Top 10 Oldest Establishments of Their Kind in the World: Airport and Restaurant

From March 31, 2022, ListVerse by Kerri Lee Gluch.

I am just listing them.  For more information, go to the site.

10.  AIRPORT:  College Park Airport, Maryland.  Opened 1909

9.  MOVIE THEATER:  State Theater in Washington, Iowa.  Opened May 14, 1897.

8.  SHOPPING MALL:  Galleria  Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy.  Opened in 1877

7.  ZOO:  Tiergarten  Schonbrunn on Vienna, Austria.  Opened 1752

6.  RESTAURANT:  Restaurante Botin in Madrid, Spain.  Opened 1725.

--Cooter

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 1: Lots and Lots of Booze

From the October 16, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Amy Bizzarri.

Before it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, the "Floating Mansion" that was the Titanic set the bar for luxurious dining.  

Four city blocks long and as tall as an 11-story building, this mega ship spoiled its first-class passengers with exquisite 10-plus course meals prepared by top chefs using state-of-the-art cooking equipment, including the toaster and the electric sorbet maker,  served in airy cafes and lavish dining halls that rivaled the finest restaurants in Paris.

More than 1,000 bottles of wine, 850 bottles of spirits and 20,000 bottles of beer were stocked in its hold, and the bartenders were well-versed in the hottest cocktails of the era-- the stirred, strained, bracing Manhattan and the gin and sparkling lemonade Tom Collins.

Enough Alcohol?  --Cooter

Four Once-Popular Restaurant Chains on the Down Side

From the April 9, 2022, MSN "4 once popular  burger chains that are currently shrinking" by Owen Duff.

1.  FRIENDLY'S

Founded 1935.  At peak in 1980s, had about 850 locations.  Currently at about 125.

2.  JOHNNY ROCKETS

Founded 1986.  About 147 remain.

3.  RUBY TUESDAY

Founded 1972.  Between 2016 and 2020 it shrank from 673 stores to 209.

4.  TGI FRIDAYS

Founded  1965.  Between 2017 and 2020 shrunk by more than 140 restaurants.  Now at just 311 locations.  

I used to go to the TGIF near Gurnee Mills in Gurnee, Illinois, quite often to play NTN trivia on the TVs..  Back then, all TGIFs had NTN.  Great food, reasonable beer prices and good times back then.

I'd never been to one of the first two on the list.

--Cooter

Looking Back at the Old Puppet Bar in Fox Lake

This place sure meant a lot to me back in the 1980s as I was starting my deejay business and this was one of the first places I had a regular job from 1982 to 1988 or so.  If it was still open and owned by Joe Gates, I might very well still be deejaying there,  I had some mighty good times.

At the Fox Lake Historical Society meeting on March 19th, a man brought in a book for the 75th anniversary of the Fox Lake Fire Department printed in 1983.  He passed it around and I quickly leafed through it and, guess what, I found an ad from the old Puppet Bar (actual name Eagle Point Park).

The ad had some prices which I found of particular interest.

Friday Fish Fry was $3.95 in 1983.

On Wednesdays you could get AUCE bbq ribs, crab legs, shrimp, soup, potatoes and salad bar for $7.95.

And, it mentioned that it was shown on the "Real People" TV show.

I found out about this place when I saw it on that TV show.

I know my buddy Frank will like this.  Right Frank?

I Think I Could Afford to Eat There.  --RoadPuppet

Five Pop Culture Trends That Helped Shape the 1980s

From the February 25, 2022, History  "Five pop culture trends that helped shape the 1980s" by Lesley Kennedy.

A mighty interesting list.  Hey, I remember those.  For more information (and pictures) go to the site.

1.  Women's Power Dressing:  

Shoulder pads, oversized double-breasted suits.

2.  Food + Fun = Entertainment:

Chuck E. Cheese, Show Biz Pizza, Medieval Times

3.  Music Goes Visual:

MTV, of course.  Would I have ever liked to have had this growing up.  Wow!!

4.  The Mall Food Court Had Its Heyday:

Hey, go eat while shopping.  Remember Orange Julius,  Sbarro, Panda Express and Auntie Anne's?

5.  Toy Crazes Spark Frenzies:

Three words:  Cabbage Patch Kids.  Also Rubik's Cube and Teddy Ruxpin.

I never ever was able to do that stupid cube!!

Hey, do you remember the very first song played on MTV?  (Answer below)

--CooterPatch

"Video Killed the Radio Star"

Eat, Drink and Be Murray-- Part 8: 'Caddyshack'

**  At the back of the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont, surrounded by a drab parking lot, there is another homage:  The Murray Bros. Caddyshack, one of two "Caddyshack" theme restaurants owned by the brothers (Murray Brothers in case you're wondering).  The other one is in St. Augustine, Florida.

"Eat, Drink and Be Murray" reads the sign.  Inside, a sports bar, outfitted with Bill Murray posters, Murray family holiday pictures and even a real Murray --Andy is the chef, floating between the two locations.

Stuffed gophers sit at every other table to encourage social distancing.  Booths are tartan.

The deep fried golf balls (mashed potatoes, bacon, horseradish) is the clubhouse munchy yopu imagine Indian Hill would prohibit.  They also sell their own brand of vodka.

In allIt's all modestly charming, and yes, Bill drops by-- a few times a year.  A waiter confided:  "Though to be honest, that family is so big it's like one of them is here every day."

**  Before "Caddyshack" was released 40 years ago, Ramis told the tribune that although the film was contemporary, its '70s nihilisms and casual golf club already made it a period piece.

He wished they set it in the '60s like "Animal House"  The movie "should have said at the beginning 'Chicago 1963' because 'Caddyshack' really is about things that don't exist anymore."

--Cooter

A 'Stray' Baby Found in DeKalb in 1920

From the MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1920, 100 Years Ago.

"At 9:30 o'clock this morning the police received a call from the New DeKalb restaurant that a stray baby had been there for an hour and no one had called to claim it.

"The baby was left at the restaurant and within ten minutes Mrs. T.H. Hobbs called up the police and asked if a baby had been seen.  It turned out that the baby was that of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Duncan  and it was soon returned  to her."

Imagine if that happened today, and why was it that Mrs. T. H. Holmes called the police when it was someone else's baby?

Imagine what would happen if the same thing happed these day?

Must remember to leave the pasture gates closed as those babies can crawl faster than you think.

A Whole Lot More Than A Returned Baby, I'm Sure.  Did They Round Up Stray Babies Back Then?  --CootBaby

A Short History of Spring Grove, Illinois-- Part 3: Growth, Then Decline Caused By the Automobile

Walter Carey introduced electricity to the village in 1918, using a waterfall n the Fox River to generate the power.

The business community continued to grow until the 1920s, when the use of automobiles owned by residents made travel to other communities easier.  Many of the businesses in Spring Grove closed.

Completion of US-Highway 12, which goes right through the village, a few blocks south of the old downtown, increased traffic, many on their way to Lake Geneva, about twenty miles away in Wisconsin.

One business that has been a bar/restaurant is located in the old downtown and has been there since the 1890s is now called The Grove and a popular spot for food, watching sports and entertainment.

Of course, we knew we had made it as a village when we got a Jewel grocery store, Walgreens and a McDonald's several years ago.  Plus, there is a growing strip of businesses along US-12.

--Cooter

McDonald's Bring Overseas Offerings to U.S.

I wrote about 21 items offered at McDonald's in other countries back in December 2013 and they sounded delicious.

Now, I see they are bringing some here to the U.S. for limited times so I will have to get over there and check it out.

Sure hope they have the Kiwi Burger from New Zealand.

When I have been overseas, I never have had a problem going to an American fast food place as they often have different menu offerings.  I'd never, however, order a quarter-pounder or Big Mac.

--CootMac

History Wears a White Suit-- Part 2: Col. Harlan Sanders

Harlan Sanders was born in southern Indiana and moved to Corbin, Kentucky in the early days of the Great depression to work a service station where he sold fried chicken to travelers as a side job.  Word spread of how good his chicken was and business boomed.

He eventually expanded the gas station to include a larger cafe and a motel.  The restaurant has been restored to its 1950s appearance but customers order KFC in a modern addition.  The place also has lots of memorabilia.

Starting in the 1950s, Col. Harlan Sanders began going around to places selling bags of his secret eleven herbs and spices along with customized pressure cookers.  Joe Ledington, a nephew of the Colonel's said: "He'd put four or five in the trunk of his car and head out selling those pressure cookers.  he never had a penny to his name until he was 65 years old."

--CooterColonel

History Wears a White Suit-- Part 1: Col. Sanders and KFC

From the September 11, 2016, Chicago Tribune  by Jay Jones.

"You might not have heard of Harland Sanders Cafe, but   you certainly know the famous fried chicken first served here more than 75 years ago.

"This  unassuming restaurant in a small town in southeast Kentucky is where Col. Harland Sanders perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and launched what would become Kentucky Fried Chicken, a corporate giant with nearly 20,000 outlets around the globe."

The white frame restaurant was built in 1940 in Corbin, Kentucky, and is on the NRHP.  We were driving on I-75 through the area and saw a sign for the place and just had to pull off the road and visit it.  I'm a fan but I do like Popeye's Chicken and Jewel chicken better.

The restaurant itself has been restored to its 1950s look and you can buy some chicken to eat in an addition to the place, which we had to do.

--ColCooter

I Sure Got My History Last Week-- Part 1: Our 45th Wedding Anniversary

And, I can never get too much history as you might guess.  The more the better.

Last week, August 22 to August 28, Liz and I went out to the Mississippi River to Galena, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowa, to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary, and that is some history right there.  We went to Galena or our honeymoon and visited Dubuque back in 1973.

The motel we stayed in, the Palace, an old mom-and-pop motel, no longer stands, but there is still one of those mom-and-pop motels in Galena called Grant Hills Motel and we stayed there for four nights.  A highlight for us was eating dinner at The Log Cabin Steakhouse in Galena which is where we ate the day after we got married.  Other than the prices, that place has not changed a bit since then.

--DaCoot

Sugar Rationing in 1918

From the July 25, 2018, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Hotels and restaurants in DeKalb received their sugar allowance cards from the food administration, taking care of their allowance for the next three months.

"The eating places of the city are allowed three pounds of sugar for every 90 meals served, and it is required that the next three months' supply be anticipated, and proper requisition made to the sugar department of the food administration."

Rationing During World War I.  --Cooter

A New Chili Place Opening in DeKalb in 1917

From the October 4, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"Jim Hayes has leased the little room on Fourth street at the rear of the Balou-Ronan building and will open a small lunchroom.

"The new place will be  known as 'The Little Chili House,' and the opening is announced for tonight."

Be a First-Nighter.  --Cooter

Getting "Hooverized" for the WW I Effort: Wheatless and Meatless Days

From the November 29, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back.:

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"Meatless and wheatless days are a common thing around this neck of the woods, and it seems that everywhere one goes there is work of "Hooverizing" in evidence.

"The local restaurants eliminated pork, beef and all by-products from their menus and although there was little to choose from save fresh fish and egg dishes, there was not a word of complaint heard."

Doing It For the Troops.  --DaCoot

The Chain of Lakes' Mineola Hotel-- Part 1: Built in 1884

From the September 28, 2016, Hi-Liter "Looking back at the Mineola" by Sandra Landen Machaj.

"Once the Grand Dame of Fox Lake it now sits deserted on those same shores.  Built in 1884, it has had a long journey from largest hotel on the Chain of Lakes, to a restaurant and bar and finally as an empty building in disrepair fighting to avoid demolition, a long journey since its glory days."

Tjhis pretty well sums up its history.

If you've ever seen a picture of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, this is essentially the Mineola, only smaller.  We never went to it as a hotel, but have had many fun times in the bar and restaurant over the years.  It was located on the lower level and is now all boarded up.  there was even a short time when they had banquets on the main level and, of course, there was that great veranda with that gorgeous view of the length of Fox Lake.

--Cootola

Original Chicago Names-- Part 1: Jays, Pizzeria Uno and Wrigley Field

From the August 26, 2016, Chicago Tribune "Quiz guarantees to rate knowledge of original names" by Mary Schmich.

"Life, as they say, is change."

Comiskey Park is receiving that new name and now I see that Tribune Tower has been sold.  Can it be long before that name, too, is changed.

Of course, I don't change names of structures from what I grew up with.

ANSWERS ARE BELOW.

1.  JAYS POTATO CHIPS WERE ORIGINALLY CALLED:

A.  Mr. Jay's Potato Chips
B.  Mrs. Japp's Potato Chips
C.  Mama J's Yum Yums.

2.  BEFORE PIZERRIA UNO WAS PIZZERIA UNO, IT WAS CALLED:

A.  The Pizerria
B.  Pizzeria Ricardo
C.  Pizzeria Zero

3.  THE ORIGINAL NAME OF WRIGLEY FIELD, HOME OF THE CHICAGO CUBS, WAS:

A.  Northside Park
B.  Weeghman Park
C.  Goat Park

Smells Goaty to Me.  --Cootserria

ANSWERS:

1.  B.  Mrs. Japp was the wife of the company's founder.  The name was changed after Pearl Harbor because of anti-Japanese sentiment.

2.  A and B.  In the 1940s, at the corner of Wabash Avenue and Ohio Street, Ric Riccardo opened the Pizzeria.  He and his partner evolved that into Pizzeria Ricardo, which then evolved into the legend.

3.  B  Charles Weeghman made a fortune off lunch counters.  he eventually sold his stock in the Cubs to a guy named Wrigley, who made a fortune off chewing gum.

I got 1 and 3 correct and guessed A on the second question.

Founder of Chick-Fil-A S. Truett Cathy, Died in 2014

From the September 8, 2014, Yahoo! News.

Mr. Cathy, 93, was a devout Southern Baptist who founded the company in 1987.  It now has 1,800 locations in 40 U.S. states.  In keeping with his religious beliefs, all are closed on Sundays.

I must admit I love their cow advertising.

Finch's Restaurant in Raleigh, N.C., Relocating

From the June 18, 2016, Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer "After seven decades Finch's must relocate" by Sarah Nagem.

The restaurant opened during the 1940s on Peace Street in downtown Raleigh and the building will be demolished when the state rebuilds the Capital Boulevard bridge.

And, they have many, many very loyal customers, but this fall, it will be serving its last breakfasts from this location.

Howard Finch opened it in the 1940s when Raleigh had fewer than 50,000 people, about one-ninth of its current population.  It has changed owners several times over the years, but still a place where the waitress will call you "hon."

Nothing about the place is fancy.

Since 1945.  Located at 401 W. Peace Street.  Open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m..

Blueberry Pancakes!!  --DaBlueCoot

Charles Weeghman-- Part 1, Chicago Entrepreneur and Cubs Owner

From Wikipedia.

I have been writing about the KKK in the Chicago area in the 1920s and their big initiation ceremony at the farm of millionaire Charles Weeghman in Lake Zurich, Illinois.

March 12, 1874-November 1, 1938

A founder of the short-lived Federal league (1914-1915).  made a fortune running a type of early fast food franchise in the Chicago area..  he worked for Charlie King in his restaurant and came up the idea of serving only cold sandwiches and cramming his diners together at one-armed school desks so that he could fit more chairs into his stores.

He eventually owned 15 stores in the Chicago area.  It was reported that his place at Madison and Dearborn in Chicago served 35,000 people a day.  At one time his net worth was put at $8 million.

--Cooter