Owensboro Was Once Home to Popular Restaurant Chains That No Longer Exist

I ran across a blog about five restaurant chains that no longer exist and three of them were once very popular in Owensboro.

I was looking at this list and couldn't help but remember a very long time ago when I had dinner with my parents at Chi-Chi's--it was in front of Service Merchandise (now River City Church)--and my dad ordered a margarita and my mom ordered sangria.

You have to understand that I'd never EVER seen them drink, so it was pretty bizarre and, yes, funny.

It strikes me as funny even today. I don't remember much about Chi-Chi's food, though. That margarita/sangria story dominates my memory banks.

And Real Hacienda is there now, so that location has sort of come full circle, I guess.

Burger Chef was also on the list.

My family LOVED Burger Chef, and, in its day, it was almost as dominant as McDonald's.

Almost.

We had two in Owensboro--on Frederica just down from where the WBKR/WOMI studios are today and out on Parrish Avenue.

I also have to thank the writer of this blog for informing me (and us) that Hardee's purchased Burger Chef in 1982. I never knew that.

And then there was Kenny Rogers Roasters!

Yes, it gets an exclamation point because it just flat out ROCKED!

Everything on the Roasters menu was EXCELLENT!

That chicken! THOSE SIDES!

I believe First Security Bank is where Roasters used to be. Man it was good!

And it got a little love on a hilarious episode of Seinfeld, too. Remember?

Oh, by the way, Kenny Rogers Roasters actually should get an asterisk on this list. While it no longer exists in THIS country, it's alive and well and VERY popular in Asia, at least as of five years ago:

But there's one more that wasn't on this particular list and that's The Red Barn.

It's another one my family frequented.

The Red Barn, as I recall, had its own characters, just like McDonald's, but had a menu with a wider variety--not just burgers but chicken and fish dinners, too.

We had two in Owensboro--one out on 144 (used to be 60 East) and one where Rally's is today at Parrish and Frederica.

TAP THE BRAKES, WE HAVE AN UPDATE: There were THREE Red Barns in Owensboro. I forgot about the one out on Carter Road.

What a fun little trip down memory lane.

We have talked about businesses we miss on not one, not two, not three, but four occasions. But as for the ones on this list, I guess we'll just have to miss them, because they aren't coming back.

You know, I wonder why we never had a Howard Johnson's.