[8] Howard Johnson's restaurants were franchised separately from the hotel brand beginning in 1986 but, in the years that followed, severely dwindled in number until eventually disappearing altogether.

[10] In 1925, Howard Deering Johnson borrowed $2,000 to buy and operate a small corner pharmacy in Wollaston, a neighborhood in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Johnson was surprised to find it easy to pay back the money lent to him after discovering his recently installed soda fountain had become the busiest part of his drugstore.

It featured fried clams, baked beans, chicken pot pies, frankfurters, ice cream, and soft drinks.

I guess I must have thought it was quite chic, but I haven’t done a thing in aqua since.” (quoted in A History of Howard Johnson’s by Anthony Mitchell Sammarco).

[17] The unique icons of orange roofs, cupolas, and weather vanes on Howard Johnson properties helped patrons identify the chain's restaurants and motels.

The restaurant's trademark Simple Simon and the Pieman logo was created by artist John Alcott in the 1930s [12] while the fiberglass signs were sculptured by Charles Pizzano.

[18] In the process of recovering from these losses, in 1947 the Howard Johnson Company began construction of 200 new restaurants throughout the American Southeast and Midwest.

According to cultural historians, the chain became synonymous with travel among American motorists and vacationers in part because of Johnson's ubiquitous outdoor advertising displays.

In 1961, Johnson hired New York chefs Pierre Franey and Jacques Pépin to oversee food development at the company's main commissary in Brockton, Massachusetts.

Franey and Pépin developed recipes for the company's signature dishes that could be flash frozen and delivered across the country, guaranteeing a consistent product.

[22] The Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, was instrumental in organizing protests and sit-ins at Howard Johnson locations in multiple states.

[23] The city of Durham, North Carolina, became notable as a focus for action against segregated restaurants and hotels, including Howard Johnson's.

On 12 August 1962, attorney and civil rights activist Floyd McKissick initiated the first of multiple rallies and demonstrations against segregated establishments in Durham, including the Howard Johnson's restaurant on Chapel Hill Boulevard,[24] culminating in multiple protests on 18–20 May 1963 resulting in mass arrests as well as an eventual rapprochement with the city government.

"[26] The letter, written in conjunction with CORE and the NAACP, praised the organizations and aligned company policy with their outlook that segregation was "not defensible.

On April 21, 1966, at the Howard Johnson's in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, and John Timmins, all members of the New York chapter of the Mattachine Society, an early American gay rights group, patronized the restaurant as part of a 'Sip-In' demonstration in protest of New York liquor laws that prevented serving gay customers.

The men were served drinks without incident at the restaurant; they later visited Julius' Bar where they were denied service, eventually leading to changes in the laws.

In addition to offering kid-friendly food at lower prices, industrial designer John Alcott’s firm created a variety of menus that kept the kids entertained.

Because of the oil embargo of 1973, the Howard Johnson's restaurants and motor lodges, which received 85% of revenue from travelers, lost profits when Americans could not afford long trips or frequent vacations.

Around this time, the chain introduced "Hojo Cola" and other private-label sodas, which disappointed some customers who preferred familiar products such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi.

Former Black Panther Mark Essex used the hotel's roof as a sniper's perch, killing three police officers, including Deputy Superintendent Louis Sirgo, the second-highest ranking officer in the New Orleans Police Department, the hotel's general manager and assistant general manager, and a couple from Virginia, who were on a belated honeymoon.

[38] This strategy was unsuccessful because patrons compared this new era of Howard Johnson's restaurants and motor lodges unfavorably to the services they had previously come to know.

In a further effort to make the company more successful and profitable, Johnson created other concepts, such as HoJo Campgrounds and 3 Penny Inns for lodging, as well as Deli Baker Ice Cream Maker, and Chatt's for restaurants.

Many of the established Howard Johnson sites were in prime highway locations which could be profitably converted to Big Boy or various fast food banners.

[40] Prime Motors Inns continued to preserve the lodges, just as Marriott had, until weak hotel and real estate markets caused it to sell off its assets and cease operations in 1990.

[43] Those involved with the company owned and franchised motor lodges banded together and formed the Howard Johnson Acquisition Corporation.

Wyndham operated the Howard Johnson brand under several "tiers" based on price, level of amenities, and services offered.

With the exception of one Howard Johnson's ice cream parlor in Puerto Rico, FAI never opened a new restaurant or expanded the chain.

When Cendant acquired the Howard Johnson's motor lodges, they offered to work together with FAI to ensure the expansion of the restaurant chain.

[53] Wyndham did eventually implement retro-inspired guest room renovations, but most other plans, including those involving food and restaurant operations, were scrapped.