You probably have a go-to favorite restaurant, whether it's a chain or just a local eatery in your town. For this writer Parkway Grill (Pasadena, CA.), Smitty’s (Pasadena, CA.), Pizza N’ Such (Claremont, CA.), Chapelli’s (La Quinta, CA.), Fall Creek House (Ithaca, NY), and Knight’s (Jackson, MI.) to name a few. But many food lovers also know the heartbreak that comes with your favorite restaurant closing for good. And if you grew up in the 1970s, you might have had to bid farewell to a number of your favorite chain restaurants.
We've rounded up a list of nostalgic restaurants that
have either gone out of business completely or have greatly reduced their
operations. If you got to try these 1970s restaurants before they closed,
consider yourself lucky.
Burger Chef
Howard Johnson's
Gino's Hamburgers
Bob's Big Boy
White Tower
Lum's
Steak and Ale
Red Barn
Canton Diner
Henry’s Hamburgers
Reading “The Restaurant” during a time when going to a
restaurant is vastly different makes for a strange experience. I'm trying to
remember when I last went to a sit-down restaurant, sat down, ordered and ate.
You? It must have been sometime in March. Or maybe February.
Restaurants in my small college town are starting to
reopen. Many have been open for takeout all along. What is new is that they are
setting up outside tables, six feet apart. Some local restaurants are not
reopening, another casualty of COVID-19.
How good an idea is it to read a book that makes you
want to eat at restaurants when (at least some of us) are wondering about the
safety of dining out?
The world might be divided into two kinds of people.
There are those of us who are perfectly happy experiencing life mostly through
books. These weeks and months of staying at home during COVID-19 have mostly
been OK for me. I'd rather be home anyway.
Then there are others who love books but, for some
strange reason, feel the need to experience the world firsthand. These people
are, I imagine, having a harder time with stay-at-home orders.
“The Restaurant”, for me, was almost as good as
visiting one. Knowing something about the history of how restaurants came to
be, how they evolved and where they may be going is deeply satisfying.
One of the joys of reading “The Restaurant” is that
its author, William Sitwell, is clearly enjoying himself. He tells the story of
the evolution of restaurants by picking and choosing among the places and
stories that interest him most.
The book begins in A.D. 79 at the Inn of Primus and
follows an imagined patron sampling Roman dining options the evening before the
eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Much of what we think of as the modern restaurant
experience (before modern meant takeout and social distancing) was present 2,000
years ago. Restaurants started as market food stalls, shifting to the eat-in
establishments we knew and loved before the pandemic.
The two-millennium restaurant tour starts in Pompeii
and ends at the most expensive restaurant in the world, a 12-person joint in
Ibiza called Sublimotion that will set you back $2,000 a dinner. Although from
reading Sitwell's description, and after watching a video about the place, I
think that this place is more about conspicuous consumption than fine dining.
In between Pompeii and Ibiza, we sample the restaurant
delights of 16th-century London public houses and the late-20th-century birth
of the farm-to-table movement in Alice Waters's famed Chez Panisse. (Where you
can't dine at the moment but can pick up farm boxes and pantry goods).
To get the full enjoyment of “The Restaurant”, I
highly recommend the audiobook. Sitwell narrates his book, and since he is
British, the narration is, of course, amazing.
The joy of dining out -- be it at a local diner or a
fancy restaurant -- is another one of those experiences that COVID-19 has taken
from us. We can only hope that when a vaccine is created and widely
distributed, the restaurants we love will still be around to seat us.
AMERICA JANUARY 25, 2021 - President Joe Biden will lead
a country with an aging population that is on shakier economic footing and is
more politically polarized than at most points in recent years.
Key metrics of financial and social well-being show
the challenges Mr. Biden faces as he moves into the White House on Wednesday.
The coronavirus pandemic halted the 11-year economic expansion and drove up
unemployment just as the typical American household was starting to enjoy
sustained income growth. Americans were living longer—an improvement from a
period when the opioid crisis eroded life expectancy—until the pandemic exacted
a swift, deadly toll. One government official said life expectancy could
decline by the largest amount since World War II once the government completes
last year’s mortality figures.
Long-running demographic trends also have shaped the
country. The U.S. is becoming more racially diverse. More Americans are
obtaining college degrees. Women are having fewer babies, and the population is
growing at its lowest rate in over a century.
After stagnating in the wake of the 2007-09 recession,
America’s earnings gradually improved starting around the middle of the last
decade. Median household income was $68,700 in 2019, up 6.8% from the prior
year and the highest figure on record. The poverty rate that year dipped to its
lowest level since the government began tracking it in 1959. Last year’s
figures are expected to show disparities in whose incomes suffered, with some
households being better off because of stimulus payments and extra unemployment
benefits.
The stock market has marched to near-record highs,
lifting the net worth of investors while leaving behind the nearly one half of
Americans who don’t own stock. Consumer debt has climbed as families have
borrowed more heavily to stay in the middle class.
Joblessness was at a half-century low before the
pandemic forced businesses to close their doors temporarily, and in some cases
permanently, starting in March. The U.S. economy shed 9.4 million jobs last
year, the most in any year since records began in 1939, and nearly double the
number from 2009.
The U.S. debt as compared with the size of the economy
reached its highest point since the end of World War II, after government
spending to combat the fallout from the virus rose sharply and tax revenue
fell.
An uptick in drug deaths and suicides began shortening
U.S. life expectancy midway through the last decade. That metric was starting
to improve until Covid-19 emerged last year to become the nation’s third
leading cause of death, according to early estimates from Robert Anderson,
chief of the mortality-statistics branch of the CDC’s National Center for
Health Statistics.
Kenneth M. Johnson, a demographer at the University of
New Hampshire, estimates that the pandemic will cause deaths to outpace births
in more than half of U.S. counties in 2020 for the first time in U.S. history.
Between 2010 and 2020, the number of people over age 55 grew by 27%, while the
population under 55 grew at a rate of 1.3%, according to estimates from the
Brookings Institution.
Another historical first is that the country’s
non-Hispanic white population shrunk toward the end of the last decade. The
number of Hispanics, Blacks and Asians in the U.S. continues to grow, and the
fastest-growing demographic is people of two or more races.
The share of noncitizens dropped steadily, falling
below half of all immigrants, as arrivals slowed under tighter controls and as
a steady stream of immigrants became citizens—almost three-quarters of a
million a year.
After growing during the 2007-09 recession, the number
of America’s uninsured began shrinking once the 2010 Affordable Care Act took
effect. The law subsidized private insurance coverage for low and middle
earners and gave states money to expand the Medicaid insurance program for the
poor. Those gains began to erode during the Trump administration, when the
number of Americans without health insurance coverage at some point during the
year rose for the first time in a decade.
The share of Americans who identify as conservative or
liberal hasn’t changed much over the past decade. But within the parties, there
has been a slight movement toward the more ardent corners of each ideology.
Among GOP registered voters, 37% identified as very conservative in 2020, up from
33% in 2010, according to Wall Street Journal polling. Among Democratic
registered voters, 25% considered themselves very liberal in 2020, up from 16%
in 2010.
In terms of geographic mobility, Americans were
relocating at one of the lowest rates on record at the end of the last decade.
In recent years, the population growth of large metropolitan suburbs and small
metropolitan areas has outpaced the growth in urban cores and sparsely
populated parts of the country.
COLLEGE CHRONICLES - Ithaca College has proposed eliminating 116 faculty
positions and discontinuing 26 majors, programs, and departments, primarily in
the humanities and sciences school, to ease a budget crisis. (The Ithacan)
The majority of FTE reductions will take place in the
School of Humanities and Sciences, with 20 departments having to make 41 FTE
faculty cuts. In the School of Business, four departments will have to make
seven FTE faculty cuts. The Roy H. Park School of Communications and the School
of Health Sciences and Human Performance (HSHP) each have three departments
making cuts, with 17 FTE faculty eliminations in the Park School and 11 FTE
faculty eliminations in HSHP. Two departments will eliminate seven FTE
positions in the School of Music. Additionally, the APPIC recommends three
non-school–specific reductions, six release time positions and 24 attrition
positions.
The “Shape of the College” document recommends which
programs and departments should be discontinued, reorganized, consolidated or
grown as part of the Academic Program Prioritization process. The APPIC shared
a draft with students, faculty and staff Jan. 13. Deans, faculty and program
directors will review the document and provide feedback throughout January, and
the Student Governance Council will host a Zoom meeting for students with the
APPIC at noon Jan. 19. A completed document will be presented to President
Shirley M. Collado and La Jerne Cornish, provost and senior vice president for
academic affairs, in early February. Decisions will be made about programs at
the end of February.
The undergraduate programs, departments and majors
that the APPIC recommends for discontinuation include the ICIC program. In
HSHP, the APPIC recommends the discontinuation of the Department of Recreation
and Leisure Studies, which includes the Therapeutic Recreation major and the
Outdoor Adventure Leadership major. In H&S, the APPIC recommends that the
Department of Communication Studies, including the Communication Studies major,
and the Department of Gerontology, which includes the Aging Studies major, be
discontinued. The Gerontology Institute, which promotes aging-related research,
curriculum and activities and is the academic home of the Longview Partnership,
will be restructured as a result of this proposed change.
The APPIC also recommends the elimination of 10
undergraduate teacher education majors housed in H&S and the three
undergraduate teaching majors in HSHP.
The graduate programs that the APPIC recommends for
discontinuation are the Masters of Music in Performance, Conduction,
Composition, Suzuki Pedagogy and String Performance as well as the Master of
Fine Arts in Image Text in the Park School.
The APPIC recommends that the tenured faculty and the
tenure–eligible faculty in these programs be relocated to other departments or
programs at the college. It also recommends that faculty contracts be managed
to support students enrolled in these majors and programs unti
l they graduate.
The APPIC also recommends the college to simplify its
undergraduate application process. The document states that the highly
structured curricula at the college and defined hours of coursework needed to
graduate may discourage applicants and that a new admissions approach should be
implemented.
In the document, the APPIC also recommends increased
flexibility of curriculum. The document states that the specificity of majors
and minors and the requirements to fulfill them can be confusing and limiting
for students. The APPIC recommends faculty to review school and department
requirements, examine prerequisites and consider opportunities for
collaboration and interdisciplinarity with other schools. This can include
decreasing the number of credits required for majors and minors, reducing the
numbers of concentrations offered within majors and reducing the numbers of
majors offered within a department.
Other - SAT: The College Board just dropped SAT essays and
subject tests (faster than you dropped your last No.2 Ticonderoga pencil).
University of Michigan athletics will shut down for
the 14 days beginning Sunday because of confirmed cases of the COVID-19
variant, B.1.1.7, which transmits more easily and can lead to more positive
cases.
That’s in accordance with an order from the Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services made Saturday, the Michigan athletic
department said in a release. There have been positive cases of the COVID-19
variant from “numerous individuals across different teams,” according to an
athletic department spokesman.
All sports in season, including men’s and women’s
basketball, will be affected, including practices, training sessions and games.
The shutdown is until further notice and up to 14 days. Athletes, coaches and
team staff had to isolate starting Saturday until further notice, up to 14
days, according to the Michigan release.
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Alan
Alda (85), Dick Cheney (80), Kim Grant …. Famous Alumni Director, Wayne Gretzky
(60), Abe Helou … Famous Dean of the CBPM, Alicia Keys (40), Patti Noreen …
Famous Director CAPA, Mimi Rogers (65), Oprah Winfrey (67).
TOP FIVE SEINFELD GIRLFRIENDS –
!). Elaine – Julia Louis-Dreyfus
2). Sidra – Teri Hatcher
3). Jenna – Kristin Davis
4). Jane – Jami Gertz
5). Patty – Lori Loughlin
TOKYO 2021 - Less than six months ahead of its new start date,
the dreaded word is being murmured about the Tokyo Olympics: "canceled.”
The Japanese government has privately concluded that
the Games will have to be called off, according to The Times of London
(subscription).
"No one wants to be the first to say so but the
consensus is that it's too difficult," a source told The Times.
"Personally, I don't think it's going to happen."
The source said the focus is now on securing the
Olympics for the city in the next available year, 2032. Paris hosts in 2024,
while L.A. hosts in 2028.
The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese
government insist that the Games are still on, calling the report
"categorically untrue."
Cases are surging in Tokyo, and the country's lack of
testing (~55,000 PCR tests daily) limits its true understanding of the spread.
Meanwhile, public opinion has turned against the
Games, with 80% of Japanese citizens saying they should be postponed again or
canceled.
A final decision likely won't be made until the latest
possible date, which is probably March 25.
THIS AND THAT - RIP: Hank Aaron died last Friday at the age of 86.
He was the record holder for home runs, RBIs, total bases, games played,
at-bats, and plate appearances when he retired in 1976 after 23 years in the
majors. Hank Aaron is the tenth baseball hall of famer to have died in the last
year: Al Kaline, Tom Seaver, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Joe Morgan,
Phil Niekro, Tommy Lasorda, Don Sutton, and Hank Aaron. There is crying in
baseball today.
Incidentally, the Rink Rats Mt. Rushmore of baseball
immortals: Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth.
The House will deliver the article of impeachment on
Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday.
The lobbying firm run by Trump ally Matt Schlapp
brought in $750,000 in the final two weeks of 2020 from a former top Trump
fundraiser and convicted fraudster who retained Schlapp to lobby —
unsuccessfully — for a presidential pardon.
Longtime journalist Dan Rather is launching a
newsletter on Substack.
PIC DU JOUR - This is a collection of empties from beer consumed
during the pandemic at a home of a Rink Rats reader to remain nameless.
MAN FROM SHAD – We recently received an email from long time Rink
Rats reader Jim Shatford. “Shad” writes of their plans to make the Halifax to
Tampa trip this winter. He emails: “We can bubble with those close peeps,
and kayak, cycle, go to the beach and play a bit of tennis. We tend to cook for
ourselves anyway, so no Door Dash or Skip the Whatever. Last time I mixed the
words “dine and dash”, it didn’t turn out particularly well! Ask “O” &
Clams!”
Good to hear from Shad, hope to see him this coming
summer.
CHOBANI - When a Kurdish businessman from Turkey took over a
shuttered Kraft yogurt plant in New York, Chobani was just a cool sound. 15
years later, it's the most famous Greek yogurt brand in America — with an
estimated $1.5B+ in yearly sales.
But yogurt peaked circa 2015, so Chobani got on the
oat train, launching oat milks and creamers in late 2019. The logical next
step...
Chobani's launching coffee. The new line of
ready-to-drink (RTD) coffees: sweet cream cold brew, cold brew with vanilla
creamer, and oat milk cold brew (theme: cold brew).
Not the Star Wars robot... That's R2-D2. RTD coffee is
one of the fastest growing segments of the non-alcoholic bev industry: sales
surged 17% from October 2019 to October 2020. Basically, the hard seltzer of
the caffeine world. You're not doing your typical morning Starbs run. Instead,
you have a Starbucks RTD can in the fridge for your 8 am Zoom call — or if
you're fancy, a Trader Joe's La Colombe. Chobani will face big competition with
Starbucks and Stok, which own over 70% of the $4.6B RTD coffee market,
combined.
It's "Branded House" vs. "House of
Brands"... We’ve seen Big Food companies expand from their core product to
entirely new brands — by acquiring or creating sub-brands. Kellogg started with
corn flakes, but now owns brands from Cheez-Its, to Pringles — but you still
associate it with cereal. Kraft is known for mac-n-cheese, but owns Planters
peanuts, Jell-O, Capri Sun, and every other brand in your 3rd grade lunch
(shoutout Lunchables). Chobani represents the opposite: a single branded house
that’s putting its own powerful brand front-and-center to develop new product
lines.
MARKET WEEK – America’s biggest banks have all now released their
financial results for the past year, data that reflect the strange economic
situation facing President Biden and his new administration. Parts of the
economy are booming, others are at a standstill and the outlook is
extraordinarily uncertain.
Wall Street’s core business is booming. Goldman
Sachs’s trading operation reported its highest annual revenue in a decade, a
factor that helped the bank more than double its fourth-quarter profit.
JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley also reported big jumps in their investment
banking and trading units after a huge year for bond issues, I.P.O.s and
M.&A. deals.
It’s a different story for Main Street. Other banks
with big consumer-lending arms didn’t fare as well, with Bank of America,
Citigroup and Wells Fargo lagging in terms of profit growth. The low interest
rates that prompted companies to raise debt have hurt banks’ net interest
income on consumer loans, which fell year-on-year for most lenders in their
latest results.
It could be worse. In the fourth quarter, JPMorgan
released nearly $3 billion worth of reserves that it had built up to guard
against loan defaults, while Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo
released a combined $2 billion in the same period. Over the course of the full
year, those four banks still added around $50 billion to their provisions
against credit losses, a sign that they remain on guard against a potential
wave of defaults. In the meantime, loan demand is low and deposits are piling
up.
Here's What’s Happening –
A grim pandemic anniversary. One year ago, the C.D.C.
confirmed the first Covid-19 case in the U.S., the beginning of an outbreak
that has led to more than 400,000 deaths in the country.
A prominent investor warns of “vanished” risk.
Baupost’s Seth Klarman, whose letters to clients are widely read around Wall
Street, criticized Fed policies like persistently low interest rates, arguing
that they mask the true health of the U.S. economy. “As with frogs in water
that is slowly being heated to a boil, investors are being conditioned not to
recognize the danger,” he wrote.
Trump’s family business is battered. The Trump
Organization’s revenue fell nearly 38 percent last year, dragged down by
signature properties like the Doral golf club in Florida and the Trump
International Hotel in Washington.
Kelly Loeffler’s Atlanta Dream is near a sale. The
W.N.B.A. team, which counts the former Republican senator as a co-owner, is
poised for new ownership, the league said in a statement. Players on the team
have objected to Ms. Loeffler’s ownership amid criticism of her stance on Black
Lives Matter and other positions she took as an outspoken ally of Mr. Trump.
Gummy: Millennial-friendly digital health startup Hims
& Hers goes public in a $1.6B SPAC merger.
Landed: United Airlines lost a big $1.9B last quarter.
Its CEO said a “critical mass” of people need to be vaccinated before there’s a
recovery.
Sweaty: President Biden on Wednesday signed an
executive order rejoining the US into the Paris climate accord.
Suite: TripActions, the company that lets you book
trips paid for by your boss, raised $155M in late-stage funding.
VR: Apple is reportedly working on a virtual reality
headset that includes fabric design (and a huge price tag).
Guac: Mission Produce — aka: the pure-play avocado
stock — saw sales and profits drop last quarter on lower avo prices.
Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin continued its swan dive to
below $30,000. Perhaps not related to the dip, but on Tuesday, Treasury
secretary nominee Janet Yellen warned about crypto's role in money laundering.
Whoever chose this stock ticker symbol is either a
genius, or is living under a rock. LMF Acquisition Opportunities has filed to
go public under ticker LMAO. The (apparently funnier) sponsor company: LMFAO.
Netflix shares surged to a record high last week on
some #streamy numbers. The Flix now has 200M+ paid subscribers (double from
2017). 100M+ households have watched The Crown to date, and 62M watched The
Queen's Gambit in its first 28 days. Investors also got excited about positive
cash flow: Netflix had more money coming in than going out last year, and
expects to be sustainably cash flow positive after 2021. It says it doesn't
need to borrow or raise money anymore (read: strong, independent streamer).
TOP PODCASTS – Here are the podcasts Rink Rats currently follow
while working, walking, playing golf, etc.
Hockey Central – Canada Sportsnet
The Daily – New York Times
Business Casual – Morning Brew newsletter
Diane Rehm On My Mind – Former NPR host
Here’s the Thing – Alec Baldwin
Robinhood Snacks – Stock trading app
Spittin Chiclets – Barstool hockey
Marketplace - NPR
The Megyn Kelly Show – Former Fox and NBC host
COVID-19 WHERE IT BEGAN - On Saturday, the Chinese city
of Wuhan marked the first anniversary of its infamous “lockdown,” when 11
million people were simultaneously put into strict quarantine to stop the
coronavirus from spreading across the country.
The lockdown lasted 76 days, from late January until
April.
At the time, the world was stunned that a government
would enforce such harsh restrictions on the movement of people and the ability
of businesses to operate. Little did we know that Lockdown Lite was coming to
countries and cities around the world in the subsequent months.
So what’s it like in Wuhan now? The Chinese have
largely managed to stamp out Covid-19, so life is almost “normal.” But a recent
uptick in new cases in other regions of China has muffled local business
activity, according to NPR.
China was the only major economy to grow last year.
It’s recorded fewer than 100,000 coronavirus cases and about 4,800 deaths in
total (some experts question these numbers).
Looking ahead...the upcoming Lunar New Year will put
China’s Covid response to the test. About 200 million people are expected to
travel in what’s referred to as humanity’s largest annual migration.
DRIVING THE WEEK - The week ahead
is a super busy one with everything from Apple and Tesla earnings to possible
more vaccine news.
The Fed meets, and while it is not expected to take action,
investors will be paying close attention to what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has
to say about the Fed’s bond buying program, inflation and the economy.
There is also important data,
including the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge Friday, and the first look at
fourth quarter GDP.
Gov. Gavin Newsom will lift
stay-at-home orders across California today. In Washington, Speaker Nancy
Pelosi is expected to transmit a House-passed impeachment charge to the Senate
today, setting the stage for the trial of former President Donald Trump to
begin the week of Feb. 8.
STAT OF THE WEEK - All-time
playoff wins:
Patriots: 37
Packers: 36
Steelers: 36
Cowboys: 35
Brady: 33
49ers: 32
SWAMI’S WEEKEND TOP PICKS –
NBA Pick of the Week – Saturday
1/30, 5:30 PM (PDT), ABC: Los Angeles Lakers (13-4) vs. Boston Celtics (9-6).
Celtics have struggled in the early season; Lakers are at the tail end of a
seven game road trip. Lakers win 98 – 94. (Season
to date 0-4)
NHL Pick of the Week – Saturday 1/30,
7:00 PM (EDT), NESN: Boston Bruins (3-1-1) vs. Washington Capitals (3-0-3).
Capitals are Rink Rats #1 Power Rating club thus far in the young NHL season.
They will not disappoint this Hockey Night in Washington Saturday, Caps win 4
– 2. (Season to date 2-0)
NCAA College Hockey Pick of the
Week – Friday 1/29, 7:00 PM (CDT), ESPN+: Michigan State Spartans
(6-8-2) vs. #12 Wisconsin Badgers (9-7-0). State has been playing better of
late, but the Badgers are too tough at home, Wisconsin 5 – 3. (Season
to Date 2-1)
Season to Date (7-5)
Next Blog: Weekend Edition:
Jack Ass of the Month, Dear Rink Rats
Until Thursday February 4, 2021
Adios.
Claremont, California
January 25, 2021
#XI-24-430
4,467 words, nine-minute read
CARTOON OF THE WEEK – Peanuts,
Charles Schulz
RINK RATS JANUARY POLL – You prefer…..
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Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations,
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participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada,
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Posted
at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010
Our
Eleventh Year.
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