RIP Marie Callender's.............. (buffet, best, cities)

[amatrine]

It is sad I will never see that blueberry sour cream pie. It ruled !

[tboy34]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Honestly, I feel a little sorry these restaurants are going but there is a reason these restaurants fail. I went to the Marie Callender's in Chandler and it was obvious why it failed. The restaurant was small and claustrophobic. The menu was unspectacular. The service was poor. Their famous pies tasted like something you could get at any grocery store. Cocos is next. If these restaurants don't learn to evolve and adapt, they are going under. This isn't the 1940's any longer in which you can serve mediocre food, service, and an atmosphere and get away with it because you are the only show in town.

Also, you have to wonder why these types of restaurants don't focus on small towns and rural communities. Those communities would love to have a Marie Calendars but instead, they try to set up in large cities and compete with much better restaurants. Cocos, Village Inn, Marie Callendars, Shoneys, Steak and Shake.....all of these places need to target rural areas and small cities/towns otherwise they are going to become extinct. A lot of times people from these areas will drive to large cities because they have nothing.

You are oh so right! Here we are in 2018 and Coco's is gone and Marie Calenders and I'm not sure about Village Inn or shoneys and Steak and shake.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by tboy34

You are oh so right! Here we are in 2018 and Coco's is gone and Marie Calenders and I'm not sure about Village Inn or shoneys and Steak and shake.

There's a couple of Village Inn restaurants in the Tucson area.

Ken

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

There's a couple of Village Inn restaurants in the Tucson area.

Ken

but Shakey's are no more...and both the one in Nogales and the one near Tucson Greyhound Park were two of the last survivors.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by Hal Roach

but Shakey's are no more...and both the one in Nogales and the one near Tucson Greyhound Park were two of the last survivors.

Okay, I'll jump into this older'n dirt thread...

HR, not sure if you mean Ye Olde Shakey's Pizza Parlor?

I believe that particular one's been dead and gone for quite a while (like this thread should be). There are a couple of possible things which killed that dud off...

Their pizza and everybody else's pizza always tasted like... well, like everybody else's blasé pizza -- which is where my "pizza's pizza" comes from. Or, it may have been because they always had a sign on their door which declared: "ENGLISH SPOKEN HERE"?

[Hal Roach]

still about 50 left in Socal...the buffet made it popular..but not in the same league as brooklyn pizza...always thought magpie was overrated.

[JGMotorsport64]

Last time I went to a pizza buffet was Eatza Pizza. Never again.

[Hschlick84]

Marie Callender's, Village Inn, Cocos, and Shari's restaurants all have one thing in common, failing to adjust with changing consumer demands according to the free market. IHOP and Denny's are doing fine because they cover the diner aspect of the restaurant sector.

They're very similar to the cafeteria heyday years from 1940s to roughly 1970s. Anybody remember Luby's, Furr's, and Wyatt's Cafeteria? They had a quite a few locations around Phoenix and across the country, look where they're at now. People would rather pick up what they want for food rather than wait in a cattle drive getting served sub standard food.

[spoonman1]

I loved cafeterias and went to Furr’s with my grandma when I was little. As a kid, nothing was cooler than making my way down the line and grabbing whatever looked good. Miss those days. It would be great to see someone step into that role. I guess places like Hometown Buffet somewhat full that niche now, but I feel like it is substandard.

Also love diners, but places like IHOP and Denny’s seem like watered down versions of what a diner should be. Would be awesome to see Denny’s embrace their history in a real way ZMC become more genuinely retro.

Always loved Marie Calendars and Cocos. Cocos has actually done a lot of menu updates in recent years and seems to do fairly well in SoCal. Marie Callendars is an awesome concept and I hope they can introduce some new elements to make things work.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

There's a couple of Village Inn restaurants in the Tucson area.

Ken

Still a few up here in the Phoenix area too.

Originally Posted by spoonman1

I loved cafeterias and went to Furr’s with my grandma when I was little. As a kid, nothing was cooler than making my way down the line and grabbing whatever looked good. Miss those days. It would be great to see someone step into that role. I guess places like Hometown Buffet somewhat full that niche now, but I feel like it is substandard.

Also love diners, but places like IHOP and Denny’s seem like watered down versions of what a diner should be. Would be awesome to see Denny’s embrace their history in a real way ZMC become more genuinely retro.

Always loved Marie Calendars and Cocos. Cocos has actually done a lot of menu updates in recent years and seems to do fairly well in SoCal. Marie Callendars is an awesome concept and I hope they can introduce some new elements to make things work.

I too loved cafeterias when I was young. My dad ran one across from St. Joseph's Hospital in the early 60's. Piccadilly Cafeteria at Thomas Mall was my favorite after that.


Coco's was one of my favorites when they first appeared. The ice cold forks they would serve with the green salad, which had a really good house dressing. The burgers and the pies were delicious.