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#1 cajunmike

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Posted 11 April 2008 - 04:18 PM

Here is a list of several restaurant chains in and around Fort Worth from days gone by:
Chuck Wagon Hamburgers (locations throughout the Fort Worth-Mid Cities
Clover Drive Inns
Lone Star Drive Inns
Mr. Quick Hamburgers
Clown Hamburger on Belknap in Haltom City (hole in the wall with a great burger)
Papa's Pizza (on East Lancaster and then it became a Shakeys)
Mike

#2 Papaw

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Posted 11 April 2008 - 07:58 PM

What about Pig Stands and Rockyfellows?

#3 801hme

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 08:04 AM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 11 2008, 05:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is a list of several restaurant chains in and around Fort Worth from days gone by:
Chuck Wagon Hamburgers (locations throughout the Fort Worth-Mid Cities
Clover Drive Inns
Lone Star Drive Inns
Mr. Quick Hamburgers
Clown Hamburger on Belknap in Haltom City (hole in the wall with a great burger)
Papa's Pizza (on East Lancaster and then it became a Shakeys)



The Clown Burger is still around, or was recently. They moved from the location on Belknap to over around the N. Beach & Broadway intersection.

I loved the Chuck Wagon. We mostly went to the one at Meadowbrook & Handley, but there was another one on East Lancaster down between Beach & Riverside. I remember when they tore down the Meadowbrook Chuck Wagon, They (literally) drove in a Hooker's Hamburgers Stand on the same spot. It was a big trailered pre-fab building that they drove in, secured & wired up.

Seems like Mr. Quick was the first chain I remember that used styrofoam cups...There was one on E. Lancaster & one on Berry I remember. I think the Beefer's/Burger Box or whatever it is now on Pipeline across from the Bellaire Theatre in Hurst was a Mr. Quick originally.

Was the Clover a chain? I just remember the one across from Sycamore Park on Rosedale or Vickery...It was a credit union last time I drove by...

I remember Shakeys/Papa's well...It's was a U-Haul rental last time I checked, at Lancaster and Tierney...Wasn't the Pizza Inn where John Carter's Place is now originally a Shakey's as well? I know they had the Banjo/Piano Band there like Shakey's did way back when.

I don't recall Lone Star Drive-In. There was a Lone Star Coffee Shop on East Lancaster.

Do you remember Lums? (I think that's how it was spelled). How about Zuider Zee or Bill Martins?

#4 cajunmike

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 11:17 AM

QUOTE (801hme @ Apr 12 2008, 09:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 11 2008, 05:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is a list of several restaurant chains in and around Fort Worth from days gone by:
Chuck Wagon Hamburgers (locations throughout the Fort Worth-Mid Cities
Clover Drive Inns
Lone Star Drive Inns
Mr. Quick Hamburgers
Clown Hamburger on Belknap in Haltom City (hole in the wall with a great burger)
Papa's Pizza (on East Lancaster and then it became a Shakeys)



The Clown Burger is still around, or was recently. They moved from the location on Belknap to over around the N. Beach & Broadway intersection.

I loved the Chuck Wagon. We mostly went to the one at Meadowbrook & Handley, but there was another one on East Lancaster down between Beach & Riverside. I remember when they tore down the Meadowbrook Chuck Wagon, They (literally) drove in a Hooker's Hamburgers Stand on the same spot. It was a big trailered pre-fab building that they drove in, secured & wired up.

Seems like Mr. Quick was the first chain I remember that used styrofoam cups...There was one on E. Lancaster & one on Berry I remember. I think the Beefer's/Burger Box or whatever it is now on Pipeline across from the Bellaire Theatre in Hurst was a Mr. Quick originally.

Was the Clover a chain? I just remember the one across from Sycamore Park on Rosedale or Vickery...It was a credit union last time I drove by...

I remember Shakeys/Papa's well...It's was a U-Haul rental last time I checked, at Lancaster and Tierney...Wasn't the Pizza Inn where John Carter's Place is now originally a Shakey's as well? I know they had the Banjo/Piano Band there like Shakey's did way back when.

I don't recall Lone Star Drive-In. There was a Lone Star Coffee Shop on East Lancaster.

Do you remember Lums? (I think that's how it was spelled). How about Zuider Zee or Bill Martins?


Mike

#5 cajunmike

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 11:18 AM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 12 2008, 12:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (801hme @ Apr 12 2008, 09:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 11 2008, 05:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is a list of several restaurant chains in and around Fort Worth from days gone by:
Chuck Wagon Hamburgers (locations throughout the Fort Worth-Mid Cities
Clover Drive Inns
Lone Star Drive Inns
Mr. Quick Hamburgers
Clown Hamburger on Belknap in Haltom City (hole in the wall with a great burger)
Papa's Pizza (on East Lancaster and then it became a Shakeys)



The Clown Burger is still around, or was recently. They moved from the location on Belknap to over around the N. Beach & Broadway intersection.

I loved the Chuck Wagon. We mostly went to the one at Meadowbrook & Handley, but there was another one on East Lancaster down between Beach & Riverside. I remember when they tore down the Meadowbrook Chuck Wagon, They (literally) drove in a Hooker's Hamburgers Stand on the same spot. It was a big trailered pre-fab building that they drove in, secured & wired up.

Seems like Mr. Quick was the first chain I remember that used styrofoam cups...There was one on E. Lancaster & one on Berry I remember. I think the Beefer's/Burger Box or whatever it is now on Pipeline across from the Bellaire Theatre in Hurst was a Mr. Quick originally.

Was the Clover a chain? I just remember the one across from Sycamore Park on Rosedale or Vickery...It was a credit union last time I drove by...

I remember Shakeys/Papa's well...It's was a U-Haul rental last time I checked, at Lancaster and Tierney...Wasn't the Pizza Inn where John Carter's Place is now originally a Shakey's as well? I know they had the Banjo/Piano Band there like Shakey's did way back when.

I don't recall Lone Star Drive-In. There was a Lone Star Coffee Shop on East Lancaster.

Do you remember Lums? (I think that's how it was spelled). How about Zuider Zee or Bill Martins?



Mike

#6 cajunmike

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 11:21 AM

I do remeber LUM's was there one on East Lancaster? Ate many a hush puppie as Bill Martains and Zuider Zee. Someone mentioned Beefers and I remember some of them aroung the area.
Mike

#7 cajunmike

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 11:23 AM

Do you remember the 1849 Village on University? The movie house, Swenson's Ice Cream and was there a Lums in there also?
Mike

#8 801hme

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 01:03 PM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 12 2008, 12:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Do you remember the 1849 Village on University? The movie house, Swenson's Ice Cream and was there a Lums in there also?



Yeah, I do, but I didn't realize there was a Lums there. What I mostly remember from 1849 Village was O'Leary's, when on your birthday they'd serve you some kinda flaming Ice cream thing (or was it birthday cake?), and firemen would rush to your table and put it out...

I was in Gatlinburg Tennesee in the 80's and they still had a Lums open. It looked the same as the old FW Lums did with the White & Red Stripes and all that. It brought back alot of memories.

check this out-one of the Last Lums in America

http://www.roadfood....aspx?RefID=4195

#9 Pam Lea

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 04:40 PM

Bonanza

#10 cajunmike

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 05:06 PM

Bonanza Steak House. I recall one on East Lancaster. They were a large chain at one time and Actress Ruta Lee's husband Mr. Lowe was the Chairman that I recall. I also remember when they got into some financiall trouble and my brothers and I bought a lot of stock at $1.00 a share.
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#11 801hme

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 05:35 PM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 12 2008, 06:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Bonanza Steak House. I recall one on East Lancaster. They were a large chain at one time and Actress Ruta Lee's husband Mr. Lowe was the Chairman that I recall. I also remember when they got into some financiall trouble and my brothers and I bought a lot of stock at $1.00 a share.


The Lancaster Bonanza was next to the old Showcase Theatre. The skeleton of the sign is still there. Do you remember the restaraunt next door to the Bonanza? Sambos...what would the PC Police think about that one... from the perspective of the world today it's hard to believe that kind of thing really existed. But the pancakes were great...

#12 cajunmike

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Posted 12 April 2008 - 06:02 PM

I do remember Sambo's and they also the one way out on Pipeline road in Hurst.
Mike

#13 Giraffe

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Posted 13 April 2008 - 08:15 AM

I just barely remember when the Bonanza restaurants were open but I don't think I ever ate at one. Didn't I hear somewhere that Dan Blocker (who played Hoss in the TV series) was one of the financial backers of Bonanza? I remember there was one on the South Freeway next to the Putt-Putt just north of Felix Street. The Bonanza building is still intact but since it's now part of a car dealership, it's been repainted and changed enough so that you'd never know what it used to be. (That car dealership is using what I think was once one of the concrete ramps from the Putt-Putt; what used to be a Par 2 is now a display ramp for an SUV.)

A writer named Mark Evanier has an excellent website about great restaurants in Los Angeles that have come and gone, and it makes fascinating reading. He talks about Sambo's and I had never heard of that chain before. I didn't know they used to exist in Fort Worth. According to Evanier, the restaurant name came not from a storybook character, but a combination of initials of the guys who started the chain. (Come to think of it, I think that's how Arby's came by their name, too.) Sambo's eventually changed their name to Season's (in LA, anyway), but that ended up becoming Politically Incorrect for some other hurt group, too.

#14 Giraffe

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Posted 13 April 2008 - 08:32 AM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 12 2008, 11:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Do you remember the 1849 Village on University? The movie house, Swenson's Ice Cream and was there a Lums in there also?


The movie theater (big single screen) was called The Opera House. Right on the banks of the Trinity River! I saw the original _Star Wars_ there for the first time in the late summer of 1977. I was just a bit too young to appreciate it then (my mother had to practically drag me to see it, after everyone else in the universe had already watched it 10 times) and the sound system in The Opera House was worse than a bucket at the bottom of a well; I couldn't understand half of the dialogue. I also saw the movie _Annie_ there years later (only because my parents couldn't get a baby-sitter, and the sound system wasn't any better!). One thing I recall seeing at that theater was a little placard in the ticket window: it said that "This film is rated GP." It looked official, too. "GP?" What did that mean? I found out later that it was the precursor of the rating "PG." When the MPAA film ratings first came out, they were "G," "GP," "R," and "X." The "GP" rating didn't last long before being switched to "PG," which probably made better sense (standing for "Parental Guidance"). The Opera House just kept that placard for many years afterward, for some reason. (I remember our stupid station wagon broke down in the oppressive heat after watching _Star Wars_, too!)

I think that shopping center was called "1849 Village" because that's the year of Fort Worth's founding. You could rent little paddleboats to glide around on the river, and the bicycle trail went right past it.

I remember the Swenson's Ice Cream Parlor quite well, though I ususally went to a different location. It was in the middle of the parking lot of the shopping center where the Wedgwood Theater was, behind the Sizzler Restaurant. That Swenson's moved into what had once been a burger joint. Remember the HUGE banana split called the "Earthquake"? I think it could feed five kids at one sitting. That Sizzler closed but has gone through several iterations of other individually owned eateries, usually keeping the same food (one owner tried serving ostrichburgers during that ostrich craze), but lately different restaurants have tried and failed in that location. The entire Swenson's building has been demolished and absolutely no trace of it remains today. I miss their chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream. smile.gif

#15 cajunmike

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Posted 13 April 2008 - 02:15 PM

The old Wedgewood Shopping center. In the late 60's I went on my first date to the Wedgewood theater and took the girl to the Sizziler first for dinner.Seemed like a long drive from East Fort Worth.  I don't think kids put on a tie and coat and go out on a first date anymore. The old burger joint in the center was an old Mr. Quick one of my friends had managed it.
Mike

#16 Roger_H

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Posted 15 April 2008 - 09:15 PM

There was a Mr. Quick on East Berry near Riverside Drive. My dad got paid on Fridays and our family ate our once a week dinner out there every Friday. They had a small rock fountain that seemed really classy at the time.

The sound at The Opera House may not have been the greatest but as I remember it they had big reclining seats. I suppose they would be the predecessor of the stadium seats that are standard today.

#17 JulieM

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Posted 16 April 2008 - 07:40 AM

Ah, The Daily Double in 1849 Village. Raise your hand if you had a triple in a Mason Jar!

#18 801hme

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Posted 16 April 2008 - 04:56 PM

Hey Cajun Mike or anyone else that might remember-

I specified Cajun Mike 'cause I think he was an East Side guy, but if anyone remembers this...Do you remember the Char-Bar? It was on E. Lancaster where Smokey's Ribs is now. I was still pretty young when it was open, but I remember going there on Sunday nights with my parents and friends after church. It burned down & they rebuilt it as a Dairy Queen, which later became another BBQ joint (J.R.'s? J.B.'s?) and later Smokeys. The old drive thru window was still there last time I drove by. Any of that ring a bell?

#19 cajunmike

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Posted 16 April 2008 - 08:08 PM

I remember the name Char-Bar and have to think about that for some reason. Does anyone also remember the old Spartan-Atlantic store on East Lancaster? It was later a K-Mart. I remember selling Christmas trees on their parking lot one winter. The guy stayed in his little travel trailer and we stayed out in the cold. I got $1.00 for each tree I sold. When the Char-Bar kicks in I will get back.

Mike

#20 Buck

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Posted 18 April 2008 - 09:37 AM

Smokey's Ribs is still there and serving great BBQ!

#21 rich

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Posted 19 April 2008 - 04:03 PM

If anyone has the addresses of the Mr. Quick locations, pictures of Mr. Quick from the business section of the high school yearbooks or current pictures of what the Mr. Quick buildings look like today, it would be terrific to add them to the Mr. Quick page. Thanks - Rich www.captainerniesshowboat.com/mrquick Mr. Quick

QUOTE (801hme @ Apr 12 2008, 08:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 11 2008, 05:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is a list of several restaurant chains in and around Fort Worth from days gone by:
Chuck Wagon Hamburgers (locations throughout the Fort Worth-Mid Cities
Clover Drive Inns
Lone Star Drive Inns
Mr. Quick Hamburgers
Clown Hamburger on Belknap in Haltom City (hole in the wall with a great burger)
Papa's Pizza (on East Lancaster and then it became a Shakeys)



The Clown Burger is still around, or was recently. They moved from the location on Belknap to over around the N. Beach & Broadway intersection.

I loved the Chuck Wagon. We mostly went to the one at Meadowbrook & Handley, but there was another one on East Lancaster down between Beach & Riverside. I remember when they tore down the Meadowbrook Chuck Wagon, They (literally) drove in a Hooker's Hamburgers Stand on the same spot. It was a big trailered pre-fab building that they drove in, secured & wired up.

Seems like Mr. Quick was the first chain I remember that used styrofoam cups...There was one on E. Lancaster & one on Berry I remember. I think the Beefer's/Burger Box or whatever it is now on Pipeline across from the Bellaire Theatre in Hurst was a Mr. Quick originally.

Was the Clover a chain? I just remember the one across from Sycamore Park on Rosedale or Vickery...It was a credit union last time I drove by...

I remember Shakeys/Papa's well...It's was a U-Haul rental last time I checked, at Lancaster and Tierney...Wasn't the Pizza Inn where John Carter's Place is now originally a Shakey's as well? I know they had the Banjo/Piano Band there like Shakey's did way back when.

I don't recall Lone Star Drive-In. There was a Lone Star Coffee Shop on East Lancaster.

Do you remember Lums? (I think that's how it was spelled). How about Zuider Zee or Bill Martins?



#22 Giraffe

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Posted 20 April 2008 - 12:30 AM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 13 2008, 02:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The old Wedgewood Shopping center. In the late 60's I went on my first date to the Wedgewood theater and took the girl to the Sizziler first for dinner.Seemed like a long drive from East Fort Worth.  I don't think kids put on a tie and coat and go out on a first date anymore. The old burger joint in the center was an old Mr. Quick one of my friends had managed it.


Oh, yeah -- the Wedgwood movie theater! Sigh. Hard to believe that's closed now, too. I think it's now being used as a church. I saw many a movie there. I think my earliest memory in that place is watching a re-release of the classic _Fantasia_ around 1973 or so (I couldn't have been 5 years old) and being absolutely bored to death at the time. Today I love it. I remember complaining to my mother, "Why isn't Mickey Mouse saying anything?" smile.gif The theater was split in half to become the Wedgwood 1 & 2, with VHS movie rentals in the lobby. Then they chopped it in half again to four screens, showing dollar movies. My retired parents used to smuggle their own popcorn in there. Finally it closed for good. Movies I remember watching upon their initial release there include _King Kong_ (1976), _The Villain_, _Goin' Coconuts_, sheesh. My dad and I watched _Taps_ there, and also _Tron_. The first time I ever saw a woman's bare breast in a movie was in the sci-fi film _Logan's Run_ at that theater! There once was a big electric sign standing out on the end of the parking lot, almost against Trail Lake Drive, with an animated neon red arrow pointing the way toward the Wedgwood Theater. It had those big magnetic letters that you would change whenever a new movie was being shown. I miss that sign; they took it out long before the theater itself closed.

Do you remember what movie you and your date saw?

As for that Mr. Quick Hamburgers in the parking lot of that shopping center, the address was 5320 Trail Lake Drive. It became a Swenson's Ice Cream Parlor in the late 70s, then closed and the building demolished. No trace of it remains. That's kinda sad. I recall when I was a Cub Scout, holding our meetings at the old Wedgwood Methodist Church (used to be the Wedgwood Country Club); one weekday afternoon all of us kids met up at the church after school, our den leader met us there, and led us on a day hike for several blocks down to the Swenson's. We emptied the den treasury and bought ourselves some cones! (At that age we were proud to wear our Scout uniforms to school and never caught any flack for it.)

That Sizzler restaurant had some excellent food, though our family never ate there for many years. We drove right past it literally every single day, too. It was simply a matter of finances. It wasn't until both my brother and sister had grown up and moved out of the house that my parents and I decided to give it a try (since our family was now down to just three mouths). I immediately got hooked on their Malibu Chicken and we ate there regularly until it closed.

Some of the stores I remember from that shopping center include Town & Country Drugs (my sister got her ears pierced there); a U.S. Post Office; a women's clothing resale shop (my mother worked there for several years); Swords Music (musical instruments); Meyer's clothing store (my mom bought me some Mickey Mouse Club ears for me when I was in kindergarten); Safeway grocery store (I saw the arcade game _Ms. Pac Man_ for the very first time there); Ken's Custom Frames; Lone Star Doughnuts; Long John Silver's (which burned down); Ambrister's Hardware (which my father nicknamed "Armbuster's"; and my mother says way back in the day, there used to be a Kroger's and an aquarium store.

There used to be a Dairy Queen and a Pizza Hut behind that shopping center, but they were so well hidden that almost nobody knew they existed. (My sister's husband flipped Hunger Busters at that DQ for a time.) They have since been turned into other businesses several times over. Next to that and behind the movie theater was the Wedgwood Bowl; it closed in the 1980s, I think, and has been boarded up ever since.

My grandmother lived in an apartment building next to all this stuff for a while. That was back in the '70s. A few years ago, however, a terrific natural gas explosion in that apartment complex shook the whole neighborhood out of bed one morning. I think it blew out every window in the complex. It turned out that two guys who had been evicted from an apartment came back later and stripped all the fixtures out, including the stove; they just ripped all the appliances loose in hopes to sell them and/or get even with the landlord. They failed to seal off the natural gas line, however, leaving it exposed and open. They left. By the next morning, the apartment had filled up with gas and -- BOOM! Nobody got killed, though there were some injuries. It didn't take long for the police to track down these geniuses; their attorney's defense at their trial was "They were too stupid to know what they were doing." The jury deliberated 15 minutes to make it look good before throwing them under the jail.

#23 cajunmike

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Posted 20 April 2008 - 04:11 PM

The date I first went to the Wedgewood was in 1969. I borrowed my brothers 1965 Chevy Implala Super Sport with 8 track as I was driving an old 1949 Olds that my older brother bought me. The movie was something like "Daddy don't cry". This being a first date I was probably too nervous to remember anything about it. I do remember a lot of the shops that you mentioned.
Mike

#24 Saginaw

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Posted 13 May 2008 - 10:17 PM

OK. I've got some to share.

Papaw, I definitely remember a Rockyfeller's Hamburgers location in downtown back in the '70s (no mistaking that little white shack topped by a pale green roof!). Wasn't it on W. 1st St. between Houston and Main?

cajunmike, you've jogged some cobwebs out of my memory with the old Chuck Wagon restaurants. I think I may have ate there once. Good recollection!

Now I have one for y'all. Anyone remember (as I do) a little restaurant called the Good Luck? It was located on E. Rosedale St., between Main and I-35W, hugged next to an elevated train track and black trestle. My most vivid memory of them was their french fries (limp and greasy; in other words, GOOD!) in what I thought was a fancy ketchup. Looking back on it, I believe they must have dashed some barbeque sauce on them. Whatever it was, I (and my taste buds) certainly remember it!

Also, does anyone remember some "hole in the wall" barbeque rib shacks in that same area of Fort Worth that appeared to have been converted from residential houses and decorated in graffiti-style motifs? I seem to remember something like that.

Thanks, everyone. Now I'm hungry. cheeburga.gif


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#25 Papaw

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Posted 14 May 2008 - 06:05 AM

Saginaw, I definitely remember the Good Luck on E. Rosedale and it's STILL there!. They might have changed the name but it's the same great food and style - when you order they holler your order to the guys back on the grill with that "Southern" accent. I still go there often for their foot longs and fries. I don't think the trestle is still there but the liquor store is still there, separated only by a glass wall from the inside of the restaurant. You probably want to be packing heat if you go after sundown. unsure.gif

#26 travelbear

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Posted 14 May 2008 - 09:06 PM

Good Luck was at 900 W. Rosedale not East Rosedale. There was also one on Edgewood Terrace just north of E. Lancaster.

#27 Saginaw

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Posted 14 May 2008 - 09:50 PM

Thanks Papaw and travelbear. I'll have to make a trip there to the Rosedale location one day and "eat a memory". smile.gif


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#28 cajunmike

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Posted 15 May 2008 - 08:59 PM

If I remember correctly there were a number of Good Luck's around time at one time. On Beach street where Coors BBQ was or still is was a A&W Root Beer stand back in the mid 60's.

In the 5300 block of East Lancaster in the 60's was Ted's BBQ which had a sawdust floor. After it was finally closed and torn down, it was the first location of Taco Bell in Fort Worth. At the time I was a young Asst. Mgr. at the McDonald's next door at 5305 which was later turned into a Long John Silvers. The McDonald's opened in 1961 and I started in 1966 and spent 30 with McDonald's Corp. before some other ventures.

In 1968 at a 17 year old kid, I sold the first Big Mac in Texas. At that time we only had several McDonald's in the entire state. They sold for .49 cents.
Does anyone know where the last 40 years went?
Mike

#29 Birdland in Handley

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Posted 16 May 2008 - 01:51 AM

The mention of Taco Bell reminded me of my early 70's hi-school years. I swear I remember that Taco Bell used to serve beer (and on our Hi-School nights, to whoever was 18, for the rest of us.) Seems like I even remember pitchers. The locations I remember are right across from the TCU Theater on University Drive and in Wedgewood. Am I disremembring this convergence of fast food and beer?

#30 The Haltom City Kid

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Posted 25 July 2008 - 11:20 PM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ May 15 2008, 09:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If I remember correctly there were a number of Good Luck's around time at one time. On Beach street where Coors BBQ was or still is was a A&W Root Beer stand back in the mid 60's.

In the 5300 block of East Lancaster in the 60's was Ted's BBQ which had a sawdust floor. After it was finally closed and torn down, it was the first location of Taco Bell in Fort Worth. At the time I was a young Asst. Mgr. at the McDonald's next door at 5305 which was later turned into a Long John Silvers. The McDonald's opened in 1961 and I started in 1966 and spent 30 with McDonald's Corp. before some other ventures.

In 1968 at a 17 year old kid, I sold the first Big Mac in Texas. At that time we only had several McDonald's in the entire state. They sold for .49 cents.
Does anyone know where the last 40 years went?



I don't remember Good Luck being at the Coors Bar-B-Que location (but there is a lot of stuff that I don't remember), however, I do remember there being a Good Luck near there on Belknap in what is now a Dominos Pizza behind the Blockbuster. There was once a Burger King across the street, where Walgreens is now, that turned into a Beefers before being torn down.
I remember the original Big Mac's living up to their name. I can vividly remember wearing the cardboard ring, that kept the sandwich straight in it's wrapper, around my head. I realize that I was just 4 or 5 back then, but there is no way now that you could make a Big Mac wrapper stretch that far.

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#31 The Haltom City Kid

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Posted 11 August 2008 - 07:45 PM

Do you remember the Hay Loft on University? They had the best chicken fried steak I ever ate. Their waitress' wore short skirts with cowboy boots, a pubescent boy would notice thing like that. The best part was the free ice cream on the way out the door. Just around the bend from there was the Spanish Galion, they had the huge whale mouth that you entered the restaurant through. Their mixed drinks were a spectacular way to impress your date, those things were huge and very colorful.

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#32 Giraffe

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Posted 11 August 2008 - 08:03 PM

QUOTE (The Haltom City Kid @ Aug 11 2008, 07:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Just around the bend from there was the Spanish Galion, they had the huge whale mouth that you entered the restaurant through. Their mixed drinks were a spectacular way to impress your date, those things were huge and very colorful.



Funny thing... I was going to post something about the Spanish Galleon restaurant a couple of weeks ago! Today it's long gone and no trace of it remains. I think I ate there only once. It was on Forest Park Blvd., just a skosh north of I-30, IIRC. You could plainly see the big ship and rigging on the roof from the highway. I presume this was a chain of restaurants; was there more than one around the Metroplex?



#33 kksmith

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Posted 14 August 2008 - 03:31 PM


The Chuck Wagons were owned by the same gentleman who owned the Merry Go Round on Berry Street, near University. The Merry Go Round had horses outside (like a merry go round) that kids could sit on. As I recall, the building was indeed round, and I don't think there was any indoor seating, just a walk-up window. It was a real treat for us to eat there as kids -- way before the concept of fast food was as prevalent as now.

Related thought -- What FW restaurants began the use of drive-through windows? (Of course, I liked it better when there was no such thing as a drive through window.)

#34 Buck

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Posted 14 August 2008 - 07:42 PM

My impression is that the Pig Stand in Dallas was the first restaurant anywhere with a drive-up window.

Not sure when the first drive-up window came to FW. I remember Rockyfellers had a drive-up window before anyone else in the 1950s, and the fast-food chains came in the 1960s.


#35 cajunmike

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Posted 14 August 2008 - 08:57 PM

I remember the Spanish Gallion seafood when it opened. It was a big deal and love the fried shrimp. I also remember the Hay Loft. As an old restaurant guy, Jack in the Box had drive through windows out on the west coast from the early 50's

In 1976 we added the first drive through window on the McDonald's on Hwy 80 & Las Vegas trail. In those days you just ran over a rubber hose and were asked for your order through a squak box of which was located in a statue of Ronald McDonald. Ronald on occassions would seem to take a trip with some high school kids ever so often, but the police always found him. The McDonald's that was then locataed at 2109 West Berry (now torn down) did not have room for the traditional side drive through due to the alley way with the dry cleaners next door and the Post Office. I assisted with how to add one on the rear of the building and reconfigure the back room equipment and how long it would take to get from the front of the store to the rear with the orders. This was the first to have one on the back of a building and the President of McDonald's Corp. came to Fort Worth to see how it operated. Later on the additional island booth was ordered to take change to expedite service.
Mike

#36 801hme

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Posted 15 August 2008 - 01:24 PM

QUOTE (kksmith @ Aug 14 2008, 04:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The Chuck Wagons were owned by the same gentleman who owned the Merry Go Round on Berry Street, near University. The Merry Go Round had horses outside (like a merry go round) that kids could sit on. As I recall, the building was indeed round, and I don't think there was any indoor seating, just a walk-up window. It was a real treat for us to eat there as kids -- way before the concept of fast food was as prevalent as now.

Related thought -- What FW restaurants began the use of drive-through windows? (Of course, I liked it better when there was no such thing as a drive through window.)



I never knew the same guy owned Merry-Go-Round and Chuck Wagons, but it makes total sense if you ever had a burger from either...


#37 801hme

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Posted 15 August 2008 - 01:37 PM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 16 2008, 09:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I remember the name Char-Bar and have to think about that for some reason. Does anyone also remember the old Spartan-Atlantic store on East Lancaster? It was later a K-Mart. I remember selling Christmas trees on their parking lot one winter. The guy stayed in his little travel trailer and we stayed out in the cold. I got $1.00 for each tree I sold. When the Char-Bar kicks in I will get back.



I stumbled on this FWST article on Smokey's Ribs reopening, and the bottom half of the article is an oddly added-on history of the Char-Bar (which was apparently actually the Circle C Char-bar). See if this rings a bell. I remember it burning down before becoming a DQ but they don't mention that here...

http://64.233.167.10...p;client=safari


#38 bailey

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Posted 15 August 2008 - 01:54 PM


I never knew the same guy owned Merry-Go-Round and Chuck Wagons, but it makes total sense if you ever had a burger from either...
[/quote]

The Chuck Wagon's and Merry-Go-Round were owned by the same gentleman. The location at 1716 W. Berry was actually Chuck Wagon #1. I worked there from 1969 until about 1973. The office for the restaurants was in a building behind the location on W. Berry. In about 1971 or thereabout, all the restaurants were sold to the Mr. Beef chain and they changed the name to Mr. Chuck Wagon. It was a whole different ball game working there after the sale. I made $1.25 an hour. While I worked there I was victimized by 3 robberies, 1 of them at gun point.

I don't know how many will remember but the original building on W. Berry was a very small building. It had no drive through. You would go by one window and order and then walk down to another to pick up your food. There was barely room for 2 people inside. It was replaced with a newer building in the mid 60's. If busy, you could cram 4 workers in it. It had a drive through where cars would drive up to the window and order and be given a number. They would then drive and park until their number was called and they would then drive back through to pick it up. Neither of the buildings was air conditioned. There was one water cooler in the new building. In the summer, it was almost impossible to stay inside it was so hot. With all the grills and fryers going, it must have been 110 degrees easy inside. The only relief was when there weren't any customers and we could go inside the walk in cooler where the produce was kept.


#39 Birdland in Handley

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Posted 16 August 2008 - 02:02 AM

I recall that there was a little amount of protest about the tearing down of the Merry-Go-Round on Berry. Were'nt the horses and stuff actual vintage horses from a working merry-go-round? Wonder where they ended up. For that matter, wonder where the Forest Park Merry-Go-Round ended up.
Since this thread has moved on to Berry St., let me sign off--Vagabond Players '74--'76

#40 buffalo71

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Posted 27 August 2008 - 01:12 PM

QUOTE (801hme @ Apr 12 2008, 09:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 11 2008, 05:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is a list of several restaurant chains in and around Fort Worth from days gone by:
Chuck Wagon Hamburgers (locations throughout the Fort Worth-Mid Cities
Clover Drive Inns
Lone Star Drive Inns
Mr. Quick Hamburgers
Clown Hamburger on Belknap in Haltom City (hole in the wall with a great burger)
Papa's Pizza (on East Lancaster and then it became a Shakeys)



The Clown Burger is still around, or was recently. They moved from the location on Belknap to over around the N. Beach & Broadway intersection.

I loved the Chuck Wagon. We mostly went to the one at Meadowbrook & Handley, but there was another one on East Lancaster down between Beach & Riverside. I remember when they tore down the Meadowbrook Chuck Wagon, They (literally) drove in a Hooker's Hamburgers Stand on the same spot. It was a big trailered pre-fab building that they drove in, secured & wired up.

Seems like Mr. Quick was the first chain I remember that used styrofoam cups...There was one on E. Lancaster & one on Berry I remember. I think the Beefer's/Burger Box or whatever it is now on Pipeline across from the Bellaire Theatre in Hurst was a Mr. Quick originally.

Was the Clover a chain? I just remember the one across from Sycamore Park on Rosedale or Vickery...It was a credit union last time I drove by...

I remember Shakeys/Papa's well...It's was a U-Haul rental last time I checked, at Lancaster and Tierney...Wasn't the Pizza Inn where John Carter's Place is now originally a Shakey's as well? I know they had the Banjo/Piano Band there like Shakey's did way back when.

I don't recall Lone Star Drive-In. There was a Lone Star Coffee Shop on East Lancaster.

Do you remember Lums? (I think that's how it was spelled). How about Zuider Zee or Bill Martins?


The Clown Burger in Haltom City is still around. They're at the corner of Stanley Keller and Haltom Rd. I haven't tried one in many years. By the way, it's still a hole in the wall. We also had a Chuck Wagon in Haltom. It was where the police department is currently located. They sure did have good burgers and chocolate malts.

As teenagers, we ate a lot of Griffs burgers. At 4 for $1, who could resist!

#41 m lambert

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Posted 29 April 2009 - 02:16 PM

QUOTE (cajunmike @ Apr 11 2008, 05:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is a list of several restaurant chains in and around Fort Worth from days gone by:
Chuck Wagon Hamburgers (locations throughout the Fort Worth-Mid Cities
Clover Drive Inns
Lone Star Drive Inns
Mr. Quick Hamburgers
Clown Hamburger on Belknap in Haltom City (hole in the wall with a great burger)
Papa's Pizza (on East Lancaster and then it became a Shakeys)

The Pig Stand drive inn was one of the first driven in the U. S. It was on the west side of Main St. near the end of the Main St. bridge. They had on much later on West 7th st. It is gone too. Maurice Lambert

#42 waywr

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Posted 12 January 2010 - 08:07 AM

There was also a Chuck Wagon on Seminary Drive, close to Seminary South. It was on the other (south) side of I-35 though, across the street from where the Piggly Wiggly and Motts used to be. It closed around 1980. They tore it down and put a RaceTrack gas station up, which is still there I think.
There was also a Cloverleaf Restaurant right across from the Chuck Wagon. I remember the big sign with green lights. It closed sometime in the 70s, and was later torn down. There's an eyeglass place and a Jack In The Box there now.
Right across the street from the Chuck Wagon, late 60s/early 70s, was a place called H.Salt Fish & Chips, kind of a Long John Silvers type place.
Long gone, of course. There were different things there after, but it's been a Whataburger for several years now.
Someone mentioned the old bowling alley behind Wedgwood Theater. They had pretty good hamburgers in their grill. I used to work at Wedgwood and we'd get hamburgers there pretty often.
The bowling alley closed mid 80s and has sat boarded up ever since.
Here's one I remember from when I was really young, so not sure if I have the name right. Dog and Sud, or Dogs and Suds. It was a carhop drive-up place. It was in the southeast part of town somewhere off Wichita. My grandparents lived in that area on Foard Street until I was about six.
I vaguely remember a couple of other places like that. I guess Sonic knocked them all out of business the way Blockbuster did years later with all the mom-and-pop video rental stores.
The last Chuck Wagon I remember was on East Lancaster, but that closed probably around 1981 or so.

#43 unknowntbone

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Posted 12 January 2010 - 12:56 PM


Someone mentioned the old bowling alley behind Wedgwood Theater. They had pretty good hamburgers in their grill. I used to work at Wedgwood and we'd get hamburgers there pretty often.
The bowling alley closed mid 80s and has sat boarded up ever since.

The Wedgwood Bowl snack bar was run for a time by the Mumford family, who later owned Mumford's on Bluebonnet Circle, then Rick's Lockerroom--now Old Neighborhood Grill--and then Rick's on the Bricks. GREAT burgers and onion rings at every location.
Also at the Wedgwood Shopping Center BEFORE Town and Country Drug was Kyle Drug. Town And Country was up the hill on Trail Lake at that time, right around the bend from Skinny Holmes' Fina station.
Other little remembered Wedgwood eateries at that time--Wedgwood House of Pizza, right next to the 7-11 on Wedgmont Circle--and Wot-a-burger, a locally owned burger shack at the corner of Wedgmont Circle and Wheaton (I think its Wheaton)


#44 Giraffe

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 03:03 AM

QUOTE (waywr @ Jan 12 2010, 09:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
There was also a Chuck Wagon on Seminary Drive, close to Seminary South. It was on the other (south) side of I-35 though, across the street from where the Piggly Wiggly and Motts used to be. It closed around 1980. They tore it down and put a RaceTrack gas station up, which is still there I think.

Someone mentioned the old bowling alley behind Wedgwood Theater. They had pretty good hamburgers in their grill. I used to work at Wedgwood and we'd get hamburgers there pretty often.
The bowling alley closed mid 80s and has sat boarded up ever since.


I remember when that Chuck Wagon existed, though we never ate there. I think we often drove past it every Sunday morning on our way to church.

After that Piggly Wiggly closed, I think part of that strip mall became a thrift shop for a while (a St. Vincent de Paul?). It may have caught fire once. I think there was a Skillern's drug store in that same shopping center, too. (Aside: There was another Piggly Wiggly at the intersection of Westcreek and Walton, along with a fabric store that I think was called Hancock's... that entire building is now gone.)

I drive past the old Wedgwood Bowl often and sometimes I see an ambulance parked at the front entrance; my guess is the crew is just having lunch (bad business for a fast-food joint to have a meat wagon parked out front) and/or waiting for a call. The four metal poles that supported the electric "B O W L" sign (remember how the accented neon flashed on and off?) behind the animal hospital at Wonder and Granbury Road are still there, though the letters at the top have been removed (they were really rusted out). My grandmother lived in those apartments right across the street from the bowling alley back in the late 1970s. The Dairy Queen there has closed and is presently vacant. My family and friends and I enjoyed bowling together a few times, but since I was so young at the time my parents didn't like my going to Wedgwood Bowl by myself because they thought a lot of unsavory characters hung around the place. It was one of my earliest exposures to arcade games and pinball machines. Southwest High School had a bowling team or a bowling club there, sometimes. I sometimes wonder why nothing has been done with the building after all this time...

You may remember the Taco Patio restaurant at the bottom of the hill behind the theater, in the parking lot of Wedgwood Bowl. The building is still there, and still has the Mexican motif inside and out, but the place is now a doughnut shop. A nice Asian family runs it, and it's an amusing clash of cultures as a result.

I'd like to hear any stories you may have about working at the Wedgwood Theatre! Any idea exactly when it opened? Any celebrities ever appear there? What was the projection room like? I actually remember seeing the 1976 remake of _King Kong_ there; it actually had an intermission! Who owned and operated the place?

#45 Giraffe

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 03:16 AM

QUOTE (unknowntbone @ Jan 12 2010, 01:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Also at the Wedgwood Shopping Center BEFORE Town and Country Drug was Kyle Drug. Town And Country was up the hill on Trail Lake at that time, right around the bend from Skinny Holmes' Fina station.
Other little remembered Wedgwood eateries at that time--Wedgwood House of Pizza, right next to the 7-11 on Wedgmont Circle--and Wot-a-burger, a locally owned burger shack at the corner of Wedgmont Circle and Wheaton (I think its Wheaton)


Ah! I never knew Town & Country had been in another location previously. I do remember Skinny's Gas Station; it was right where Bruce Lea's Dance Studio stands now (intersection of Woodway and Trail Lake). At that time in the 1970s, that interchange was a little different and it may have been a little dangerous... maybe to slow down drivers they installed that sharp turn and traffic light that sits there now. Tarrant Savings Association was in a building at that corner, and today it's a barber shop called Cranium.

I don't remember that pizza joint when it was open, but my brother does. I think it changed names at least once. I do remember seeing some artwork painted on the bricks on the front of that location long after it ceased being a restaurant; I think it was a bookstore for a while.

I've only heard about that Wot-a-Burger and have no idea exactly where it was. I think it was at Wheaton and Wedgmont Circle, though. Do you recall precisely what building it was in, which corner, or what? Any trace of it left?

Several grocery stores have been in the Wedgwood Shopping Center over the decades. My mother recalls when Kroger was there for a short time, around 1970 or so. (I guess Kroger stores back then were much smaller than they are today.) The most recent incarnation was a Sav-a-Lot, but it recently closed, too.

#46 bailey

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 09:56 AM



I've only heard about that Wot-a-Burger and have no idea exactly where it was. I think it was at Wheaton and Wedgmont Circle, though. Do you recall precisely what building it was in, which corner, or what? Any trace of it left?

Several grocery stores have been in the Wedgwood Shopping Center over the decades. My mother recalls when Kroger was there for a short time, around 1970 or so. (I guess Kroger stores back then were much smaller than they are today.) The most recent incarnation was a Sav-a-Lot, but it recently closed, too.
[/quote]

You are correct on the location of the Wot-a-burger, Wheaton at Wedgmont Circle. The small strip center that is currently located there was built out of the remains of the Wot-a-burger. We moved to Wedgwood in 1958 and at that time, all that was out there was the Wot-a-Burger and the strip center across the street. Kyle's Drug store was in that center at the time and it later moved into the new Wedgwood Village Center when it opened. The only option for groceries was the Cabell's in that center. The closest grocery store was in Westcliff. Granbury Road was a rough two lane country road. The owners of the Wot-a-Burger lived a block from us and ran the business. The Wedgwood Nursery was just behind the Wot-a-Burger. I think it is now a vacuum cleaner business or it was. The Kroger store in Wedgwood Village you are referring to was initially a Wyatt's which later became Kroger. It and the Buddies on Trail Lake were the first grocery stores in Wedgwood.

#47 waywr

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 01:27 PM

QUOTE (Giraffe @ Jan 13 2010, 03:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (waywr @ Jan 12 2010, 09:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
There was also a Chuck Wagon on Seminary Drive, close to Seminary South. It was on the other (south) side of I-35 though, across the street from where the Piggly Wiggly and Motts used to be. It closed around 1980. They tore it down and put a RaceTrack gas station up, which is still there I think.

Someone mentioned the old bowling alley behind Wedgwood Theater. They had pretty good hamburgers in their grill. I used to work at Wedgwood and we'd get hamburgers there pretty often.
The bowling alley closed mid 80s and has sat boarded up ever since.


I remember when that Chuck Wagon existed, though we never ate there. I think we often drove past it every Sunday morning on our way to church.

After that Piggly Wiggly closed, I think part of that strip mall became a thrift shop for a while (a St. Vincent de Paul?). It may have caught fire once. I think there was a Skillern's drug store in that same shopping center, too. (Aside: There was another Piggly Wiggly at the intersection of Westcreek and Walton, along with a fabric store that I think was called Hancock's... that entire building is now gone.)

I drive past the old Wedgwood Bowl often and sometimes I see an ambulance parked at the front entrance; my guess is the crew is just having lunch (bad business for a fast-food joint to have a meat wagon parked out front) and/or waiting for a call. The four metal poles that supported the electric "B O W L" sign (remember how the accented neon flashed on and off?) behind the animal hospital at Wonder and Granbury Road are still there, though the letters at the top have been removed (they were really rusted out). My grandmother lived in those apartments right across the street from the bowling alley back in the late 1970s. The Dairy Queen there has closed and is presently vacant. My family and friends and I enjoyed bowling together a few times, but since I was so young at the time my parents didn't like my going to Wedgwood Bowl by myself because they thought a lot of unsavory characters hung around the place. It was one of my earliest exposures to arcade games and pinball machines. Southwest High School had a bowling team or a bowling club there, sometimes. I sometimes wonder why nothing has been done with the building after all this time...

You may remember the Taco Patio restaurant at the bottom of the hill behind the theater, in the parking lot of Wedgwood Bowl. The building is still there, and still has the Mexican motif inside and out, but the place is now a doughnut shop. A nice Asian family runs it, and it's an amusing clash of cultures as a result.

I'd like to hear any stories you may have about working at the Wedgwood Theatre! Any idea exactly when it opened? Any celebrities ever appear there? What was the projection room like? I actually remember seeing the 1976 remake of _King Kong_ there; it actually had an intermission! Who owned and operated the place?


Glad you mentioned Taco Patio Giraffe. I was trying to remember what that donut shop used to be. Knew it wasn't Taco Bell, but couldn't remember the name. Used to be a few of those Taco Patios around Fort Worth in the late 70s. Guess they were a smaller version of Taco Bell or Taco Bueno that just never took off.
Also used to be a stand alone Long John Silvers in the Wedgwood Theater center. Right off Granbury, next to the old office supply store. Long since torn down though.
I've also noticed an ambulance parked by Wedgwood Bowl a few times.
It's a gas saving measure I think.
I did a ride along on the helicopters and ground ambulances with CareFlite for a story last year. (CareFlite serves Johnson County). They do that, just park random spots sometimes when not on a call rather than drive all the way back to their station.
The ambulances that is, not the helicopters
It's also so they have ambulances somewhat distributed throughout the county in effort to cut response times.
I'm betting the MedStar drivers in Fort Worth probably do the same.
Wedgwood Theater opened in 1967. I've got a ton of movie theater stories/memories. Probably more than anyone wants to hear.
Anyway, I'm going to post some on the thread about movie theaters on this site in the next few days.

#48 unknowntbone

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 02:47 PM



Does anyone remember the Youngblood's Fried Chicken restaurant? It was physically located where the Long John Silver was later built. A very early Wedgwood eaterie.
And in the same strip center as the theater was the Wedgwood Club--for boozin'--and Myers Department Store--for Levi bluejeans for about $3.

#49 waywr

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 03:10 PM

Yeah, Wedgwood West that club was called. There in the middle of that strip of buildings where there was a walk through/walkway.

#50 Giraffe

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Posted 13 January 2010 - 04:50 PM

I remember when it started as Taco Patio, then just a couple of years later that particular location changed its name to Taco Plaza (I _think_; I could be mistaken). Never knew why; same food, as far as I could tell, and it was always pretty good. I've never looked into if it was a national chain, or regional, or what.

Del Taco was another Mexican fast-food chain that came and went around the Metroplex, remember? They built a restaurant from the ground up at the southwest corner of Alta Mesa and McCart in the late '70s. I remember seeing TV commercials for it. But for whatever reason, it didn't survive; the building is still there, but it's now remodeled into a Whataburger. (There was another Del Taco on Randol Mill Road in Arlington, very close to the hospital. That Del Taco is now a Dairy Queen. There are probably more examples of this around the Metroplex...) I think the Del Taco chain still exists in certain parts of the country, just not around here any more.

As I recall, that Long John Silver's restaurant next to the Wedgwood Theatre burned down and was never rebuilt. There's nothing on the site today to give a clue that it had once been there.

Thanks for the info on ambulances! Having them waiting for calls at a distribution point closer to the action makes economic sense.

So the Wedgwood Theatre opened in 1967, huh? Wow; somehow I'd thought it was earlier than that. I'm sure it was a single-screen theater when it opened, though. What was the first movie shown there, I wonder?






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