![]() Roaring 1920s style decor with wood and decorated glass, Tiffany lamps, red and white gingham, and Black & White silent films playing on screens all around the restaurant guaranteed Mothers was a place that once visited was never forgotten.Īlso like Vetere's, the Pizza was phenomenal, and their 99 cent Root Beer floats with take home glass were the stuff of playground legend. It's not hard to see why Alger was so enamoured with Mothers - Like Frank Vetere's, the ambiance was crucial to the experience. Thankfully not all of our beloved retro chains have sad endings: Mothers Pizza Parlour & Spaghetti House, another fondly remembered family joint - returned from the grave back in 2013.īusinessman Brian Alger acquired the expired trademark to Mother's Pizza - one of his favorite brands growing up (along with the Pop Shoppe, which he also acquired) - then teamed with Restaurateur Geeve Sandu to reboot the franchise using the same original formula. Not much of a happy ending for that "celebration". The majority of their remaining locations were unceremoniously gobbled up by Outback Steakhouse, with nary a drop of salsa left behind. It helped that before Taco Bell got a stranglehold on the GTA in the mid-1990s, Chi Chi's was the only ubiquitous Mexican game in town.īy the 2000s, Chi Chi's fell apart thanks to a combination of bankruptcy and a fatal hepatitis A outbreak traced back to green onions served at one of their Pittsburgh restaurants. Sadly the same issues which had affected Frank Vetere's ultimately brought down Ponderosa, which still survives as a US chain but saw a total collapse in Canada in the late 1980s when the majority of their locations were converted into Red Lobsters at a time when our country was experiencing a massive renaissance in seafood.Ĭhi Chi's Mexican restaurants - catchphrase " A celebration of food!" - also score high on the nostalgic food-o-meter, primary thanks to their yummy deep fried ice cream, piping hot plates and cheap margaritas. Also, the deserts on display were always a sight to behold. Ponderosa was a popular birthday destination in the 80s, owing to the group friendly prices, kid friendly zones and fun-tastic birthday hats. The restaurants housed an authentic Cowboy styled atmosphere with saloon doors, stag horns, wood walls, yellow and brown uniforms for the staff and red and white checkered table clothes. Named after the ranch in TV's long running oater Bonanza, Ponderosa offered up affordable chopped steak, baked potatoes, all-you-can-eat salad bar, coconut cream pie and mushroom gravy smothered fries. to sell most of their locations to Pizza Hut, who wasted little time in aping Vetere's popular Deep Dish style Pizza but without the pizzaz.Īnother fondly remembered chain also owned by Foodex Inc. Dads were happy to sink their $2 steins of house lager while the legendary free-with-dinner Frank Vetere's soda glasses can still be found at local thrift shops.Īfter a massive expansion which saw over 40 locations arise in Ontario (22 in Toronto alone), the chain was crippled by the 1982 recession, forcing owners Foodex Inc.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |