Wednesday 1 June 2022 08:04 PM Last Howard Johnson's in Lake George closes its door - ending 100 years of ... trends now
The last Howard Johnson's restaurant in Lake George, New York, which once belonged to the United State's oldest and largest franchise chain, has closed for good, putting an end to a nearly 100-year-old American tradition.
Standing for more than 70 years, locals were hopeful the restaurant would reopen during the Memorial Day weekend as the start of summer normally brought tourists to visit the historic site, but reality set in when the Howard Johnson's doors remained shut.
'Lake George is officially dead,' Alyssa Kelly, of the HoJoLand fan group who has been documenting the restaurant's struggle for years, wrote on Facebook. 'Plastic tables, chairs removed. All memorabilia removed (that is not original, that stays with building). Cobwebs on the door.'
The Lake George location was the one of three Howard Johnson's that had survived into the 2010s, and although it was no longer affiliated with the franchise, it was the last to bear its name and iconic orange roof after the Lake Placid, New York, location closed in 2015 and the Bangor, Maine, site shut down in 2016.
The last Howard Johnson's restaurant in Lake George, New York, did not reopen after the Memorial Day weekend
Fans of the iconic restaurant franchise found the Lake George site empty and up for sale for $10
The Lake George restaurant had all its memorabilia and plastic tables and chairs removed
The tablecloths were stripped from traditional wooden tables that once greeted customers in the summer
Although it was no longer affiliated with the franchise, the restaurant was the last to bear its name and iconic orange roof
The Lake George Howard Johnson's opened in 1953 as the popular franchise enjoyed more than 1,000 locations nationwide, often seen as a popular stop for family's taking summer road trips.
Located near the Adirondack Mountains, the Lake George Howard Johnson was the spot to stop for breakfast, lunch and dinner while on the way to tourist location, but the restaurants began waning in popularity by the end of the 1980s.
The New York location had eventually turned into the Lake George Family Restaurant in 2015 while still bearing the Howard Johnson name, but it ran into trouble when its operator, Johnathan LaRock, was charged with sexually harassing at least 15 female employees, some as young as 14.
As the restaurant changed ownership, it saw dwindling customer base and sporadic open hours until it was eventually put on the market. Exit Reality is currently listing the 7,500-square foot property at $10.
Many of those who frequented the restaurant throughout the decades lamented the closure and the end of the icon restaurant chain on Facebook.
The first Howard Johnson's opened in 1925, in Quincy Massachusetts, and the restaurant gained fame for its 28-flavor ice cream selection using butter fat
Popularity soared for the food and ice cream soared, and Johnson's opened its first franchise in 1932, in Orleans (pictured)
