15 FORGOTTEN Dime Store Lunch Counter Meals Shoppers Ate Before Walmart Killed Them

In 1964, the biggest restaurant chain in America by number of locations wasn't McDonald's. It was Woolworth's — 1,950 lunch counters to McDonald's 611. You ate there. You just never called it a restaurant. This episode counts down fifteen meals from the dime store lunch counter: the 25-cent plate lunch at Kress in 1931, the turkey dinner Woolworth's served all year long, the 45-cent triple-decker, the quarter ice cream soda, the Kmart Chef, the Red Grille at Woolco, lunch with a pilgrim at W. T. Grant's Bradford House, the Pick-A-Balloon banana split that cost whatever the balloon said — and the egg salad sandwich in Greensboro that changed who was allowed to sit down. In 1962, four discount stores opened within months of each other: Kmart, Target, Woolco and Walmart. This is the story of which one finished off the lunch counter, and what it built in its place. The dime store sold things. The counter sold time. CHAPTERS 00:00 Bigger than McDonald's 01:23 1. The quarter plate lunch 02:16 2. Roast turkey, all year long 02:56 3. The triple-decker 04:01 4. The quarter ice cream soda 04:45 5. The fifteen-cent slice 05:15 6. Turkey croquettes 05:41 7. A hamburger and a dime Coke 06:10 8. Baked Swiss steak with gravy 06:58 9. The thirty-cent soup 07:42 10. The Kmart Chef 08:27 11. Popcorn and a real milkshake 09:25 12. Lunch with a pilgrim 10:20 13. The Pick-A-Balloon banana split 11:11 14. An egg salad sandwich 12:26 15. The Radio Grill 13:38 What replaced the counter EVERY IMAGE IN THIS VIDEO IS REAL No AI-generated imagery is used on this channel. Ever. Every photograph, menu and film clip you see was made by someone who was there. Archival sources: Library of Congress (including the Carol M. Highsmith Archive and the U.S. News & World Report Collection), Smithsonian Open Access, National Archives, Prelinger Archives, Duke University Ad*Access, Columbus Metropolitan Library. Which counter was yours — Woolworth's, Kresge's, Newberry's, Grant's, McCrory's, Kress? Tell us the store, the town and what you ordered. We read every comment. WATCH NEXT 15 FORGOTTEN Department Store Lunch Dishes That Vanished When Downtown Died 15 FORGOTTEN Cafeteria Meals Americans Ate on a Tray Before the Chains Killed Them 25 Forgotten Diner Foods From the 1950s That No One Orders Anymore FoodHistory #Woolworths #Nostalgia