Longchamps was a chain of several upscale restaurants centered in Manhattan that consisted of twenty or more locations at its peak, including the Showboat Restaurant located in the Empire State Building. The chain's first location was opened in 1919. [1] Longchamps restaurants were known for their natty art deco furnishings and decorations by Winold Reiss, [2] and a number of designs for elements of their physical surroundings were drawn up by New York architect Ely Jacques Kahn, [3] originator of a colorful version of art deco architecture. [4]
In the early 1960s, Longchamps was the first – and perhaps the only – restaurant to introduce complementary Metrecal at luncheon,[ citation needed ] and was otherwise known for such specialties as Oxtail Ragout, Crabmeat a la Dewey, Nesselrode Pie, and "21-Percent Butterfat Ice Cream". [1] A Longchamps in Washington D.C. was among the first tablecloth restaurants there to allow black customers.[ citation needed ]
In 1959, restaurateur Jan Mitchell, the owner of Luchow's, became president and majority owner of the chain. In 1967, with a total of eight locations existing in Manhattan at that point, he sold a controlling stake to Murray and Irving Riese. [5] [6] [7] Restaurateur Larry Ellman, owner of the Cattleman Restaurant, soon became partners with the Rieses and was named president of the chain. [8]
In 1971, the chain sold four of its remaining restaurants to the Riese Organization, also controlled by the Riese brothers, mostly removing it from the "white tablecloth" restaurant business, and a number of the old locations had been turned into steakhouse-themed outlets. In June 1975, the former parent company, Longchamps, Inc., filed for bankruptcy. [1] [9] [10] [11]
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 37 locations in six states, either company owned or franchised.
Marie Callender's is an American restaurant chain. Its headquarters are in the Marie Callender's Corporate Support Center in Mission Viejo, Orange County, California. As of April 2024, the company operates 24 locations in California, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.
Blimpie International, Inc., doing business as Blimpie, is an American submarine sandwich chain based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was founded in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1964, by three friends, and has since endured three ownership changes.
Chock full o'Nuts is an American brand of coffee that originated from a chain of New York City coffee shops.
Moo shu pork or mu shu, originally spelled moo shi pork is a dish of northern Chinese origin, originating from Shandong. It invariably contains egg, whose yellow color is reminiscent of blossoms of the osmanthus tree, after which the dish is named.
Winstead's is a hamburger chain based in Kansas City, Missouri. The chain opened in 1940 and has two locations in Kansas and Missouri. Apart from its burgers, Winstead's is known for the Streamline Moderne style of its original restaurant, and "skyscraper" sodas and milkshakes built to serve five or six. The chain is owned by Haddad Restaurant Group.
Lindy's was two different deli and restaurant chains in Manhattan, New York City. The first chain, founded by Leo "Lindy" Lindemann, operated from 1921 to 1969. In 1979, the Riese Organization determined that the Lindy's trademark had been abandoned, and opened new restaurants, the last of which closed in February 2018.
Lüchow's was a restaurant at 110 East 14th Street at Irving Place in East Village in Manhattan, New York City, with the property running clear through the block to 13th Street. It was established in 1882 – at a time when the surrounding neighborhood was primarily residential – when a German immigrant, August Lüchow, purchased the cafe where he worked as a bartender and waiter. Lüchow's remained in operation at this place for a full century, becoming a favorite establishment for people in the entertainment world, helped by its proximity to the Academy of Music, the city's opera house, as well as Steinway Hall and Tammany Hall, where other entertainment was offered.
Nedick's was an American chain of fast-food restaurants that originated in New York City in 1913. The name of the chain was formed from the last names of Robert T. Neely and Orville A. Dickinson, who founded the chain with the original stand in a hotel storefront of the Bartholdi Hotel at 23rd Street and Broadway in Manhattan.
Childs Restaurants was one of the first national dining chains in the United States and Canada, having peaked in the 1920s and 1930s with about 125 locations in dozens of markets, serving over 50,000,000 meals a year, with over $37 million in assets at the time. Childs was a pioneer in a number of areas, including design, service, sanitation, and labor relations. It was a contemporary of food service companies such as Horn & Hardart, and a predecessor of companies such as McDonald's.
Strip House is a privately-owned fine-dining chain of steakhouses, with locations in New York City and Las Vegas.
Beefsteak Charlie's was a well-known Manhattan restaurant in the early 20th century, and later a restaurant chain based in the New York metropolitan area, which grew to over 60 locations in the early 1980s.
The Empire Diner is a restaurant in New York City that launched a vogue for upscale retro diners, and whose art deco exterior became an iconic image in numerous films and television programs. It is located at the corner of Tenth Avenue and 22nd Street in the neighborhood of Chelsea.
The Hotel St. Moritz was a luxury hotel located at 50 Central Park South, on the east side of Sixth Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The structure was extensively rebuilt from 1999 to 2002, and today it is a hotel/condominium combination known as The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park.
Schrafft's was a chain of high-volume moderately priced New York City restaurants connected to the Schrafft's food and candy business of Boston. The dining rooms, which had tablecloths at dinner time, and later had separate standing bar areas, were supplemented by fountain service lunch counters, separate rooms in which were displayed for sale Schrafft's branded candy and ice cream, and various items such as wrapped gift baskets of fruit, candy and stuffed toys.
The Cattleman was a steakhouse in New York City founded in 1959 by restaurateur Larry Ellman. During its heyday, The Cattleman attracted media attention as an early example of a theme restaurant, and it became the inspirational basis for the musical Pump Boys and Dinettes.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel was a luxury hotel in New York City, owned by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. It was located at 46th Street and Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
1552 Broadway, also known as the I. Miller Building, is a commercial structure on Times Square in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Located at the northeast corner of Broadway and 46th Street, the building was designed by Louis H. Friedland, with sculptures by Alexander Stirling Calder. The current building, designed for shoe retailer I. Miller, dates to 1926 and was combined from two 19th-century brownstone residences on the site. It contains decorative elements from several styles.
Le Veau d'Or is an Upper East Side of Manhattan restaurant open since 1937 making it the oldest French bistro in NYC. Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson of Frenchette are the owners, since April 2019. Catherine Treboux was the previous owner. Her father, Robert Treboux, bought the restaurant in 1985. In 1968, Craig Claiborne of The New York Times gave the restaurant a four-star review.
The Riese Organization is a privately-held investment company based in New York City that is heavily invested in real estate and in franchised fast food and casual dining restaurants in Manhattan.
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