The Rise and Fall of America's Orange Roof Empire: Howard Johnson's

The rise and fall of Howard Johnson's, America's biggest restaurant chain: in the 1960s it served more meals outside the home than anyone except the U.S. Army. By 2022, it had zero restaurants left. In this documentary, we tell the full story of Howard Johnson's: how it started in 1925 in a small drugstore in Quincy, Massachusetts, how it grew to more than 1,000 orange-roofed restaurants, the decision that brought it down, and what is left of it today. Chapters: 0:00 The last Howard Johnson's 1:42 A drugstore and 28 flavors 3:39 The man who franchised America 5:08 King of the turnpike 8:25 The number nobody looked at 9:33 Copied, then beaten 11:28 Worth more dead than alive 12:50 The last ones standing 14:11 Who killed the orange roof? Sources: Howard Johnson's – Wikipedia (and its references to Fortune, Life, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Paul Freedman's book "Ten Restaurants That Changed America") "Howard Johnson's: Last of once popular eateries closed in N.Y." – Associated Press "Once America's largest restaurant chain, last Howard Johnson's closes" – CNN "Last surviving Howard Johnson's restaurant closes" – WOKV Archival photos: John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive, Library of Congress (no known restrictions) Archival film: "Give Yourself the Green Light" (1954), Prelinger Archives, Internet Archive (public domain) Some scenes in this video are AI-generated recreations used to illustrate the story. Which Howard Johnson's did you go to? Tell us the town and the year in the comments. #HowardJohnsons #RiseAndFall #LostBrands Subscribe to The Last Location for new documentaries every week about America's lost and fallen brands. Which brand from your childhood should we cover next? Tell us in the comments. All stories are researched from public sources listed above. Some scenes are AI-generated recreations for illustration.