Columbus turned out to be a hotbed of restaurant chains, as
Burger Boy Food-O-Rama, Wendy’s, Bob Evans, York Steak House,
Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips, Sister’s Chicken & Biscuits, Donatos,
Rax, Zantigo and GD. Ritzy’s, among others, dished up their first plates here.

  BBF - Burger Boy Food-O-Rama  
Clink on the BBF for more photos---> 
Location Became  ---> Currently   Current Photo
1940 E Livingston Ave     Rallys
2044 Lockbourne
A vacant field in the 60's turned into a BBF (a fastfood version of the Burger Boy Restaurant on Livingston Avenue).  After it closed in the late 70's or early 80's

Stars & Stripes
(a private club)
3090 E Main St     Wendy's
186 Granville St
Gahanna		     Key Bank
3275 Refugee Rd     Burger King
2150 S Hamilton
Was vacant farm land until the 70's when building started around the Eastland Mall area.  Then the Bombay Bicycle Club was built in the area that once housed the Buffalo Wing place as well as other small places in that shopping area.  Bombay didn't last long  (rumor: it was due to the cockroaches!)
  Buffalo Rings & Wings
 just closed
1015 E Hudson     Checksmart
4000 Indianola Ave     Spine Rx Management Co
200 E 5th Ave     Mid America State Liquor Agency
1349 W 5th Ave Opened in 1964 1974 Fifth Third Bank
1885 W Henderson Rd Presutti's Chins..(Italian and chinese fast food) Mothers Pizza Schmidt's CVS
5800 Karl Rd     Columbus Metro Federal Credit Union
2020 N High St Believed to be the original Burger Boy Restaurant that was a hotspot in the 50's and 60's.  They had carhops and lots of teenagers cruising around.  They were also famous for their strawberry pies. Wendys/
Tim Hortons
1510 N High St   Iacono's Pizza Wendy's
780 S High St The Village Junction Restaurant   Blockbuster Video
2370 S High St ??
3746 Riverside Dr     McDonalds
4639 West Broad Street   bank Bobb Suzuki  
1380 W Mound Good Buddy Sisters Chicken & Biscuits Viereck The Florist
Borden Burger
3094 Southwest Blvd Opened after Borden bought BBF   Dairy Queen
Burger Boy Mainliner (sometimes confused with BBF)
2133 East Livingston Avenue     Wendy's

 

Sisters Chicken and Biscuits

 
Click Here to see more original Sisters images
 In 1979, Wendy's asked James W Near to establish a "high-quality, upscale" chicken and biscuits restaurant. After a year of testing, a Wendy's statement said, Near opened the first Sisters Chicken and Biscuits in Columbus. In 1981, Sisters became a Wendy's subsidiary until it was sold to its largest franchisee in 1987.
East
40 N James Rd		   Sammy's New York Bagels
2135 E Livingston Av   Popeyes
4399 E Livingston Ave   Columbus Check Cashers
5980 E Main St   Spaghetti Shoppe  Demolished
North
631 E 5 Ave		   Auto Zone
955 E Dublin-Granville Rd   Mark Pi's Express.
4910 N High St (was Jerry's) Tee Jaye's Country Place  
Northeast
3461 Cleveland Ave		   Popeye’s Chicken
5720 Cleveland Ave   Peking Wok Chinese
2130 Morse Rd   Mark Pi's Express
Northwest
1873 W Henderson Rd		      
1416 W 5th Ave (was Stew Harrison’s)

Spaghetti Shoppe
Hoggy's
Winking Lizard Tavern
Dublin
6546 Riverside Dr		  

Mark Pi's Express.
Demolished in 2013

Reynoldsburq
6330 Tussing Rd 		  Boston Market
South
1059 S High St		 Mark Pi's Express. Subway
3444 S High St  

Ohio Deli

Burned down on 12/30/2014
West
2791 W Broad St		 (was Burger Chef) China City Express
4310 W Broad St   Boston Market
1380 W Mound St (was Burger Boy Food-O-Rama) Viereck The Florist
Westerville
428 S State St		 Schlotzky's Deli CME Federal Credit Union
Whitehall
4785 E Broad St		   FLOWERAMA
Worthington
2777 Billingsley Rd 		  Taco Bell

 

Big Bite

In 1981, Mr. Robert Davis (and others) founded Big Bite, Inc. (Big Bite), to promote fast food franchises serving pita sandwiches. Mr. Davis was a primary investor in Big Bite. In 1983, he was elected to Big Bite's board of directors. By 1982 or 1983, Big Bite expanded to a chain of approximately 30 restaurants. In the mid-1980's, Big Bite's restaurants fell out of favor with consumers
19 E Gay Street, Downtown      - - - >
5328 N High St torn down and rebuilt as a Taco Bell, became an oriental place, now Greek
1325 Bethel Road, became oriental, now an import car specialty parts location
1672 W Fifth Ave
2285 Morse Rd
2421 S Hamilton Rd

 

Ritzy’s restaurants were first introduced in 1980 and were patterned after old-fashioned soda fountains and diners and were decorated in a 40’s motif complete with background music of that era. The restaurants offered the staples of our industry with a noticeable focus on quality. Fresh made hamburgers, casing hot dogs, julienne cut fries, a fresh variety of salads and premium ice creams containing fresh fruits, whole nuts and the highest quality chocolate are the benchmarks of the concept. In fact, Ritzy’s chocolate ice cream was voted the best in America, in the 1980’s, by People magazine.
There could be a new location at 4615 N. High St. in Clintonville.
19 E Gay St Siam Express  
3849 E Broad St Mark Pi's Ancient Wok
2804 S Hamilton Ave Papa Johns Pizza
2087 E Livingston Ave Mr Hero
277 E Livingston Ave Happy Dragon  
1939 Stringtown Rd Rally's
5710 Cleveland Ave Tim Horton's
4285 N High St Cheepers ->Rally's -> Indian Restaurant -> Mexican restaurant
2070 Morse Rd Arby's - > Gyro Express
4697 Reed Rd Blimpies (closed)  
1298 fifth Ave @ NW (was ORIGINALLY a White Castle)
->"Cheapers" -> Rally's -> Chipotle.
7332 E Main St Happy Dragon
641 S State St, Westerville Chipotle
South High St
Great Southern		 250
155 Georgesville Road Skyline Chili -> Georges Coneys
Recently Confirmed: Still OPEN in US:
2641 N Cullen Ave, Evansville, IN 47715
4320 N 1st Ave, Evansville, IN 47710
601 N Green River Rd, Evansville, IN 47715
1335 Hal Greer Blvd, Huntington, WV 25701 (thanks to former BBF employee)
Photo from Evansville, taken in April 2004  (Thanks, Kathleen!)

In 1963, Restaurant Administration Corporation (RAC) began by becoming a Franchisee of Burger Chef Systems and opened its first restaurant in Wheeling, WV. In 1967, They opened the first JAX Roast Beef opened in Springfield, Ohio.

In 1977, the name JAX was changed to RAX and a RAX Restaurant opened in Columbus, Ohio.  The first RAX franchised restaurant opened in 1978. 

In the first quarter of 1997, Wendy's acquired 31 Rax restaurants in Ohio and West Virginia for conversion to Wendy's and Tim Hortons restaurants. The purchase price was $8.9 million.

Address Currently  
2754 N High St Tim Hortons           
2160 Morse

Torn Down ->Arbys

(An original JAX location)
3475 Cleveland Ave Tim Horton's  
6111 Busch Blvd Skyline Chili
5559 E Broad St  ?  
3075 E Main St
           		Skyline Chili
(An original JAX location)

4470 Refugee Rd

 

**RECENTLY CLOSED**

 

Now Minuteman Pizzza
6490 Riverside @161 Tim Hortons
4710 Reed Rd
          		 Kaya Restaurant
(An original JAX location)
790 Georgesville Rd Tim Hortons
3155 W Broad St  

** CLOSED 4/26/04 **
(An original JAX location)
580 E Livingston Ave Wendy's

Torn Down

6780 E Main St Tim Hortons
3623 S High St Tim Hortons  
772 S State St Tim Hortons
1960 E Dublin Granville Chipotle Mexican Grill
**Last RAX in Columbus
to close**
4484 E Main St Arby's
140 Worthington Square Chili's Grill & Bar  
2071 Stringtown Rd (Grove City) Burger King,
3850 Lyman Rd (Hilliard) Tim Hortons  
1980 N High St (OSU) Used Kids Records  
1652 Neil Ave Jimmy John's.  
1724 W 5th Ave Wendys

        ( nationwide: 42 Rax may be still open)

 


Arthur Treacher's Original Recipe Fish and Chips
2216 W Henderson Rd
5328 N High St --> Acropolis Gyro Palace
2183 N High St --> Domino's Pizza.
808 S. High St --> Taco Bell
3615 W Broad St

Speedway Parking Lot

1765 Brice Rd
245 Granville Rd (Gahanna)

A Strip Shopping Center

3871 E Livingston Ave
2245 Morse Rd
2110 Cleveland Ave --> Draft-10 Head-To- Toe Studio
1216 W 5th Ave --> Marino's Seafood Fish & Chips
2127 E. Livingston Ave *** opened in former Long John Silvers

 

   Sandy's Drive-In
How about Sandy's? They were a McRestaurant with a plaid theme in the 60's. Main claim to fame was their signature burger, the Big Scot, which supposedly was the first with a secret mayo-type sauce. I kind of think that it had a middle bread layer, too. In the end, they were all purchased by Hardee's.
1276 W 5th Ave (W of NorthWest)
     (Later site of Hungry Herman's)
4299 N. High St --> El Burrito
850 Mt Vernon Ave Parking lot for The King Arts Complex
1578 Parsons --> Lois Mann's Family Restaurant
1516 E Main St (W of Kelton)
3414 Sullivant Ave --> KFC


Burger Chef New Photos Added 9/2011
During the 1960's, Burger Chef reached into 38 states as the chain grew steadily. In 1968, General Equipment sold Burger Chef Systems to General Foods for $20 million.  Burger Chef -which peaked at 1,200 stores-went into a tailspin. General Foods sold Burger Chef to Hardee's in 1982. It was at this time most Burger Chefs were converted to Hardee's outlets, many were closed or sold-especially those with a Hardee's location nearby. Less than 100 Burger Chef locations were left.

1449 Oakland Park Ave --> Livin Large Christian Center
4536 Karl Rd

New Dentist Office

3825 Indianola Ave - -> Images of Distinction
1370 W Lane Ave

Front Runner & Subway

1652 Neil Ave --> Jimmy John's
4710 Reed Rd --> Kaya Restaurant
2431 S High St   (S of 104) --> Southern Auto Sales
3511 Sullivant Ave

Torn down and replaced by a Key Bank

S Hamilton Rd
2791 W Broad St (W of Hague) Was replaced by a  Sisters and now a smoke shop.
3771 E Livingston Ave
The last known Burger Chef was closed in 1996, located in Cookville, TN.

 

Faux-Mex restaurant chain founded in 1969, by the co-owner of Chi-Chi's.
Sold to KFC in 1974. In 1986, Pepsi bought KFC, since they already owned Taco Bell they converted them to Taco Bell.
Graceland Taco Bell demolished 1/08
to be rebuilt
26 E. Schrock Road Converted to Taco Bell, later demolished and rebuilt as a moden look Taco Bell
6101 Busch Boulevard New House of Mandarin (closed)
2111 E  Livingston Converted to Taco Bell, later demolished and rebuilt as a moden look Taco Bell
4210 E Broad St The Mad Greek
6325 E Main St Converted to Taco Bell, later demolished and rebuilt as a moden look Taco Bell
Northland Mall Parking Lot Taco Bell

Demolished and re-built

Across from Eastland Mall Taco Bell -> Payday Loans
1312 5th Ave @ Northwest Converted to Taco Bell, in 2013 demolished and rebuilt as a moden look Taco Bell
2408 Stringtown Rd Converted to Taco Bell, later demolished and rebuilt as a moden look Taco Bell
West Broad near 39-ohh-ohh W Broad
3402 Cleveland Ave
6320 TUSSING RD Converted to Taco Bell, later demolished and rebuilt as a moden look Taco Bell
2553 N High @ Hudson Converted to Taco Bell, in 2003 demolished and rebuilt as a moden look Taco Bell

 

These Original design Taco Bell Building are still open

Taco bell dates back to 1962  in 1978 the company was sold to Pepsi

808 S HIGH ST    
2225 E DUBLIN GRANVILLE RD 1977 Rebuilt
1339 Harrisburg Pike    
200 WILSON RD 1992  
4770 SAWMILL RD 1992  
2777 BILLINGSLEY RD 1986  
6140 SUNBURY RD 1992  
650 GEORGESVILLE RD 1992  
1525 N HIGH ST 1994  
5328 N High St    
6770 E BROAD ST    
These Original Taco Bell Building, have been abandoned and new concepts too over.
1288 W. Lane Avenue Closed in 2009 Currently open as a Vietnamese / Thai / Chinese Restaurant
1873 W. Henderson Rd   Greek Restaurant  
400 South Hamilton Rd    
6006 E. Livingston Ave   Was "Nick the Greek"
2421 S HAMILTON RD opened 1979  
1330 STONERIDGE RD 1997  
2515 Morse Rd     now CVS
Original KFC Buildings that have been abandoned
Fifth Ave KFC    
Westerville State St Subway opened in 2000

before

 

after
2711 N High St @ Arcadia Ave closed in 1985, moved across the street Currently Patrick J's

 

 

 

2700 N High St @ Arcadia Ave KFC reopened here in 1985.. closed in 2009 Graffiti Burger 2010-13

Talita's Mexican Kitchen
opened in June 2013
(same Family who owned the location just north)

 Current Taco Bells to look up:

CC 1557 W. Broad Streetv Columbus 43222
CE 3944 E. Broad Street Whitehall 43213
CE 294 S. Hamilton Road Gahanna - 43230
CW 1680 Hilliard-Rome Road Hilliard - 43026
NW 4652 Cemetery Road Hilliard 43026
CW 5449 W. Broad St. Columbus 1999 43228
FNC 1429 Polaris Pkwy Columbus 43240
NC 8440 N. High Street Columbus - 43235
NC 3402 Cleveland Avenue Columbus - 43224
NC 1717 Morse Rd. Columbus - 43229
NC 7960 Worthington-Galena Rd Worthington - 43085
NE 26 E. Schrock Road Westerville - 43081
SC 3605 S. High Street Columbus 1991 - 43207
SFE 1233 Hill Road North Pickerington 43147
SFE 6075 Gender Rd. Canal Winchester 43110

 

 
3121 Olentangy River Road Platinum Auto Wash
4400 Karl Rd C Note Lounge
Lane avenue Shopping Center  
180 N High St, Downtown  
395 Georgesville Rd Captain D's
771 S HAMILTON RD  (built in 1968)

    Click here for the Ollie Burger Recipe
    Click here for a Lums Ad

 

Tee Jaye's Country Place
Randy Sokol is the co-owner of Tee Jaye’s Country Place Restaurants. His father, Jules Sokol, started the now defunct Beverlee Drive-Ins in 1951and in 1972 opened the first Tee Jaye’s, a family dining chain, now with 10 area restaurants.
1071 Dublin Rd., Grandview, Closed in late 2007
1264 E. Dublin-Granville Rd., North Closed in late 2000's now mexican
2435 Brice Rd., Reynoldsburg,  
4048 W. Broad St., Far West Side,  
350 S. Hamilton Rd., Whitehall,
4910 N. High St., North, Was Jerrys, then Sisters
1385 Parsons Ave., German Village  
895 S. State St., Westerville, closed 2004?
1880 Stringtown Rd., Grove City  

 

Former White Castle
6184 E Livingston Ave 1976 Sonic Chicken
2725 N HIGH ST

Original Building 1929

Repalcement Building 1986

Closed December 24, 2010 and demolished in 2011    
       

 

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