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By Kevin Williams
CAPTION: Â Rax Roast Beef, almost gone, but not totally....
I've written before about favorite old restaurants that are choc full of childhood memories, but they they couldn't stay afloat.  Bill Knapps, a Midwestern chain, is probably at the top of the heap in terms of ones that I miss.  But there are others:  Chi Chi's,  The Cooker,  Burger Chef, and others.
But some restaurant chains you just THINK have died, but they haven't really. Not completely. Â Think Rax Roast Beef shuttered its doors? Â Nope. Â They are still around. Barely. Â Click here to read a fascinating article about the "second life" some restaurant chains receive.
By the way, who eats at Hardees regularly or even sometimes? Â Hardees was one of the few western fast-food chains to crack the market in the Middle East when I lived there back in the early 1980s, we were so happy to see a "burger and fries" type chain open over there at the time. Â Of course now, I think, all the regulars are in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Â Our hometown had a Hardees for a long time but it pulled up stakes years ago. Â We just can't seem to keep fast food chains in our town, the list of ones that couldn't survive here is long: Fazoli's, Quiznos, Hardees, Boston Market, and I could go on...
Carol
We eat at Hardee's fairly often. A lot of the ones around here have merged with Red Burrito though and also have tacos and things on the menu. I love the regular tacos and would rather have them there than at Taco Bell. As far as the regular Hardee's menu, I don't care for it at all.
Kevin
Carol, thanks for that...interesting, next time I head south I'll look for Red Burrito!