Laughner's Cafeteria was an Indianapolis, Indiana-based cafeteria-style restaurant chain.
Laughner's Cafeterias roots trace to 1888 with the opening of Laughner & Perry Confectionary. It was a joint between William Jonathon Wesley Laughner (Jonathon) and William J. Perry. Laughner later bought out his partner in 1892, and in 1900 opened Laughner's Dairy Lunch, also in Indianapolis. Jonathon's brothers, George A., Ora and Elmer, all entered the business. Jonathon and his son Claude opened a restaurant together, and Claude's five children later joined the business. Claude introduced the cafeteria-style restaurant concept in 1920. His sons, Charles, Lloyd, and Richard, formed Laughner Brothers. A cousin was involved in the founding of rival MCL Cafeterias. [1]
Laughner Brothers attempted to enter the fast food business with two different drive-ins, one of which was called Laughner's Steer-In, [2] but they were not successful. Besides the Laughner's Cafeterias, they opened the Dutch Oven in 1971, a pie shop and cafe, Jonathon's Restaurant and Pub, a full-service restaurant, in 1978, The Oven and Classic U.S. Foods. [1]
Cafeteria-style restaurants began to decline in popularity in the 1980s, and Laughner's was hit by this decline. They began closing the out-lying restaurants and gradually retreated to Indianapolis. The last cafeteria closed in 2000. [1] [3] Over its 112-year history, four-decades of the Laughner family served in the company. [4]
Charles "Chip" Laughner, Jr, the last CEO of Laughner's, converted one of the newer Laughner's Cafeterias to a new concept, Loon Lake Lodge, in 1998. Located in Castleton, Indiana in a high-traffic area, the lodge-themed restaurant served traditional American fare with twists. Rattlesnake and pheasant were on the menu, as well as elk and venison. [5] This venture was spun off as a separate family-owned company, Laughner Investments, headed by Chip.
In the summer of 2010 the Laughner family closed the Loon Lake Lodge, [6] wilderness-themed restaurant, ending a 122-year run in the restaurant business for the Laughners in Indiana. The Laughners cited declining sales and health problems as the reason.
Howard Johnson's, or Howard Johnson by Wyndham, is an American hotel chain with locations worldwide. It was also formely a restaurant chain. The restaurant was founded by Howard Deering Johnson in 1925; in the 1950s, the company expanded operations by opening hotels, then known as Howard Johnson's Motor Lodges, which were often located next to restaurants. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S., with more than 1,000 combined company-owned and franchised outlets.
Roy Rogers Franchise Company, LLC is a chain of fast food restaurants primarily located in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. The chain originated as the rebranding of the RoBee's House of Beef chain of Fort Wayne, Indiana, acquired by the Marriott Corporation in February 1968. However, Marriott first used the Roy Rogers Roast Beef name on conversions of the company's Junior Hot Shoppes in the Washington, D.C. area in April 1968, then the existing RoBee's stores. An aggressive nationwide franchising campaign was launched. At its peak, the chain included over 600 locations. The chain now has 40 locations in six states, either company owned or franchised.
A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or lunchroom. Cafeterias are different from coffeehouses, although the English term came from the Spanish cafetería, same meaning.
L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fashions, the Tea Room, holiday events and displays, and the basement budget store. As urban populations shifted to the suburbs, Ayres established branch stores in new shopping centers in several Indiana cities. Ayres also acquired retail subsidiaries in Springfield, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky. Ayr-Way, the Ayres discount store subsidiary, became the first discount store launched by a full-line department store. By the end of the 1960s Ayres had become a diversified merchandising business with retail department stores, a chain of discount stores, specialty clothing stores, a home furnishings showroom, and a real estate holding company. A long-time Ayres slogan, "That Ayres Look", promoted the company as a fashion leader, and by 1972 it had become the oldest continuous retail slogan in the United States.
Portillo's Restaurant Group, Inc. is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in the Chicago area that specializes in serving Chicago-style food such as hot dogs, Maxwell Street Polish, and Italian beef. The company was founded by Dick Portillo on April 9, 1963, in Villa Park, Illinois under the name "The Dog House".
ALCO Stores, Inc. was a retail chain operating 198 stores in 23 states, primarily in the United States Midwest. The company was founded in 1901 in Kansas by Alva Lease Duckwall.
Cheeseburger in Paradise was a casual dining theme restaurant chain in the United States that operated between 2002 and 2020. The chain started in 2002 as a partnership of American musician Jimmy Buffett's company, the Orlando, Florida-based Margaritaville Holdings LLC, and OSI Restaurant Partners, with Buffett licensing the name and Outback Steakhouse operating the franchising of restaurants. After a change of ownership in 2012, most of the restaurants were closed by 2014. The last location closed in September 2020.
MCL Restaurant & Bakery, formerly known as MCL Cafeterias, is a chain of American cafeteria-style restaurants based in Indianapolis. As of April 2022 there are 13 locations in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
The Madam C. J. Walker Building, which houses the Madam Walker Legacy Center, was built in 1927 in the city of Indianapolis, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and as Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The four-story, multi-purpose Walker Building was named in honor of Madam C. J. Walker, the African American hair care and beauty products entrepreneur who founded the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, and designed by the Indianapolis architectural firm of Rubush & Hunter. The building served as the world headquarters for Walker's company, as well as entertainment, business, and commercial hub along Indiana Avenue for the city's African American community from the 1920s to the 1950s. The historic gathering place and venue for community events and arts and cultural programs were saved from demolition in the 1970s. The restored building, which includes African, Egyptian, and Moorish designs, is one of the few remaining African-Art Deco buildings in the United States. The Walker Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Toddle House was a national quick service restaurant chain in the United States, which specialized in breakfast but was open 24/7. Lunch and dinner entrées included soups and salads and various sandwiches. Much of their business was takeout.
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria is an American Chicago-style pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. It was founded by the son of Rudy Malnati, who was instrumental in developing the recipe for Chicago-style pizza, and it has become one of the Chicago area's best-known local lines of pizza restaurants. Lou Malnati's operates a division of its company called Lou Malnati's Presents Tastes of Chicago, a partnership with Portillo's Restaurants and Eli's Cheesecake, which ships Chicago-style cuisine nationally.
Michael D. Symon is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is of Greek, Sicilian, and Eastern European descent. He is seen regularly on Food Network on shows such as Iron Chef America, Burgers, Brew and 'Que, Food Feuds, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate, as well as Cook Like an Iron Chef on theCooking Channel and The Chew on ABC. He has also made numerous contributions to periodicals such as Bon Appétit, Esquire, Food Arts, Gourmet, Saveur and O, The Oprah Magazine.
Danners, Inc was a company based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, that operated retail and restaurant outlets. Its largest, and oldest, division was the Danners 5 & 10 chain of five and dime stores, which it closed in 1985.
Louisville Stoneware, previously known as Louisville Pottery, is located in the Highlands section of Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1815, making it one of the oldest stoneware companies in the United States, it creates fanciful stoneware that is nationally renowned. It specializes in decorating its pottery with Kentucky Derby and Christmas themes, but it has other themes as well: Noah's Ark, Primrose, and Pear being examples. They can also create personalized items. Besides pottery, they have made bird baths and bird feeders.
The North Irvington Gardens Historic District is a neighborhood and national historic district in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 2008. It is immediately to the north of the Irvington Historic District, which has been on the National Register since 1987, sharing the same east and west boundaries of the older district, and extending north to 10th and 11th streets. It is a neighborhood of mostly residential buildings dating primarily from 1910 to 1950, with no one distinctive architectural style, including a house associated with the historic Osborn Farm. Except for one church, the only buildings contributing to the historic nature of the district are 843 houses and 551 garages. Most fences in the district mark the perimeter of the individual properties; very few are along the streets.
Giordano's is an American pizzeria chain that specializes in Chicago-style stuffed pizza. Brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio founded Giordano's in 1974 in Chicago, Illinois. The pizzeria has since expanded to over 65 locations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, and Wisconsin. The chain has also expanded to offer catering and ship frozen pizzas in the United States.
The historic building now operated as the restaurant Jakes Chaparral had a number of prior uses including Kanab Lodge, Parry Cafeteria, Utah Parks Building and Wok Inn restaurant in Kanab, Utah, USA. The original section of the lodge is a house built in 1885, which was expanded between 1928 and 1932 by the Utah Parks Company to serve as a rest stop for tourists about halfway between the north rim of the Grand Canyon and Zion or Bryce Canyon National Parks.
Thadeus (Thad) Jay Miller was an American artist.
Scotty's Brewhouse was a chain of restaurants and breweries in Indiana. There are Scotty's Brewhouse's located in 7 cities in Indiana. Locations outside of Indiana include Oxford Ohio, Poplar Bluff Missouri, Champaign Illinois and Mattoon Illinois. There are 2 locations open currently, in Champaign and Mattoon, Illinois. They are independently owned and operated.