An old Cincy restaurant chain - Squire Jacks Fish & Chips (Columbus: sales, credit)

[kjbrill]

How many of you remember Squire Jacks Fish & Chips? It must have been in the late 1960s & early 70s. I am not sure how many stores existed here in Cincy, but I believe at their peak several. I used to go to one on the east side of Silverton on Montgomery Rd. There was also one in Montgomery itself. I just remember we loved their product, especially drenched in malt vinegar.

Who remembers them, and were they just a local chain or part of a national chain?

[t45209]

We used to go to the one on Kemper Rd in Springdale. I think it lasted into the early '80s. My recollection is that Squire Jacks was far better than any of that slop turned out at Long John Silvers. The pieces of fish were pretty big and I thought it was pretty cool that the bags and papers to line the trays were reproductions of old London Times.

I remember this location pretty well, because it was right across the alley from Springdale School. I used to get my haircut at Corky's Barbershop, right next door to SJ. We used to get gas at the old Tresler Comet filling station right behind it at the corner of Kemper and Rt. 4, and then across the street was Igler's Drug Store and the Springdale Pony Keg, where you could pull a bottle of pop out of the cooler and get a sandwich made to order. Loved the big longhorn colby cheese there. Also, Beezee Bikes was there and an Arthur Murray studio....ok, I totally digress!!!

The other thing I remember about Squire Jacks is that they were in business before the crispy batter drippings became a menu item in and of themselves!

[deg1114]

Wow, a lot of what you say reminds me of the old Arthur Treacher's from the '70s (not the comeback one in the '90s and early '00s). I'm starting to wonder if it was Squire Jacks I went to instead?

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Who remembers them, and were they just a local chain or part of a national chain?

We used to frequent the Roselawn branch, which was in the same little retail strip as Old Town ice cream. Years before that strip was built, there was another fish and shrimp carry-out at the same location, the Fish Fair.

One memorable feature of Squire Jack's deep-fried selections was the batter - very much like a tempura dish. We always ordered their onion rings - different from, but maybe just as good as, the Frisch's counterpart.

No idea whether the chain extended beyond the Queen City. Anyone?

[Wilson513]

Deep fried fish is a great dish done right. I suppose that Squire Jacks brought this treat to many who had never had it at home. After all, how many people are willing to stink up the house for a few days just to get one meal of F&C?

Yesterday for lunch I got carry out cod dinner at Alabama Fish at Race and Liberty, the best there is for fried cod. The french fries suck but the fish more than makes up for it.

Was the place in East HP Arthur Treacher or SJ? Hmmmm.

[t45209]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

Deep fried fish is a great dish done right. I suppose that Squire Jacks brought this treat to many who had never had it at home. After all, how many people are willing to stink up the house for a few days just to get one meal of F&C?

Yesterday for lunch I got carry out cod dinner at Alabama Fish at Race and Liberty, the best there is for fried cod. The french fries suck but the fish more than makes up for it.

Was the place in East HP Arthur Treacher or SJ? Hmmmm.

The facade of the Squire Jacks I remember were done in an English half-timbered design. Also had sort of a red and blue coat of arms type logo, if that helps.

[t45209]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

Was the place in East HP Arthur Treacher or SJ? Hmmmm.

It appears that it was Squire Jacks. The story of SJ can be found here...

Cincinnati Magazine - Google Books

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by t45209

It appears that it was Squire Jacks. The story of SJ can be found here...

Cincinnati Magazine - Google Books

That's a great article and quite complete. Until I started looking into this some more I did not realize Arthur Treacher's was founded in Columbus, Ohio roughly the same time SJ was started here, and one of AT's original investors was Dave Thomas later of Wendy's fame.

[kjbrill]

While looking further into the reasons for the sudden rise and also dimise of the fast food fish & chip restaurants, I came upon the following:

No fish story: Sandwich saved his McDonald's - USATODAY.com

It basically details how a Cincinnati local first franchisee of McDonalds, Lou Groen, saved his restaurant by creating the Filet-o-Fish. He very frankly credits Frisch's with eating his lunch on Fridays and all during Lent in that era, and he was in danger of going under. So he proposed and convinced Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds, to let him expand the menu with his Filet-o-Fish creation.

Appears the sudden deflation of the fast-food fish & chips establishments was due to a rapid increase in the cost of fish in the late 70s early 80s, driving the product cost beyond the acceptable range of fast-food. Some chains, like Arthur Treacher's who had sold out, the new owners substituted a lesser grade of fish, which just accelerated the down-turn.

Frankly, I believe Frisch's in this time frame attempted to substitute a lesser grade fish, probably halibut or haddock, but quickly realized due to reduced sales this was not the way to go. Their nutrition website currently describes the fish as cold-water cod. Their fish sandwich is a little pricey, but I feel worth the money. Our local Frisch's is producing a better quality fish sandwich than they did 10 years ago.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Frankly, I believe Frisch's in this time frame attempted to substitute a lesser grade fish, probably halibut or haddock, but quickly realized due to reduced sales this was not the way to go. Their nutrition website currently describes the fish as cold-water cod. Their fish sandwich is a little pricey, but I feel worth the money. Our local Frisch's is producing a better quality fish sandwich than they did 10 years ago.

Frisch's traditionally used Icelandic Cod even when prices went through the roof. The fish was portioned into two ounce portions by the MANAGER. That is right, the MANAGERS actually cut the fish and forwarded it to the cooks for hand breading. Unlike the fast food chains that battered the cod, they breaded the cod.

As for the fast food chains, a lot of them went from cod to WHITING. Whiting is a poor substitute as it has a gray vein running through the flesh. At the time, Greenland turbot would have been a much more acceptable substitute at a price 25% less.