Johnson’s

June 24, 2024

The first thing we did upon arrival in Maine was to go to one of the many Portland eateries for seafood.  My brother-in-law ordered clams but Melissa and I both opted for the lobster roll that we had been waiting for.  Even at “market price”, the delicacy was well worth it.  We spent the rest of the day in conversation and that evening were served my brother-in-law’s special hot dogs.  These dogs featured Nathan’s hot dogs and a bun split down the middle rather than on the side.  The buns were grilled on the flat sides to give them a toasted quality.  The secret to these dogs was the number of possible condiments that could be added to make each dog unique.  There were five different styles of mustards, two types of relish, chopped onions, and pickles.  When I put my dog together the piece de resistance was brought out, celery salt.  While I was reluctant to salt my dog, I was told you could tell how good the dogs were going to be depending on whether the vendor had celery salt as a possible garnish.  I salted my dog (it was good) and completed my Howard Johnson’s style dog.

When I looked online, I found Howard Johnson by Wyndham, or Howard Johnson International, Inc. legally, is an American hotel brand that began as a restaurant chain.  The chain began as a restaurant founded by Howard Deering Johnson in 1925.  With the rise of the Interstate System in the US during the 1950’s, the company expanded operations by opening hotels known as Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodges which were often located next to the restaurants.  During the 1960’s and 1970’s, Johnson’s was the largest restaurant chain in the US with more than 1,000 company-owned or franchised locations.  Howard Johnson’s restaurants were franchised separately from the hotel brand beginning in 1986 and in the years that followed dwindled in number until eventually disappearing altogether.  The last restaurant, in Lake George, New York, closed in 2022.  The Howard Johnson’s line branded supermarket frozen foods (including ice cream) are also no longer manufactured.

Johnson began his business venture as a small pharmacy in Wollaston, a neighborhood in Quincy, Massachusetts.  He soon discovered the recently installed soda fountain had become the busiest part of his drugstore.  That led Johnson to devise a new ice cream recipe.  Some say the recipe was based on his mother’s homemade ice creams and desserts, while others say that it came from a local German immigrant.  The secret for the new recipe was the flavor added by the increased butterfat.  Johnson eventually created 28 flavors of ice cream, saying “I thought I had every flavor in the world.  That ’28’ (flavors of ice cream) became my trademark.”  Throughout the late 1920’s, Johnson opened concession stands on the beachfront property along the coast of Massachusetts selling soft drinks, hot dogs, and ice cream.  The success of the stands allowed him to convinced local bankers to lend him funds to operate a family-style restaurant and by the end of the decade the first Howard Johnson’s restaurant opened in Quincy.  It featured fried clams, baked beans, chicken pot pies, frankfurters, ice cream, and soft drinks.  The clams were another of Johnson’s innovations (along with the dogs and ice cream).  While many restaurants served fried whole-body clams, Howard Johnson’s sold just the clam feet as “strips”, which took off and are now popular throughout seafood restaurants.    

THOUGHTS:  I recall the long trips my family took as a boy as my father attended the annual conventions of our denomination in big cities alternating across the country.  These included 500-mile (805 km) days mostly along the new interstate system.  While we never stayed in a Howard Johnson’s hotel or ate in one of the restaurants, the image of their gleaming orange metal roofs stands out in my mind.  The baloney sandwiches we ate could not have compared to the condiment laden hotdogs served under those magical roofs.  One day, and already lobster roll and Howard Johnson’s dogs.  I can only dream of what is next.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.