef simultaneously, giving it its popular “flame-broiled“ taste.
Biff Burger closed all operations on December 7th, 2021.
Pizza Inn
Pizza Inn is a Dallas-based fast food chain that offers American-style pan pizza, pasta, and other dishes. Like McDonald's, Pizza Inn is still in business, so you can relive the good old days.
In 2020, Pizza Inn was in the news for criticizing the 2020 United States presidential election results. Although they took down the post on their official website, readers can still access the Facebook post featuring the 630-word controversial statement.
